No list of grievance types can cover all contingencies that might arise; however, this procedure should resolve the following types of grievances, which are among those expressed most often by students.
- Errors in calculating or recording quiz or other grades.
- Improper lowering of a grade based on an alleged violation of an attendance policy.
- Failure of a faculty member to follow College policies in conduct of classes or examinations.
- Capricious or unreasonable actions by a faculty member or administrator that intimidate students or adversely affect their performance.
- Failure of a faculty member to grade, return, and discuss assigned work within a reasonable time (e.g., before subsequent assigned work is scheduled for completion or before a subsequent examination).
- Failure of a faculty member to provide the student with copies of grading policies, course requirements, course procedures, and changes in announced policies without due notice and explanation.
Some types of grievances should not be brought to the committee, although they may be brought to the attention of the Division Director and, if necessary, the appropriate dean so that a continuing administrative effort may be made to ameliorate problems. Such grievances should be addressed through the General Complaint and Grievance Process in this handbook. Examples of these grievances include:
- Gross differences in grading by instructors teaching separate sections of the same course.
- Personal habits of the instructor that distract students in their attempts to learn course material.
- Fine distinctions in grading (e.g., the line between an A and a B, or between a D and an F) may be appealed only to the instructor.
- Unannounced quizzes will not be considered a grievance, unless they are contrary to the class syllabus or information provided to the class by the instructor.