Grades and Grading Policies

Grade Appeals for Undergraduate Students in University of Maine Courses

(as approved by the University of Maine Faculty Senate on May 13, 2026)

Purpose and Scope

This policy provides a means for a student to contest a final course grade received in an undergraduate course when the student alleges the grade is arbitrary. It is the shared responsibility of the instructor of record (hereinafter referred to as “instructor”), student, department/unit or program (hereinafter referred to as “department”), and school/college to resolve allegations of arbitrary grading. Please note: only undergraduate courses that are offered through the University of Maine are covered by the policy.

Definitions and Standards

Grading is the prerogative of the instructor and is based upon a student’s performance against a clearly articulated set of assignments, expectations, and standards. If the grade in question was assigned by a teaching assistant or a graduate grader, the supervising faculty member should represent the TA/graduate assistant in the appeal process.

Arbitrary grades are defined as those:

that reflect a demonstrable error in the awarding of a grade (arithmetic errors, mistaken entries, etc.),
assigned to a student on some basis other than performance in the course that reflects a substantial deviation from the grading criteria outlined in the course syllabus for the section in which the student was enrolled,
assigned to a student by resorting to unreasonable standards different from those which were applied to other students in that section of the course and are at variance with the course syllabus,
assigned to a student based on criteria that are substantial, unreasonable, and unannounced departures from the instructor’s previously articulated standards stated in the course syllabus,
assigned without regard to an agreement made in writing to change a grade.

Issues that do not meet one or more of these criteria of arbitrariness are not appropriate bases for a grade appeal under this policy. Only final course grades may be formally appealed. If academic misconduct is at issue, university and system policy on that matter applies.

Timelines and Process

All appeals must be made in a timely manner. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, the student must begin the process for contesting the course grade within two weeks of the official posting of the grade.

Step 1: Informal Resolution

Before filing a formal appeal, a student must attempt to resolve the matter informally by meeting with the instructor responsible for the grading of the course to discuss the student’s concerns. The student should clearly indicate in writing their concerns and request a meeting. An instructor should respond to that notification within two business days of receipt, and a mutually agreeable time to meet to discuss the grade should be arranged. If the grade in question was assigned by a teaching assistant or a graduate grader, the student may opt to discuss the matter with the supervising faculty, the with teaching assistant or graduate grader present.

The student is responsible for bringing copies of all relevant information to the meeting (i.e., course syllabus, assignment sheet, their own graded work, including disclosure of on time or late submission). The student should be prepared to show evidence of arbitrary grading. The instructor is expected to discuss the student’s concerns and to explain the basis for determining the grade. A written summary from the instructor of their understanding of the issues and the outcome of the conversation with the student should be made available to the student within two business days following the meeting.

If the instructor has left the university, is on approved leave, or does not respond to the student within two business days of receipt of notice by the student, the student should contact the chair of the department offering the course. The program director, or the dean or dean’s designee (hereinafter “the dean”) are appropriate contacts if the unit does not have a chair.

Step 2: Filing a Formal Appeal

If the student and the instructor are unable to arrive at a mutually agreeable solution, the student may file a formal appeal with the chair or dean’s office.

To begin the process of formal appeal, the student must submit previously submitted documentation to the department chair (including the instructor’s written summary) along with a written statement that details the basis for the allegation of arbitrary grading, why they believe informal resolution was not agreed to, and present any evidence that supports the argument that course requirements were met at a level necessary to exceed the assigned grade or where demonstrable examples of bias have occurred. This documentation should be shared with the instructor whose grade is being appealed.

Step 3: Initial Review and Dismissal

The chair and the student will meet to discuss the appeal process and the strength or weakness of the evidence the student has presented. Because the outcome of the appeal may affect a student’s standing in a subsequent course or have other repercussions (such as the status of degree completion), the chair should endeavor to arrange this meeting as soon as possible after receipt of the appeal. If the chair finds no evidence of arbitrary grading, the appeal is dismissed. A chair’s decision should be made no later than two business days subsequent to their meeting with the student. The student may appeal within 10 calendar days of the chair’s decision to the dean. The dean may uphold the dismissal, thereby ending the appeal process, or return the case to the chair for panel review. Either decision should be made within two business days, and the dean will inform the student and the instructor of their decision in writing.

Step 4: Ad Hoc Panel Review

If the appeal is not dismissed and the student wants to continue with the appeal process, the chair will convene an ad hoc panel of at least two faculty members who are at a rank equal to or superior to that of the instructor; at least one of the panel members must be drawn from outside the department in which the grade is being appealed. If a unit is unable to appoint a colleague at equal or greater rank who is not currently serving on the Peer Committee (panel composition should not overlap with the Peer Committee of the instructor whose grade is being appealed) both panel members may come from a unit other than the department offering the course whose grade the student is appealing. Care should be taken to avoid any conflicts of interest and implicit bias.

The panel will be provided with all previous documentation. Any new documentation provided by the student should be shared with the instructor, with an invitation for the instructor to reply to the new documentation in writing within two business days. The panel must provide a copy of the instructor’s response to the student within two business days of its receipt. Once introduced into the record, documentation may not be removed by any party to the appeal.

Step 5: Remedies and Final Disposition

The panel will review the documentation in the case. Normally, the panel’s review will be a “paper review,” but if it deems it necessary, the panel may interview the student and the instructor. If they are to be interviewed, generally, students and instructors are expected to present their evidence and make their cases in front of each other. Students may bring a support person with them to the meeting with the panel, but the support personal shall not be permitted to speak except quietly to the student. The panel will report its determination in writing to the chair. If the committee finds that arbitrary grading has occurred, the report must include two or more alternative remedies to be implemented by the chair. These remedies must represent the best interests of the student and must include one of the following:

Re-grading by another, qualified, disinterested member of the faculty.
Presenting the panel’s decision to the instructor and allowing the instructor the opportunity to change the grade if they see fit.
Opening a enw section of the class, transferred the student’s enrollment to it, setting the grading basis to Pass/Fail Required and awarding a grade of “Pass”. If this remedy is selected as in the best interest of the student, the “Pass” that results from a finding of arbitrary grading will be permitted to count toward any and all degree requirements.

Other remedies may also be recommended.

No administrator may overrule an instructor’s grade without a panel finding of arbitrary grading. Only the remedies recommended by the panel are available to the chair. The chair may respond to panel requests for input, but is expected to respect the panel’s independence. The chair should communicate the panel’s findings and the final decision to the student and instructor in writing within two business days of receiving the panel’s final report.

A formal grade grievance must be settled as promptly as possible, and every effort should be made to resolve the matter within five weeks of the filing of the formal appeal with the chair.

Students who file an appeal of a grade under the policy must abide by the final disposition of the appeal and may not seek review of the matter under any procedure within the university.

Every effort should be made to avoid conflicts of interest and implicit bias. Participants in the review process must identify and report potential conflicts of interest to the next higher administrative level. The next higher-level administrator is responsible for ensuring that conflicts of interest do not compromise the appeal process and for appointing substitutes as needed to ensure the process’s fairness. Under no circumstances may an instructor accused of arbitrary grading serve on the committee that evaluates the charge. If the instructor is the chair, then the student should consult with the dean. If the instructor is the dean, then the student should consult with the provost or provost’s designee.

The Policy on Grade Appeals respects the confidentiality of students and instructors and holds all parties in any dispute, including support persons and panel members, responsible for upholding confidentiality.

Attendance

The overall policy of the University is that students are responsible for attending all class meetings for courses for which they are registered. Each instructor determines the specific attendance policy for the course and makes it known to students through the course syllabus and in class during the first week of classes. Instructors may assign a lower letter grade for failure to adhere to the attendance policy. Students sometimes miss classes because of ill health, family emergency, or other reason beyond their control. It is the student’s responsibility to notify instructors of the reasons for missing class and to make arrangements for making up missed work. If absences are extensive, even for legitimate reasons, it may be impossible to meet the objectives of the course. In such instances the instructor may assign a grade of Incomplete.

Grading System

The University of Maine uses a letter-grade system ranging from A to F. Faculty members have the option of adding + (no A+) and – grades to the basic letter grades, but such fine distinctions may be inappropriate for many courses. There is no University-wide equivalence between percentage grades and letter grades. Each instructor makes these determinations according to the grading system described in the course syllabus.

I, for “Incomplete.”

This grade means that, in consultation with the student, the instructor has postponed the assignment of a final grade to allow the student to complete specific work not turned in before the end of the semester. Instructors assign the “I” grade only when they are persuaded that events beyond the student’s control prevented the completion of assigned work on time and when the student has participated in more than 50% of the class. If the incomplete work is not submitted within the time allotted by the faculty member, the grade will automatically be changed to an “F” grade. Students receiving an “I” grade are not allowed to re-register for the same course until the incomplete has been made up or converted to an “F” grade. A student receiving an “I” grade may not make up missed work by sitting-in on the course the next time it is taught.

Undergraduate students:

Upon selecting the “I” grade during the grade input process, the instructor will be prompted to provide information related to the incomplete grade including:

1. A description of the assignment(s) needed to complete the course requirements and have the “I” replaced by a regular grade.

2. Grade reflecting quality of the work submitted to date.

3. The date by which work is to be completed. The maximum time allowed is 160 days from the end of the semester in which the class was held. The “end of the semester” is defined as the final day that grades may be submitted. [Exceptions to this rule are rare and allowed only with the formal approval of the faculty member, the faculty member’s department chairperson or school director, and the associate dean of the faculty member’s college. The formal process for requesting extensions requires the completion of the Extension for Incomplete form. The extension is not to exceed one year from the original end of the semester in which the course was taken.]

Once the grade is posted the details of the Incomplete Contract are available to the student in MaineStreet.

Graduate students:

Incomplete grades, unless made up during the period before the degree is awarded, will remain as I’s on the student’s transcript. Each department offering a course may establish additional requirements for alteration or completion of an incomplete grade. Official grading policy information for Graduate students is available in the Graduate Catalog at http://gradcatalog.umaine.edu/

L, Failure for lack of participation.

This grade indicates that a student participated in less than 50% of the class, but did not formally withdraw from the course. This grade counts the same as an F.

University Authorized Absences

Students occasionally miss a class because of participation in an authorized, official function of the university (e.g., varsity athletics, band, drama, etc.). Instructors should allow students the opportunity to make up work missed as a result of authorized absences. Students must notify instructors in advance of such absences, and should provide them authorized-absence slips signed by the appropriate director or academic dean.

Office of Student Records