Clinical Grade Review, Challenge, and Appeal Process

Patient Care and Explore & Focus Phases

Summary of process for required and elective clinical clerkships

The student requests to meet with the department for a guided review of grade and de-identified evaluative materials. Please check the department website for information on grading guidelines.

After a grade review, if the student has a significant concern about their clerkship final grade or the summative comments, the student may submit a written request to the department to challenge their grade. The clerkship director then reviews the relevant grading and evaluative materials and elicits related materials from faculty or department resources to determine the uniformity and impartiality of the grade or summative comments. After the clerkship director completes fact finding, student and director meet to discuss student’s challenge. After the meeting, the clerkship director will contact the student in writing with the grade challenge decision.

Following the informal grade review and grade challenge, if the student still has significant concerns about their grade, the student submits a grade appeal to somchlng@uw.edu. The grade appeal committee meets to review all materials related to the appeal and make the final determination to retain or revise the grade and/or relevant comments. Students can review their grade at any time, however please be aware that the grade challenge and appeal process must be completed within twelve weeks after the grade is posted. Please review the grade appeal committee deadlines. The Academic Grievance & Appeal Policy can be found here.

All students are permitted under FERPA (Family, Education, Rights and Privacy act) to review educational records (e.g., exams and evaluations) upon request and any time after grade submission. Typically, a student will meet with a department representative to review de-identified evaluations, summative comments and/or final examination score. If the clerkship has established guidelines for the review follow their specific instructions. If after the grade review, you are unsatisfied, you may initiate the grade challenge process.

  1. To initiate a grade review, contact the Department Clerkship Administrator to set up a time to speak or meet face-to-face.

Students must submit a grade challenge within four weeks after the grade is posted. This allows the department to connect with the student and process the challenge within seven weeks after the grade is posted. The department must contact the student in writing with the challenge decision seven weeks after the grade is posted.  This allows the student one week to decide whether an appeal is necessary. If after the grade challenge decision, you are still unsatisfied, you may initiate the grade appeal process.

  1. Complete Clinical Grade Challenge Form
  2. Send completed form to Clerkship Director and administrator.
  3. Meet with Clerkship Director or clerkship faculty representative.

The grade appeal must be submitted within eight weeks after the grade is posted. This allows the grade appeal committee to meet and decide the student’s grade appeal within twelve weeks after the grade is posted to align with UW policy.

  1. Complete the Clinical Grade Appeal Form
  2. Submit completed form to somchlng@uw.edu

Clinical Grade Appeal Committee

  • Department chairs have delegated responsibility for the grade appeal decision to the School of Medicine grade appeal committee for the Patient Care and Explore & Focus Clinical Phases, in accordance with UW policy.
  • The grade appeal committee comprised of faculty and/or student members, will review all materials related to the appeal (no student identifiers). The grade appeal committee will focus on determining whether a petitioning student’s grade and/or clinical evaluation summative comments were awarded arbitrarily or capriciously by the instructor/department and will make the final determination to retain or revise the grade (up or down) and/or relevant comments. Committee bylaws can be found here.

For additional information on the grade appeal committee please refer to the FAQ.

 

Academic Quarter Deadlines

Summer 2022 Clerkship Quarter

Clerkship Weeks2/4 weeks
(ending July 22, 2022)		6 weeks
(ending August 5, 2022)		2/4 week
(ending August 19, 2022)		2/4/6/12 weeks
(ending September 16, 2022)
Clerkship Grade Submitted BySeptember 2, 2022September 16, 2022September 30, 2022October 28, 2022
Grade Challenge Submission DeadlineSeptember 30, 2022October 14, 2022October 28, 2022November 25, 2022
Grade Appeal Submission DeadlineOctober 28, 2022November 11, 2022November 25, 2022December 23, 2022
Committee Decision DateNovember 11, 2022November 25, 2022December 9, 2022January 6, 2023

Autumn 2022 Clerkship Quarter

Clerkship Quarter 2/4 weeks (ending October 21, 2022)6 weeks (ending November 4, 2022)2/4 weeks (ending November 18, 2022)2/4/6/12 weeks (ending December 16, 2022
Clerkship Grade Submitted ByDecember 2, 2022December 16, 2022December 30, 2022January 27, 2023
Grade Challenge Submission DeadlineDecember 30, 2022January 13, 2023January 27, 2023February 24, 2023
Grade Appeal Submission DeadlineJanuary 27, 2023February 10, 2023February 24, 2023March 24, 2023
Committee Decision DateFebruary 24, 2023March 10, 2023March 24, 2023April 21, 2023

Winter 2023 Clerkship Quarter

Clerkship Weeks 2/4 weeks (ending January 27, 2023)6 weeks (ending February 10, 2023)2/4 weeks (ending February 24, 2023)2/4/6/12 weeks (ending March 24, 2022)
Clerkship Grade Submitted ByMarch 10, 2023March 24, 2023April 7, 2023May 5, 2023
Grade Challenge Submission DeadlineApril 7, 2023April 21, 2023May 5, 2023June 2, 2023
Grade Appeal Submission DeadlineMay 5, 2023May 19, 2023June 2, 2023June 30, 2023
Committee Decision Date June 2, 2023June 16, 2022June 30, 2023July 28, 2023