Petitions, Appeals, and Grievances - School of Nursing

During a student’s academic career, there may be occasion to file a petition, an appeal or a grievance.

• A petition is used to request an exception to an academic policy.
• An appeal is used either to request a change in grade or to appeal the decision of a petition.
• An academic policy and non-academic policy grievance involves those situations in which a student believes that the university has not followed published policies regarding an academic or non-academic decision or discrimination based on race, national origin, color, sex, disability, or age, including Title VI, Title IX, and Section 504.

Students taking courses outside of the School of Nursing are expected to follow the guidelines established by the Principal Academic Unit (School of Nursing, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Adult and Professional Studies) from which the course is taken for matters pertaining to courses/classes/policies.

Appeals

Indiana Wesleyan University follows generally accepted college and university practice in the development of academic policies, the operation of classrooms, and use of grading techniques. The university allows its instructors independence in following generally accepted practices. A student who wishes to appeal a course grade must abide by the procedures that follow.

Each stated time frame will be the ordinary process. More time may be necessary in the event of a lengthy investigation, hearing, illness, or other unforeseen circumstances. All grade appeals, with all documents, recommendations, and decisions, will be reported to the Dean of the School of Nursing (or designee). Because the appeal process is a private university administrative process, legal counsel or representation is inappropriate.

Grade Appeal

A grade appeal involves only those situations in which a student believes that an instructor (a) has not followed fair grading practice or (b) has not followed his or her published grading policy. A student who wishes to appeal a grade based on one or both of these reasons must follow these procedures:

Informal Process

• The student should contact the professor for a full explanation of the grade given and the basis for making the grade within ten days of the posting of the grade.
• The informal process may be ended at any time and the complainant may begin the formal procedure by submitting a written grade appeal form within 20 days of the posting of the grade. Grade appeal forms are available from the office of the Division Chair.

Formal Process

Step 1

• If there is no resolution during the informal process, the student may file a grade appeal request form, which can be obtained from the Office of the Division Chair. If a properly completed grade appeal request form is not received by the university within 20 days of the date the student's grade was posted, then the student will forfeit any further right to appeal.
• If the matter involves the Chairperson as faculty, the student may request that the Dean of the School of Nursing (or designee) review the matter.
• After the university receives the grade appeal request form, it will be forwarded to the instructor along with a faculty grade appeal response form. The chairperson will notify the faculty member of the appeal and its nature and seek to mediate the dispute through the following steps:
  • Discussion of the facts of the case seeking resolution within ten days.
  • If the faculty member's stated policy for calculating the grade has not been followed, the chairperson will insist that it be followed. The role of the chairperson or dean is not to re-grade the assignment(s).

Step 2

• If the instructor agrees that the grade should be changed, the faculty will be instructed to change the grade and the student academic record will be updated.
• If the instructor does not agree that the grade should be changed, the Chair will request a second reading of the specific paper or examination by two faculty members with knowledge in the academic discipline. They will submit their completed rubrics or evaluations to the Chair within ten days.
• The grade appeal form, faculty response form, and the evaluation of the specific paper or examination will be submitted to the School of Nursing Student Life Council.
• Upon receipt of the request for council review from the student, the matter will be brought to the next regularly scheduled School of Nursing Student Life Council meeting. (NOTE: The Council reserves the right to seek clarification from the student, additional graders, or the instructor). If the matter involves a member of the council, then that individual will recuse himself/herself from deciding the appeal.
• The Council will notify the student of its decision, which will be final.
• The complainant will be notified of results at each step of the grade appeal process. All grade appeals, with all papers, recommendations, and decisions related to federal or state regulations, will be reported to the Dean of the School of Nursing (or designee).
• Depending on the situation, the timeline may be expedited.

Academic and Non-Academic Policy Appeal

An academic policy appeal involves only those situations in which a student is seeking recourse from (a) an university academic petition decision; or (b) alleged discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, color, sex, disability, or age, including alleged violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Educational Amendments Acts of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the American with Disabilities Act of 1990, or other state or federal legislation.

Examples of academic policies include but are not limited to admission criteria, readmission criteria, etc. Each stated time frame will be the ordinary process. More time may be necessary in the event of a lengthy investigation, hearing, illness, or other unforeseen circumstances.

All non-academic policy appeals will be reported to the Chair of the School of Nursing Student Life Council. Because the appeal process is a private university administrative process, legal counsel or representation is inappropriate.

A student who wishes to file such an appeal will abide by the procedures that follow:

• Level 1 - The student must first contact the person or the department responsible for the policy to request an exception to the policy to resolve the question informally. Such contact must occur within ten days of the incident that generates the request for exception.
• Level 2 - If the matter is not satisfactorily resolved at level one, the student may submit a written request within ten days of the level one decision to the Division Chair for a review by the Student Life Council, which is comprised of the personnel and students from the School of Nursing. The request from the student should include thorough documentation supporting the student's claims. The Chair of the School of Nursing Student Life Council will communicate the committee's findings and decision to the student.
• Level 3 - If the complaint is not satisfactorily resolved at level two, the student may submit a written request within ten days of the level 2 decision to the Chair of the School of Nursing Student Life Council for a review by the Dean of the School of Nursing (or designee).  Appeals at this level will be considered only to ensure that University procedures were followed in levels one and two. The request from the student should include thorough documentation supporting the student's claim and reference why the decision at level two is deemed unsatisfactory. The Dean (or designee) will consider the situation and will inform the student of the decision, which will be final.

Grievances

Academic Policy Grievance

An academic policy grievance involves those situations in which a student believes that the university has not followed published policies regarding an academic decision or discrimination based on race, national origin, color, sex, disability, or age, including Title VI, Title IX, and Section 504. A student who wishes to file an academic policy grievance must follow these procedures:

Each stated time frame will be the ordinary process.  More time may be necessary in the event of a lengthy investigation, hearing, illness, or other unforeseen circumstances.

All academic policy grievances will be reported to the Chair of the School of Nursing Student Life Council.  Because the grievance process is a private university administrative process, legal counsel or representation is inappropriate.

A student who wishes to file such an appeal will abide by the procedures that follow:

• Level 1 - The student must first contact the person whom the student believes did not follow published policies, within ten days for a full explanation of the policy and how the policy was followed.
• Level 2 - If the policy was not followed or the student disputes the way in which the policy was applied, then the student may request that the Regional Dean/Divisional Chair review the matter by filing a form requesting such a review. This form may be obtained from the Regional Dean/ Divisional Chair. If the complaint involves the Regional Dean/ Divisional Chair, the student may request that the Dean of the School of Nursing (or designee) review the matter. If a properly completed form is not received by the university within 20 days of the date on which the event that gave rise to the complaint occurs, then the student will forfeit any further right to appeal. The Regional Dean/ Divisional Chair or, if applicable, the Dean of the School of Nursing (or designee) will notify the student of the decision.
• Level 3 - If the matter is not satisfactorily resolved, then the student may request that the School of Nursing Student Life Council review the matter by filing a form requesting a committee review. This form may be obtained from the Office of the Dean of the School of Nursing. If the university does not receive a properly completed form within ten days of the date on which the decision notice in level two was sent, then the student will forfeit any further right to appeal. The School of Nursing Student Life Council will notify the student of its decision, which will be final.

Non-Academic Policy Grievance

A non-academic grievance involves only those situations in which a student (a) believes that the university has not followed published policies regarding a non-academic decision or program, policy, or (b) alleges discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, color, sex, disability, or age, including alleged violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Educational Amendments Acts of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the American with Disabilities Act of 1990, or other state or federal legislation.

Each stated time frame will be the ordinary process. More time may be necessary in the event of a lengthy investigation, hearing, illness, or other unforeseen circumstances.

All non-academic policy grievances will be reported to the Chair of the School of Nursing Student Life Council. Because the grievance process is a private university administrative process, legal counsel or representation is inappropriate.

A student who wishes to file such an appeal will abide by the procedures that follow:

• Level 1 - The student must first contact the person or the department concerned whom the student believes did not follow published policies for a full explanation of the policy and how the policy was followed to resolve the dispute informally. Such contact must occur within ten days of the incident that generates the dispute.
• Level 2 - If the matter is not satisfactorily resolved at level one, the student may submit a written request within ten days of the level one decision to the Divisional Chair/Dean of the School of Nursing (or designee) for a review by the Student Life Council, which is comprised of the personnel and students from the School of Nursing. The request from the student should include thorough documentation supporting the student's claims. The Chair of the School of Nursing Student Life Council will communicate the committee's findings and decision to the student.
• Level 3 - If the complaint is not satisfactorily resolved at level two, the student may submit a written request within ten days of the level two decision to the Chair of the School of Nursing Student Life Council for a review by the Dean of the School of Nursing (or designee). Appeals at this level will be considered only to ensure that University procedures were followed in levels one and two. The request from the student should include thorough documentation supporting the student's claim and reference why the decision at level two is deemed unsatisfactory. The Dean (or designee) will consider the situation and will inform the student of the decision, which will be final.