COSTUMBRES, TRADICIONES Y TURISMO

Academic grievances are generally defined as those (a) involving procedures, policies, and grades in courses, (b) those involving major, minor, o r program (graduate or undergraduate) degree requirem ents, (c) those involving general undergraduate university graduation requirem ents such as general education, total credit, or residency requirem ents, o r (d) graduate degree requirem ents such as total credit or residency requirem ents. Filing o f a grievance is required by the

end o f the following regular sem ester after notification o f grade or receipt of adverse decision. Appeals o f decisions m ust take place 30 days after receipt of notification.

a. Resolution o f an academ ic grievance involving procedures, policies, and grades in individual courses. The resolution o f academ ic grievances is based o n two principles, first, that the resolution o f a grievance should b e sought at the lowest possible level, and second, that pathways for appeal exist for both faculty and students. Resolution should b e pursued as follows:

1. An appeal to the instructor.

2. If the grievance is not resolved to the student’s satisfaction, a further appeal could b e m ade to the unit head (or unit head equivalent for purposes of grievance — see below), w ho may request that the appeal be put in writing. Both the student and the faculty m em ber will be notified in writing o f the unit h ead’s (or equivalent) decision.

3. If the disposition by the unit h ead (or equivalent) is not acceptable to either party, an appeal, in writing, may be m ade by either party to the dean o f the division o r autonom ous school. If the dean feels that there is som e merit in th e written grievance, he o r she shall establish a com m ittee to review the grievance and m ake a recom m endation within 60 days to the dean. Such a com m ittee shall include a representative of the d ea n ’s office, a faculty representative from the division o r autonom ous school o f the course under appeal, and a student representative. U pon receiving the com m ittee’s rec­ om m endation in the latter procedure, the dean shall rule on the grievance. Both the student and the faculty m em ber will be notified in writing of the d ea n ’s decision.

4. If the disposition by the dean is not acceptable to either party, an appeal, in writing, may b e m ade to the Provost. The Provost’s review and judgment in the case will be final. Both the student and the faculty m em ber will be notified in writing o f the Provost’s decision.

In cases w here the faculty m em ber in question also serves as the unit head (or unit h ead equivalent for purposes of grievance), the d ean shall appoint a suitable faculty m em ber from the division or autonom ous school to function as unit head for purposes of grievance. In a similar fashion, if the faculty m em ber in question also serves as dean, the Provost shall appoint a faculty m em ber to act as the unit head for purposes o f grievance. If an appeal is sought in this latter case, it will go directly to the Provost.

The organization o f divisions and autonom ous schools differ, so that some organizational units may not have a unit h ead w ho fulfills the duties de­ scribed for a unit h ead in the Faculty H andbook. In these cases, subject to approval by the UAS, these schools will appoint a m em ber of the faculty to function as the unit h ead equivalent for purposes o f grievance,

b. Resolution o f an academ ic grievance involving fulfillment o f program, major, o r m inor degree requirem ents should b e pursued as follows: An appeal to the unit head (or unit head equivalent for purposes o f grievance — see (a) — or graduate program director. If the grievance is not resolved to the student’s satisfaction at this level, an appeal to the dean o f the division w ould be possible, in the sam e m anner as outlined in (a). Finally, a further appeal could b e m ade to the Provost as described in (a) above.

c. Resolution o f an academ ic grievance involving fulfillment o f general under­ graduate university requirem ents, such as general education, total credits, and residency requirem ents should be pursued as follows: A written appeal to the director o f the Academic Resource Center. If at this point the grievance is still not resolved to the student’s satisfaction, a further written appeal could be m ade to the Provost. In this case, the Provost shall establish a committee to review the grievance and m ake a recom m endation within 60 days. Such a com mittee shall include a representative o f the Provost’s office, a faculty representative related to the student’s major, and a faculty representative from outside the student’s division. Upon receiving the com m ittee’s recom m enda­ tion, the Provost will render a final judgm ent in the case.

d. Exceptions to institutional graduate degree requirem ents sought by individual students will be determ ined by the D ean and the Provost.

The student filing the grievance may have an observer from the Dean of Students Office or a person o f his or her choice attend any m eeting at which the student appears. The faculty m em ber involved in the grievance may have an observer of his o r her choice attend any m eeting at which the faculty m em ber appears.