Help with Academic and Registrar Appeals

An appeal is a request to be granted an exception to a published policy due to an extenuating circumstance. All universities have various policies to help set procedures. We aim to make our policies as flexible as possible for our unique student body.

An appeal is not a negative mark on your record or academic reputation, and you should feel comfortable requesting an appeal when needed.

The Academic and Registrar Appeals Teams

Specialists in the University’s academic and registrar appeals teams are here to support your academic success and can assist you with appealing a university policy or procedure. Here’s what we do:

• Provide you with a fair, empathetic recourse to published university policies in the face of adversity
• Help you document all communications, requests, and outcomes for your records, and preserve an audit trail
• Check best practices and preserve both ethical and academic integrity
• Relay important instructions, information, and decisions
• Serve you with respect and conduct detailed and data-focused research for the purpose of your satisfaction and retention

Steps for Appeals

These are the basic steps for all appeals:

1. Student submits an appeal form via the ecampus
2. An appeals specialist reviews your inquiry and determines the best steps toward resolving your concerns
3. We will verify your eligibility to request the appeal and will email you if more information is required
4. Once all the required information is received, we will open a case and escalate your request to the appropriate authority for a final decision
5. We will communicate with you via your primary email address on file with the University, so be sure your contact information in the ecampus is up to date

We strive for expedience as often is possible, but we ask that you allow enough time for our teams to review, track, and follow up on your request.

Who Decides?

Appeals are decided upon by the appropriate academic authorities who carefully review your student request and records. We take each case very seriously and ensure that only the most appropriate individuals are reviewing and rendering appeal decisions.

The individuals who review appeals vary by each appeal type. For example, appeals such as suspensions, expulsions, or dismissals are reviewed by department directors, vice-presidents, or the university Provost. Grade appeals start with your Department Chair.

Note: Financial aid and transfer credit appeals are reviewed by those respective departments and cannot be reviewed by the academic or registrar appeals teams.

Your Documentation

Your privacy is of the utmost importance. Documentation sent to the appeals departments is received only via a secure document upload portal, email, or secure virtual fax. A digital copy of the document is then stored with restricted access. Documentation is not shared with third parties, other departments, faculty, or any other individuals unrelated to the appeal process unless requested by the student or required by court order.

All documentation received is considered property of the University and cannot be deleted or returned. Please retain copies of your documents for your own records.

We reserve the right to verify the authenticity of your documentation. Submitting false documentation to the University is grounds for expulsion, so please be diligent in reviewing the information sent to ensure it is accurate.

Contacting Academic or Registrar Appeals

The very best way to contact us with questions is to email [email protected] for faculty and classroom related matters, or [email protected] for administrative related matters. We do not take phone calls for appeals because we often need to relay your question to others on your behalf, which makes phone calls ineffective. To submit an appeal, you must do so using the appropriate online form. No appeals may be accepted via email unless otherwise directed. The Academic Appeal Request form is located under the University Forms section of the Academic Plan & Forms menu in your ecampus.

We understand that you might have a time-sensitive matter that requires our attention, and we will respond no later than 3 business days after your message is received. We will honor the date and time of your communication if received after business hours. If for any reason we anticipate delays to our expected reply, we update our auto-response confirmation so that any new inquiries will receive an immediate response indicating the nature of the delay.