Student academic appeals are handled within the structure of the graduate degree program. The student should take the issue to the director of the graduate program or a designee for review and mediation. The director, or a designee, consults with all parties and proposes a resolution. If this is unsuccessful, the matter is referred to a faculty committee. The committee may consult with whomever it chooses in arriving at a recommendation in the matter and, in extraordinary cases, may ask third parties from among the faculty to review previous decisions by the faculty involved.
While action within the faculty is normally final, a student may appeal to the dean in cases where he or she feels that the process by which the program reached its decision was unfair. The case is then reviewed by the dean or the designee of the dean, whose decision is final.
