8.10 Academic Grievance & Appeal Policy

Change of Grade
Except in cases of error or appeal, the block/course or clerkship director may not change a grade that was
submitted to the Registrar.

Timing
Students can review their grade at any time but should carefully review Grade Petition and Grade Appeal
deadlines.

Process to Initiate a Grade Review

A student who has questions about how their grade was determined or why specific comments were
included in their evaluation can request to meet with the department for a guided review of their grade.
The process for completing a Grade Review may vary by course/department. To initiate a Grade Review,
students should contact the department/course administrator or director for the course they wish to
review.

Process to Initiate a Grade Petition

If, after completing a Grade Review, a student wishes to dispute their grade, including the inclusion of
specific narrative comments, they can submit a Grade Petition to request that the course/clerkship
director formally investigate whether process was followed in assigning their grade. The requirements
and process for a Grade Petition may vary by course or department. To submit a Grade Petition, students
should contact the department/course director for the course they wish to review.

A student should submit a Grade Petition no later than four weeks after the grade is posted.

Process to Initiate a Grade Appeal

If a student is unsatisfied with the result of their Grade Petition, they can submit a Grade Appeal to
request that the Grade Appeal Committee review their case. To submit a Grade Appeal, students must
complete the Grade Appeal request form.

Grade Appeal requests must be submitted prior to the end of the academic quarter following the quarter
in which the course was taken (e.g., a Grade Appeal request for a course taken in Spring quarter must be
submitted by the end of UWSOM’s Summer quarter)

Grade Appeal Considerations

The Committee will determine whether the evaluation of the student’s performance was fair and
reasonable and whether the instructor’s conduct in assigning the grade was arbitrary or capricious, and
will decide what changes to the grade, if any, will be made. Decisions made by the Grade Appeal
Committee are final.

If a decision is made to change the grade and/or evaluative comments, a revised evaluation will be
submitted by the Grade Appeal Committee to the School of Medicine Registrar for placement in the
student’s official academic file.

If the grade and/or evaluative comments are not changed but there are circumstances or information
worth documenting, the course/clerkship director may submit a letter for inclusion in the student’s official
academic file. Students may also submit a letter providing their perspective on the grade or comments for
inclusion in their academic file.