ACADEMIC GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS

The Graduate School of the University of Arkansas recognizes that there may be occasions when a graduate student, as a result of dissatisfaction with some aspect of his or her academic involvements, has a grievance.

It is a declared objective of this University that such a graduate student may have prompt and formal resolution of his or her personal academic grievances and that this be accomplished according to orderly procedures. To this end are hereby established and stated below the procedures to be utilized when a graduate student has a grievance concerning some aspect of his or her academic involvement.

Definition of Terms

Graduate Student - Under this procedure, a graduate student is any person who has been formally admitted into the Graduate School of the University of Arkansas and who is/was enrolled as a graduate-level student at the time the alleged grievance occurred.

Grievance - A grievance means a dispute concerning some aspect of academic involvement arising from an administrative or faculty decision which the graduate student claims is unjust or is in violation of his or her rights established through formal prior agreement. "Grievance" under this procedure shall include all alleged violations of the affirmative action plans of the University as related to academic policies and regulations, as well as disputes over grades, graduate assistantship employment agreements, course requirements, graduation/degree program requirements, and thesis and dissertation committee and/or advisor decisions.

Decision - A "decision" means a written determination that the grievance issue or issues were, or were not, in violation of the graduate student's legitimate expectations of fair practice and/or academic rights. An analysis of the issues and the reasons for the determinations shall be included in the written decision. If a dissatisfied party finds either the decision or the response to a decision unsatisfactory, he/she may appeal that decision or the lack of an effective response to a decision, to the next level of review as stated in these "Procedures." Decisions are to be considered as recommendations and are not binding on the parties involved.

Appeal - An "appeal" is made when one of the parties to the grievance is dissatisfied with the most recent decision and wishes to have the grievance considered at the next level of review as outlined in these "Academic Grievance Procedures." All appeals must be made within ten working days of the dissatisfied party's receipt of that decision and must be made by means of a written request presented by the dissatisfied party to the person whose decision is being appealed. It is then the responsibility of the person whose decision is being appealed to forward the request for further review and all pertinent information to the person(s) being appealed to, at the next level of review.

Working Days - Working days shall refer to Monday through Friday, excluding official University holidays.

These procedures confer authority to include with a grievance, or within a recommendation or decision concerning the grievance, any amendment, deletion, addition to or modification in or to existing department, Graduate School, or University academic regulations, policies and practices as such. Any such recommendation or request for consideration of existing departmental, Graduate School, or University academic regulations, policies, and practices should be forwarded in writing to the appropriate University committee or office, and should include reference to the grievance which may have prompted such recommendation or request.

Procedure

Individuals should attempt to resolve claimed grievances first with the person(s) involved, within the department, and, wherever possible, without resort to formal grievance procedures. A graduate student having a grievance regarding academic concerns is entitled to have the issue considered in the following manner:

1. The graduate student discusses the grievance with the department head, chairperson, or other immediate administrative superior of the department in which the alleged violation has occurred (hereafter called "the respondent"), and, if pertinent, with any relevant departmental faculty member or committee. If the grievance is not resolved to the satisfaction of all parties concerned by discussions at the departmental level, the graduate student is encouraged to discuss it with the academic dean of the college in which the alleged violation has occurred (hereafter called the "academic dean") and/or with the Dean of the Graduate School. If the grievance is satisfactorily resolved by any of the above discussions, the terms of the resolution shall be reduced to writing and signed by the graduate student, and respondent, the person(s) involved in the alleged violation, and the dean(s) if he/she was involved, if any of the involved parties desires to have such a written statement.

2. If the grievance is not resolved by the above discussions and the graduate student then chooses to pursue the matter further, the issue must be reduced to writing promptly by the graduate student and sent immediately to the respondent, who will forward copies to the Dean of the Graduate School (for information only) and to any person(s) involved in the alleged violation or named in the grievance. Within ten working days after receipt of the written statement, the person(s) involved in the alleged violation shall provide the respondent with a copy of his or her written response. Within ten working days of receipt of this response the respondent shall prepare a written decision on the matter and forward copies to the graduate student and to the person(s) involved in the alleged violation. The respondent is at liberty to and is encouraged to use any appropriate method of investigation, including personal interviews and/or referral to an appropriate departmental committee for recommendation.

3. If the grievance is not resolved satisfactorily by the decision of the respondent, the dissatisfied party (hereafter used to refer to either the graduate student or the person(s) involved in the alleged violation) may request to have the matter considered (or reconsidered), as described in either (3a) below, that is, by an appropriate departmental standing committee, if such a committee exists, or by the graduate faculty in that department, if such a committee does not exist; or in (3b) below, that is, to have the matter appealed to the Dean of the Graduate School, as described in (3b) below.

If a dissatisfied party chooses not to request consideration under (3b) (appeal to the Dean of the Graduate School) he/she relinquishes any further consideration under (3a).

Full departmental review is available to the dissatisfied party under Steps (2) and (3a), and persons making an appeal under these "Procedures" are strongly encouraged to use both of these options.

a. If the dissatisfied party requests it, the respondent shall at once refer the request, together with all statements, documents, and information gathered in his or her investigation, to the applicable departmental group (standing committee or all graduate faculty of the department). The reviewing body shall, within ten working days from the time its chairperson received the request for consideration, present to the respondent its written recommendations concerning resolution of the grievance. Within ten working days after receiving these recommendations the respondent shall provide all parties to the dispute with copies of the reviewing body's recommendation and his or her consequent written decision on the matter.

b. If the grievance is not resolved satisfactorily by the respondent's decision following Step 2 or Step 3 above, the dissatisfied party may appeal that decision to the Dean of the Graduate School. The Dean of the Graduate School, after consultation with the academic dean, shall determine whether the grievance should be referred to the academic dean or to a Graduate School ad hoc grievance committee. If the grievance is primarily concerned with matters over which the academic dean normally has direct responsibility, the appeal shall be referred to the appropriate academic dean. All other appeals will be considered by the Dean of the Graduate School through an ad hoc committee of graduate faculty.

4. Appeals referred to the academic dean. The academic dean shall make an effort to resolve the grievance in a mutually satisfactory manner, but in any event shall, within ten working days after receipt of the file, prepare a written decision on the matter and forward copies to the Dean of the Graduate School, the graduate student, the respondent, and the person(s) involved in the alleged violation. The academic dean may refer the matter to an appropriate college committee for advice. If such a referral is made, the ten-day period is extended to twenty working days. The committee may make a written report on the matter, in which case that report shall become part of the record which is included with the report on the dean's decision to the Dean of the Graduate School, the graduate student, the respondent, and the person(s) involved in the alleged violation.

If the grievance is not resolved satisfactorily through this appeal, the dissatisfied party may appeal the academic dean's decision to the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Such appeals must be submitted as described in (6), below.

5a. Appeals to be reviewed by the Dean of the Graduate School. Upon receipt of an appeal the Dean of the Graduate School shall, within ten days, appoint and convene an ad hoc Grievance Committee to investigate the matter and to make a decision regarding the appeal. The committee shall consist of the Dean of the Graduate School (or a designated representative) as chair, without vote; a secretary appointed without vote by the Dean of the Graduate School from among the voting members of the Graduate Council; and five members of the graduate faculty, two to be voting members of the Graduate Council and three to be selected at large, but excluding persons from the department in which the alleged violation has occurred, except in the case of grade appeals. The committee shall have access to witnesses and records, may take sworn testimony, and make a record by taping the hearing if it so desires. Its charge is to develop all pertinent factual information through informal inquiry in which fair procedures are used and, on the basis of this information, to issue a decision which either supports or rejects the appeal. The committee's written decision and a copy of its complete written record shall be forwarded to the person(s) making the appeal within twenty working days from the date the committee was first convened; copies shall be sent simultaneously to other parties involved in the grievance, to the dean of the college in which the alleged violation occurred and to the respondent; a copy shall be retained in the student's permanent Graduate School file.

b. When, and only when, the grievance concerns a course grade and the committee's decision is that the grade assigned by the instructor should be changed, the following procedure applies. The committee's decision that the grade should be changed shall be accompanied by a written explanation of the reasons for that decision and by a request that the instructor change the grade. If the instructor declines, he or she shall provide a written explanation for refusing. The committee, after considering the instructor's explanation and upon concluding that it would be unjust to allow the original grade to stand, may then recommend to the department chair that the grade be changed. The department chair will provide the instructor with a copy of the recommendation and ask the instructor to change the grade. If the instructor continues to decline, the department chair may change the grade, notifying the instructor, the graduate dean, and the student of the action. Only the department chair, and only on recommendation of the committee, may change a grade over the objection of the instructor who assigned the original grade. No appeal or further review is allowed from this action. All grievances concerning course grades must be filed within one calendar year of receiving that grade.

6. Campus Administration. If the grievance is not satisfactorily resolved through Step 5a, an appeal in writing and with all relevant materials may be submitted for consideration and a joint decision by the Chancellor of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Any appeal at this level shall be on the basis of the complete written record only. The Chancellor of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs shall make a decision on the matter within twenty working days from the date of receipt of the appeal. Their decision shall be forwarded in writing to the same persons receiving such decision in Step 5, including the Dean of the Graduate School. Their decision is final pursuant to the delegated authority of the Board of Trustees.