Students have the right to appeal a decision made about a grade, or a faculty member or departmental decision that they believe negatively affects their progress toward their degree. The UNL Graduate Catalog outlines procedures for appealing grades and termination decisions. Per these Graduate Catalog policies, grade appeals must first be made to the course instructor, then to the Graduate Chair, then to the Dean of Graduate Studies. Appeals of termination decisions should be made to the Dean of Graduate Studies and UNL Graduate Council.

For grade appeals made to the Graduate Chair or any other appeal of a faculty or department-level decision, the following procedures will be followed:

  • The student should notify the Graduate Chair, in writing, of their wish to appeal a particular grade/decision. If the student is appealing a grade or decision made by the Graduate Chair, the student may instead direct their appeal to the Department Chair.
  • The Graduate Chair (or Department Chair) will convene a committee of three faculty members to gather information about the grievance and make a report and recommendation to the full graduate committee.
  • The graduate committee will consider the recommendation and make a judgment about the merit of the student’s appeal.
  • The Graduate Chair (or Department Chair) will notify the student of the decision.

Unless there are unusual circumstances, the graduate committee will make a decision about the grievance within four weeks of receiving the recommendation.