Graduate Student Appeal Policy and Procedure

The purpose of the Grade Appeal Policy is to provide the student with a safeguard against receiving an unfair FINAL grading, while respecting the academic responsibility of the instructor. The procedure of grade appeal submission is as follows:

Step 1: Student who wishes to question about final grading must discuss the issue firstly with the instructor within 5 working days after receiving the grade. In most cases, the discussion between the student and the instructor should suffice and the issue will be concluded. The student should be aware that the only valid basis for grade appealing beyond this first step is to demonstrate that an inappropriate grade was assigned as a result of prejudice, arbitrary consideration or other improper conditions such as mechanical/management error.

Step 2: If the student’s concerns remain unresolved after the discussion with the instructor, the student may submit Grade Appeal Review Form to the Program Director within 5 working days after discussion with the instructor. The Program Director will meet within the timeframe with the student, and, if he or she believes that the complaint may have merit, with the instructor. The Program Director will communicate the result of these discussions to the student.

If the issue remains unresolved after Step 2, the student may submit a Grade Appeal Form (CR35) to the Office of the Registrar, Faculty of Medicine to request an ad hoc consideration of the appeal. The form must be filed within 30 working days after grade announcement day in each semester (shown in academic calendar or after the dean’s additional grade approval). Any appeal filed after the set time will not be accepted.

Step 3: The ad hoc committee will examine the case and may gather additional information as deemed necessary. If the committee concludes that the grade was assigned in a fair and appropriate manner, the written conclusion will be sent to the student and instructor. In the case that there are compelling reasons for changing the grade, a request to the instructor will be made in writing.

If the conclusion of the committee is not satisfied by the student or instructor, the University legal advisors may be consulted to resolve the matter.