How to Appeal Your Grade in a Writing Program Course (Eng. 101, 101.10, 145, or 145.13)
If your instructor is still at Illinois State University:
Contact your instructor and arrange a meeting to discuss your grade. It is highly likely that your instructor will either be able to explain the grade to your satisfaction or be willing to re-evaluate your work and consider submitting a change of grade in light of that re-evaluation.
If, after meeting with your instructor, you are still dissatisfied with your grade, you may follow the procedure (below) for students whose instructors have left the university.
If your instructor has left Illinois State University:
You may appeal your grade by providing the following documentation to the Assistant Director of the Writing Program:
1. A complete copy of your portfolio:
- Hard copies which contain all drafts, peer and instructor comments, and revisions are best.
- Electronic copies which contain all drafts, peer and instructor comments, and revisions are also acceptable.
- Electronic copies which contain final drafts only will be accepted if the student provides a reasonable explanation of why s/he is unable to provide more complete information.
- PLEASE NOTE: the Course Guide notes the importance of keeping multiple copies of your portfolio.
2. A letter making a well reasoned argument for a change in grade:
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Your letter MUST include references to specific course goals and grading criteria as outlined in the Course Guide.
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Your letter MUST include references to specific portions of your portfolio which demonstrate that you have met the course goals and grading criteria.
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Your letter MAY include a concise description of your course experience, if relevant.
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Your letter MAY include a concise description of special circumstances which you feel should be taken into account as we re-evaluate your portfolio.
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Your letter MUST be word-processed.
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Your letter MUST provide an e-mail, home or campus address to which a response to your appeal may be sent.
Once you have submitted the proper documentation to the Assistant Director of the Writing Program, you can expect a response to your appeal within 5 working days. If your appeal is granted, a change of grade form will be submitted to the proper University office. If your appeal is denied, you may make a further appeal to the Director of Writing Programs by submitting the documentation listed above.
Before initiating the grade appeal process, please read the following statement carefully:
Students considering grade appeals should be aware that it is unusual for either the Assistant Director or the Director of Writing Programs to overrule an instructor's original assessment of a student's performance.
We feel strongly that an instructor who has spent an entire semester working with a student writer is the best judge of that student's performance. Moreover, while the evaluation of a student's writing may seem like a highly subjective task, experience and research tell us that most instructors' evaluations of student work fall within a very narrow grade range, attesting to the reliability and validity of most evaluations.
Finally, Illinois State University makes every attempt to provide its composition instructors with clear standards, training, and professional development opportunities which help to ensure that evaluation generally remains consistent throughout the Writing Program. Certainly you have every right to appeal a grade if you sincerely believe an error has been made, but you must understand that we do not take the appeal process lightly, nor do we change grades without good reason. If you have any questions about the information provided on this sheet or about the grade appeal process in general, please feel free to call Nancy McKinney, Assistant Director of the Writing Program, at 438-3396.
Nancy McKinney
nemckin@ilstu.edu
Assistant Director of the Writing Program
Office: 414E Stevenson Phone: 438-3396