In the instance of a contested grade, the student must first approach the faculty member who gave the grade and request a review and change of grade. If the faculty member agrees to change the grade, then the faculty member has the responsibility to request a change of grade in the student’s official record. If the faculty member does not agree to change the grade, then the student may submit a request for a review and change of grade by initiating a Contested Grade request to support@dsi.edu.ai.
The student’s request for the review and change of grade must be in writing and must include all supporting evidence. Evidence must be in the form of written documents, e.g., graded projects, graded examinations, etc. Neither hearsay nor remembered conversations or oral instructions can or will be construed as evidence. This requirement places a concomitant obligation on faculty members who do not return papers, examinations, or projects to keep all papers, examinations, or projects which are used as a basis for grading on file until the appeal period is past.
Students should move promptly to initiate a Contested Grade request for a review. The request must be submitted within four (4) weeks of the first day of class of the term following that in which the contested grade was given. As noted above, the student must first approach the faculty member who taught the course in question. If, by the end of the third week, the matter has not been satisfactorily settled, the student has the responsibility to bring the matter before the end of the fourth week.
When a student submits a Contested Grade request, the faculty member will be asked to submit a statement in writing explaining their decision not to change the grade. The instructor should submit all evidence pertinent to the appeal, i.e., the basis for grading in that class and their relative weights, the grades earned by the student on each base, etc. Additional information from other pertinent sources may be sought or requested.
The Dean of the Design Studies will consider the evidence submitted by both the faculty member and the student and will base their decision on that evidence. The decision of the Dean shall be final and binding on both the student and the faculty member.
Students requesting review and change of a final grade from a Fail to Withdrawal for other than academic reason, e.g., because of illness, must first submit that request, in writing and with any supporting evidence, to support@dsi.edu.ai within one (1) week of receiving the Fail grade. The Dean will review the request and forward the request to the faculty member concerned. If the faculty member agrees to that request, the faculty member has the responsibility to request a change of grade in the student’s official record. If the faculty member who assigned the Fail is no longer a member of the faculty of the Design Studies Institute and cannot be reached for their approval after reasonable effort on the part of the Design Studies Institute, the Dean shall have the authority to make the final decision.
