Grievance Policy

There may be occasions when a student believes her/his academic work or conduct has been unfairly or inadequately evaluated¹ by an instructor.² Usually such differences of opinion can be amicably resolved informally between the student and teacher. If not, the following procedures are intended to encourage satisfactory resolution of academic grievances with a minimum of formal procedure.

If the course is a University course please follow the published University process in the Undergraduate Catalog at http://saas.byu.edu/catalog/2010-2011ucat/GeneralInfo/Records.php. Please email a copy of the written grievance to Independent Study at IS_Petitions@byu.edu.

If the course is a high school course please follow the instructions below:

1. The grievance must be initiated by the student no later than three months (90 days) from the day the final grade is posted for the course in which the alleged unfair or inadequate evaluation occurred.
2. The student should initially address the grievance in writing to the instructor requesting review and resolution. This initial communication should be sent to IS_Petitions@byu.edu. The instructor shall respond to the student within 10 days after receiving the grievance.
3. If the instructor is unavailable or the student has a valid reason to believe the matter will not be dealt with fairly or that retribution may result, the student may submit the grievance directly to the Student Services Manager at Independent Study at IS_Petitions@byu.edu. The Student Services Manager shall respond to the student within 10 days after receiving the grievance.
4. If the grievance is addressed to the instructor and it is not resolved satisfactorily, the student may submit a written request for further review to the Associate Director of Academics within 30 days of the instructor's decision.
5. The Associate Director's decision shall be given in writing to both the student and the Instructor within 30 days after receiving the student's request and all supporting material for review.
6. If the matter is still unresolved, the student may submit a written request for formal review to the Director of Independent Study within 30 days of the Associate Director's written decision.
7. If formal review is requested, the Director shall be assisted in reviewing the grievance by a committee, as described in the following paragraphs.
   1. The Director will appoint a committee of individuals to review the grievance including other instructors, administrative staff or other individuals. One member of the committee will be appointed to chair and conduct the proceedings, which should take place within 30 days of receiving the student's request.
   2. In reviewing the grievance, the review committee, the affected student, and the affected instructor are responsible to identify or provide relevant sources of information. The review is intended to be collegial and not adversarial. Accordingly, legal counsel is not allowed to attend nor advocate in the review process. Following the review process the committee will submit a written recommendation to the Director of Independent Study.
   3. The Director will determine the resolution of the grievance and give the decision in writing to the student and faculty member within 10 days. The decision is final and not subject to further appeal.

Notes

1. Academic evaluations which are subject to this policy include grading, actions arising from incidents of academic dishonesty, the withholding, and/or revocation of grade for academic reasons, and the withholding of or special notation on transcripts for academic reasons.
2. For purposes of this policy, "instructor" means any teacher or other individual authorized by Independent Study to academically evaluate students, or who has a legitimate need to know regarding the processing and disposition of an academic grievance.