Grade Appeals and Other Grievances

Course Grade Appeals

Students who wish to appeal decisions about grades or other various academic matters should follow the procedures described in the Graduate Catalog. These appeals always begin with the course instructor for course grades or advisor for academic matters. If the initial appeal is denied, the student can appeal to the SECD Graduate Committee Chairperson. If denied again, the student can appeal to the UNL Dean of Graduate Studies. Final appeal would be to the UNL Graduate Council. All appeals are to be made within 30 days of notification (assignment or course grade posting, exam results).

For grievances regarding other matters, the steps below should be followed:

1. The student should seek to determine if the issue can be resolved with the faculty or staff member involved. 
2. If unresolved with the faculty or staff member, the student can choose to meet with the Department Chair. 
3. Formal grievances submitted in writing to the Department Chair will be handled as follows:
   1. Grievances that may involve regulatory issues (e.g., title IX, discrimination) will be reported to the appropriate office at the university.
   2. Grievances that may involve criminal activity will be reported to the university police.
   3. For other grievances, the Department Chair may:
      1. Mediate a meeting with the student and faculty/staff member;
      2. Form a committee of at least three faculty members to gather information and make a report and recommendation to the Chair. The Chair will communicate with the student regarding the outcome of the committee’s work.
4. Records will be maintained in the department office.
5. If the student does not feel that the grievance was adequately addressed at the department level, they may file a grievance with the Dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences. In this circumstance, the department will forward all available documentation to the Dean.

Program Violations

Reports for department violations of the accreditation standards outlined by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) can be submitted to the following address by mail:

CEC Standards Office
2900 Crystal Drive, Suite 1000
Arlington VA 22202-3557

Grievance Procedures

A student with a non-academic grievance should meet with the Department Chair. The Department Chair will offer the student the opportunity to document the grievance in writing. Depending on the grievance, the Department Chair may be required to report it to Title IX and/or UNL Police. The Department Chair will serve as the grievance panel for non-academic grievances, ones not needing to be reported to Title IX or UNL Police, and ones not involving legal issues.

If the student submits a written grievance, the Department Chair will talk with the faculty or staff member(s) mentioned in the grievance about the issue. The written grievance will be kept on file in the Department Office. If the student does not file a written grievance, the Department Chair will not take action.

After talking with the identified faculty or staff member(s), the Department Chair will have several options on how to proceed, including:

1. Reporting back to the student that the issue was addressed.
2. Mediating a meeting with the student and identified faculty or staff member(s).
3. Taking another action depending upon conversations with the student and identified faculty or staff member(s).

If the student does not feel the grievance has been adequately addressed, they may file a grievance with the Dean of the College of Education & Human Sciences. In this circumstance, the Department Chair will forward all available documentation to the Dean.