Appeals Information for Students
What is an appeal?
An appeal is a review of a decision by an impartial committee
What kinds of decisions can be appealed?
Students may seek a review of a decision that has been made by the College, or an individual at the College, about academic and non-academic matters that impact their academic studies at Robertson
These decisions may include (but are not limited to):
● withdraw from a program
● a grade on an individual assessment
● a final grade in a course
● sanctions that are imposed on a student through the Disciplinary Action Policy and procedure
● tuition re-enrolment fees
● any other matter that affects the Student’s academic studies at Robertson
Decisions that are outside the scope of this policy and are not eligible for appeal:
● the content, format, or delivery of a course: this includes choice of curriculum, textbooks, instructional methods, and/or the scheduling of classes and exams as these are matters of academic and operational discretion
● decisions made by external regulatory agencies and/or accrediting bodies
● decisions with no basis or grounds for appeal
Grounds for Appeal
The first step is to ensure you have “grounds” for an appeal. Grounds are Specific, valid reasons that justify challenging or appealing a decision (rather than just disagreement with the decision). Examples of grounds for appeal include:
● Procedural Error: A significant error occurred in the academic decision-making process, and that error demonstrably affected the outcome. Examples include: Failure to follow published institutional or program policies related to grading, academic standing review, or withdrawal procedures.
● Bias or Discrimination: The decision was based on alleged prejudice, bias, or discrimination against the student on the basis of protected characteristics (e.g., race, religion, gender, disability), as defined by institutional policy or applicable law.
● Failure to Consider Significant Mitigating Circumstances: There were significant, unforeseen, and documented circumstances beyond the student's control that
prevented them from meeting academic requirements, and the decision-maker (e.g., the instructor or committee) was unaware of these circumstances or failed to adequately consider them
● New Evidence: Relevant and material evidence exists that was not reasonably available to the student at the time the original decision was made, and this evidence is significant enough that it likely would have altered the original decision
● Policy Misapplication: The applicable academic or program policy was applied incorrectly to the student's situation (eg, calculation errors, misinterpretation of requirements, or incorrect recording of results).
Note: Simple disagreement with an instructor's professional judgment or the stringency of a policy (e.g., “I worked hard and believe I deserve a higher grade”) is not a valid ground for appeal
Burden of Proof
You are responsible to provide clear, compelling, and relevant documentation and evidence to support your claim that one or more of the above grounds occurred Should grounds not be established, the Appeal Committee Chair reserves the right to cease the appeal process.
What is the appeal process?
There are two types of appeals processes: Informal resolution and formal appeal.
Informal Resolution:
- This is for decisions that can be resolved between the two parties involved.
- Some examples are: grade or assessment decisions.
- In these cases, you should notify the individual (for example, your instructor) within 5 business days of receiving the decision (or the grade)
- Attempts should be made to resolve the dispute informally through discussion
Formal Appeals Process:
- For decisions that cannot be resolved through the informal process
- Formal appeals can be initiated by completing the student appeals form.
- Submit the form within 5 business days from the date that the decision being appealed was issued.
- Keep a copy of all documents/evidence submitted as part of the Student Appeal of Decision process.
- Provide any documents you have received from the College as part of this process; these documents will be included as Evidence during the appeal process.
- You will be invited to attend a portion of the Appeals Meeting and you may accept or decline the invitation to participate in the meeting. You may choose to bring a support person to the meeting
- During the meeting, the Appeals Committee will review the Evidence and come to a decision
- The Appeals Committee must provide a written decision to you within 20 business days of notification of appeal
Refer to the Student Appeal Policy for more information. For questions about the appeals process, please email appeals@robertsoncollegeca