Student Rights
PETITIONS TO THE FACULTY ACADEMIC POLICY APPEALS COMMITTEE
Petitions for exceptions to academic policy are filed at the Registrar’s Office. Subsequently, the petitions are for-warded to the Faculty Academic Policy Appeals Committee for consideration and possible action. The committee evaluates each student petition individually and considers the specific circumstances presented. Students are notified in writing regarding Faculty Academic Policy Appeals Committee decisions. Those who receive a negative response to a petition have the right to request the registrar to arrange for a personal appearance before the ap-peals committee.
Academic Grievance Policy
Purpose and Intent
In the normal conduct of education at Woodbury University, grievances may arise with respect to the alleged violation of University, college, or department academic policies or procedures. Woodbury University is committed to resolving these grievances in a fair, orderly, and expeditious manner. To that end, the University has established procedures beginning at the department level for settling academic grievances involving students.
An academic grievance refers to an action taken against a student by a member of the faculty, a part-time instructor, a teaching assistant, or an administrator that allegedly either violates a University, college, or department academic policy or procedure, or prejudicially treats the student on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gen-der expression, age, handicap, veteran status, or any other non-academic status not covered under the University policy with respect to sexual harassment or other relevant University policies.
An academic grievance refers to an action taken against a student by a University employee that allegedly violates academic policy or prejudicially treating the student on the basis of non-aca-demic status, such as race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, handicap, and veteran status. This does not cover alleged actions un-der University policies with respect to sexual harassment or other relevant University policies, it only covers alleged actions dealing with academic policy. For information on sexual misconduct please refer to the Title IX policy located here.
Because assigning a grade or evaluating a student's work performance involves the faculty's professional judgment and is an integral part of the faculty's teaching responsibilities, disagreement with an instructor concerning a grade or evaluation is not a justifiable grievance to be considered under this policy unless factors such as those mentioned above can be shown to have affected that grade or evaluation. For grades that have been miscalculated, please refer to the Grade ap-peal process administered through the Registrar.
Statement of Policy
A review of the facts and events pertinent to the academic grievance's cause will be accomplished in a collegial, non-judicial atmosphere rather than an adversarial one, so that all parties involved may participate. All parties will be expected to act in a professional and civil manner.
Definition of Terms
“Academic grievance” is a claim by an enrolled student receiving academic credit for a course in which a specific academic decision or action (such as the assignment of a final grade) has violated published policies and procedures, or has been applied to the grievant in a manner different from that used for other students.
“Burden of proof” shall be upon the student. The student challenging the decision, action, or final grade assigned has the burden of supplying evidence that proves using a preponderance of the evidence standard that the instructor’s decision was prejudiced based on one or more of the categories of non-academic status listed above.
“Dean” shall mean dean of the Faculty: Personnel, or the equivalent as indicated—or a "dean's designee" appointed to handle the case should the dean need to recuse themselves.
“Department chair” shall mean the academic head of a department or the coordinator of a pro-gram—or a "department's designee" appointed to handle the case should the department chair need to recuse themselves.
“Instructor” shall mean any classroom instructor, thesis/dissertation/directed, or independent study supervisor or the dean or supervisor that imposes the final academic decision.
“Jurisdiction” – Where the course (not the student’s registration status) is housed (i.e., payment of faculty salary for the course) determines the appropriate forum (college/school or department) where the grievance will be addressed. The grievance outcomes should be shared with the college or school and department (program director or chair of the student’s major). If there is a joint program or it is unclear where jurisdiction shall fall, the Sr. Vice president of Academic Affairs (SVPAA) (or designee) may be consulted to identify the appropriate forum for the grievance.
If a student is dismissed from a course or program, that forum may make an additional recommendation for a more comprehensive sanction across the University directly to the VPAA. In the event, there is a University-level dismissal by the VPAA, and a student wishes to appeal that system-level action, the president may designate an administrative officer to review that appeal and make a final determination.
“Advisor” – The parties have the right to an advisor of their choosing, which may include attorneys. Typically, advisors are members of the campus community, but the parties may select whomever they wish to serve as their advisor. The advisor may not make a presentation or represent the party bringing the grievance or responding individual at a departmental level, formal grievance appeal college level meeting. They may confer quietly with their advisee, exchange notes, clarify procedural questions with the chair, and suggest questions to their advisee.
“Time(s) or Day(s)” shall mean “academic time, “that is, the periods of academic session to include the days the University is open for business and delivery of academic services exclusive of holidays, emergency closings or other days where the office or academic delivery of services is closed. The person vested with authority at the appropriate level may extend any periods contained herein for good cause. Any extensions must be communicated in writing to all parties. For this policy's purposes, each step shall be afforded three weeks as a standard time limit.
“Written communication” shall mean communication by email to the recipient’s Woodbury official email address of record or email communication using assigned Woodbury email addresses.
Scope
Academic grievances will not deal with general student complaints.
An academic grievance must include a reference to a violation of a specific Woodbury policy, or an academic decision that was applied differently to the grievant than that of other students to be considered under this policy.
Disagreement or issues with individual test grades, responses to exam questions, or general disagreement with the academic discretion or professional judgment of instructors, (defined below as including all levels of academic administrators for purposes of this policy) will not be considered grounds for an academic grievance, except where they impact the final grade.
If a student has a concern with regard to an individual assignment and would like some formal consideration, the student should contact the instructor to discuss the issue and submit it as a general complaint in writing to the instructor. If the student and instructor cannot resolve the complaint, the student may forward the complaint to the instructor's immediate supervisor. That supervisor shall review the claim and respond to both the student and the instructor. If the super-visor identifies a need for a review by another office or process, the supervisor may make an additional referral.
Dismissals based on University protocols, such as failure to maintain GPA, probation for aca-demic performance, or other automatic administrative actions are not subject to this process.
Only the final grades assigned in a course, final actions or dismissals by the academic unit fall within the scope of this policy.
A grievance may only be submitted by the student impacted by the reporting event.
Process Steps
Students are required to follow the process steps outlined below in the order, and without omission, they are presented.
Resolution Process at the Course or Department Level
If the grievance concerns the chairperson/director or other department officials, the student has a right to bypass the departmental process and proceed directly to the college/school level.
1. The student shall first make a reasonable effort to resolve the grievance with the instructor concerned, with the date of the incident triggering the start of the process (i.e., the issuance of a final grade). If the instructor determines it is feasible and may be productive, the instructor shall accommodate a reasonable request to discuss and attempt to resolve this issue.
2. If the situation cannot be resolved or a meeting with the instructor is not feasible, the student must submit a grievance petition within three weeks of the triggering incident to both the department chairperson/director and dean.
a. The grievance petition must be in writing and contain:
i. The grievant(s)’s name, student identification number (if applicable), and contact information, including email address
ii. The name(s) of the respondent(s)
iii. A detailed description of the nature of the grievance and the actual harm suffered by the student
iv. A detailed description of attempts at informal resolution
v. A detailed description of the relief sought
vi. Signature of the grievant(s)
vii. Date of grievance submission
3. The department chairperson or program coordinator must determine if the matter is an Academic Grievance (a specific policy violated, or a student treated differently than others)
4. If the chairperson/ or program coordinator determines that the matter is not an Academic Grievance, the chairperson or program coordinator will discuss the matter with the student and/or the faculty member and must advise the dean of the matter and the recommended resolution if any. The dean will then review the classification of the matter as not subject to the academic grievance process and advise the student and faculty member of the dean’s decision in writing, which may be to do one or more of the following:
a. Implement the recommendation of the chairperson or program coordinator (which can include dismissal of the matter).
b. Reject the classification and move the matter forward as an academic grievance.
c. Make referrals as appropriate to Human Resources or employee supervisor/office for intervention.
5. If the chairperson/coordinator determines the matter is an academic grievance, the chair-person shall provide a copy of the student’s grievance petition statement to the instructor. The instructor may file a written response to the grievance, and the process will continue.
6. The department chairperson or program coordinator shall discuss the student’s grievance as referenced above jointly or individually with the student and the instructor to deter-mine if the grievance can be resolved. If the grievance can be resolved, the chairperson or program coordinator shall provide a statement to the student and instructor and submit a copy to the dean.
7. If the grievance cannot be resolved at this stage of the process, the department chair or program coordinator shall, within three weeks, notify both the student and the instructor, informing the student of their right to make a written request to the chair or program coordinator within three weeks of the notification to advance the grievance to a formal grievance appeal. Upon receipt of the student’s request to advance the grievance to the college level and the instructor’s response to the grievance (if provided), the chairperson or program coordinator shall immediately notify the dean, providing copies of the student’s grievance petition, any instructor’s written response to the grievance, and the writ-ten request from the student to have the process advanced to a formal grievance appeal (which shall include any additional student responses and a final statement). Should the student not file a written request to advance the grievance to a formal grievance appeal within the prescribed time, the grievance will end.
Formal Grievance Appeal to College Level
Upon receipt of the grievance, the dean will review the matter to confirm that it is an academic grievance. If the dean determines the matter is not an academic grievance, they may dismiss it (which is a final University decision) and notify all parties in writing. If the dean determines that it is an academic grievance, the dean shall, within three weeks, establish an Academic Grievance Committee. The process steps are outlined below.
1. The members of the committee shall include two faculty members and one student (undergraduate or graduate as appropriate to the case) shall be selected by the dean.
2. The committee shall not include members of the faculty or students directly involved with the grievance, nor will it include faculty or students if a conflict of interest or bias exists.
3. Upon request, the student and/or instructor may meet with the committee to make a statement concerning the grievance. Only the committee may invite additional parties, such as faculty or students from the department involved with the grievance or the student's major department or other outside parties to provide expert or other relevant information. The student or instructor may be present during the other's statement and may hear the additional information provided by other individuals; however, neither may be present during the committee's deliberations. Meeting times and locations are to be set by the committee and the dean will provide the student and instructor with at least three days’ prior written notice of the meetings that they are invited/permitted to attend. Absent good cause, the failure or an inability of the student or instructor to at-tend a meeting will not result in the meeting to be rescheduled or canceled.
4. If the student or instructor attends the meeting, they may be accompanied by an advisor. The parties may not initiate contact regarding or relating to the grievance processor outcome with any member of the committee outside of this established process be-fore, during, or after the committee review process. Any such contact by the student may be considered a violation of the Student Code of Conduct.
5. The committee will operate in the following manner:
a. The dean will act as the committee chairperson. The chairperson shall be responsible for scheduling meetings, overseeing the deliberations of the committee, and ensuring that full and fair consideration is provided to all parties. The chairperson shall vote on committee decisions only when required to break a tie.
b. All deliberations shall be in private and held confidential by all members of the committee. The recommendation of the committee shall be based on their interpretation of the evidence presented to it.
c. Within one week of the committee decision, the chairperson shall provide the decision in writing to all parties (the student, instructor, and department chair/pro-gram director, and the dean).
d. The committee’s decision is a final decision and not appealable by the instructor or student.
Outcomes
The University reserves the right to determine the outcome based on the procedures detailed herein. In the event a grievance moves to a formal college/school grievance appeal, all records will be sent to the Registrar's Office for retention based on established document retention policies.
Student Access to Records Under the Privacy Act
The Family Educational Rights to Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. These rights include:
● The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the University receives a request for access. An exception to this general provision is that confidential letters of recommendation placed in the files of the Office of Admission or Career Services files prior to January 1, 1975, are considered “closed” files. Individuals may decide whether to waive the right to view letters of recommendation placed in their files after January 1, 1975. If so, written notice to this effect must be placed in the file.
a. Students should submit to the registrar, dean, head of the academic department, or other appropriate official, written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The University official to whom the request was submitted shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.
● The right to request amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes are inaccurate.
a. Students may ask the University to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate. They should write the University official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record that they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate.
b. If the University decides not to amend the record as requested, the student will be notified of the decision and advised of the right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding hearing procedures will be provided to students when notified of the right to a hearing.
● The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in students’ education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
a. One exception, which permits disclosure without consent, is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the University in an administrative, supervisory, academic/research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom the University has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Trus-tees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing tasks.
● A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in or-der to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.
● Upon request, the University discloses education records without consent to officials of other schools into which a student seeks or intends to enroll, prospective employers, or licensing boards.
● The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the University to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The office that administers FERPA may be contacted here:
Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-4605
Note: The University has the right to designate certain information, including each student’s name, address, email address, telephone number, date and place of birth, major field of study, enrollment status, class level, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, and the most recent previous institution attended by the student as “directory information” for the purposes of alumni, business directories, student directories, etc. Woodbury University does not publish directory information; however, we will release information to certain third parties, such as prospective employers or other educational institutions. If any current Woodbury University student does not want such information disclosed under any circumstances, he or she must notify the Registrar’s Office in writing of the specific information not to be released.