Definitions

• Didactic Courses- All PharmD courses regardless of chosen pedagogy (e.g. lecture, active learning, lab), aside from Introductory or Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPE or APPE).

• Experiential Courses- PharmD courses with either Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) or Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) as part of its title.

Grading Reconsideration During Courses

• Didactic coursework: A student may request a grading reconsideration for an assignment, quiz or examination question, or other assessment. After reconsideration requests are reviewed and processed, all grades are final.

  • Process for grade reconsideration:

    •  The student must submit a written request to the pertinent instructor (i.e. who wrote the quiz or exam question or created the assignment/assessment). The course coordinator may be contacted for guidance in determining the instructor but is not able to make decisions on the instructor’s behalf unless authorized.

    • The request must include detailed and well-reasoned rationale with specific evidence justifying review. Simply desiring a higher score or disagreeing with the instructor are not appropriate grounds for review.

  • Timeline:

    • Student requests must be made within five (5) business days of a grade being posted to ICON. The 5-day timeline is important to encourage students to review their work early and identify areas for improvement. Additionally, if there are adjustments that may extend to peers, this review timeline also allows for adjustment in all students’ grades to be carried out in a timely fashion. After five (5) business days have passed, no additional written requests will be accepted.

    • The instructor will review each request within ten (10) business days of receipt of the request, inform the student of the outcome, and make any warranted adjustments. If the process will be delayed, the student must be notified of the timeline and the revised date of resolution as soon as possible. Although, it is helpful for the instructor to provide the student with the rationale utilized, as the subject matter expert, sound judgment on the part of the instructor in assigning the grade is assumed. The decision of the individual instructor is final. There is no appeal process for individual assignments or quiz/exam question reconsiderations.

• Experiential coursework: There is no formal process for grade re-consideration of individual assignments in the experiential setting; rather the student’s full performance informs the final grade. A student should have open and regular dialogue with their preceptor regarding their performance and evaluation of assigned work and activities throughout their rotation experience.

Grade Appeal After Final Course Grades are Submitted

• Didactic and Experiential Coursework: A student may appeal a course grade with appropriate justification.

• Process for course grade appeal:

  • The student must submit a Grade Appeal Form to the course coordinator.

  • The appeal form requests information justifying review of the grade. Simply desiring a higher score or disagreeing with the final grade are not appropriate grounds for review. A full grade appeal also may not be based on an individual assignment, quiz or examination question, or other assessment. The student should utilize the process and timeline for GRADING RECONSIDERATION DURING COURSES for these concerns.

  • The student must provide detailed evidence or a thorough explanation that at least one of the following exists:

    • The final grade was miscalculated when compared to the pre-established course grading criteria, or

    • The final grade was assigned in an arbitrary or capricious fashion. “Arbitrary and capricious grading" is defined as: A final course grade assigned on some basis other than performance in the course; or a final course grade assigned by unreasonable standards different from those that were applied to other students in that course.

• Timeline:

  •  Student requests must be made within ten (10) business days after a course grade is posted to MyUI. After ten (10) business days have passed, course grades are final, and no additional appeals will be accepted.

  • The appeal process occurs as indicated below, beginning with the course coordinator. The coordinator will review the form in detail, contact involved parties as needed, and decide the outcome within ten (10) business days. If the student chooses, the appeals process may continue in the following order with five (5) business days granted for the student to re-petition and ten (10) business days for review at each step of the process. If the process will be delayed at any step, the student must be notified of the timeline and the revised date of resolution as soon as possible.

  • The original Grade Appeal Form will continue through the process with the respondent returning the form to the student and each keeping a copy for their records. At each step, the student should re-submit the most recently processed form (unamended). Only new relevant facts may be added as an addendum.

Steps of the Appeal Process 
 

Students dissatisfied with the outcome of the collegiate appeal process may ask the Office of the Provost to review the matter.  Please review “Student Complaints Concerning Faculty Action” policy in the Student Bill of Rights.