Grade Appeals

Great Basin College respects an instructor’s qualifications and upholds the right of an instructor to determine academic standards. With faculty approval, an instructor establishes the scope, objectives, and methodology of the course being taught, and is responsible for informing you of the requirements for completion of the course of study in the class. The instructor evaluates student performance according to written grading criteria made available to you at the beginning of the class. Should student have questions about your grade or the instructor’s professional behavior, you must follow these published procedures. Failure to initiate these written procedures within 30 calendar days of the occasion of complaint will result in the forfeiture of your right to challenge a grade or lodge a complaint against an instructor.

These are the steps you must take:

Step One: You must first communicate with your instructor to discuss your complaint and attempt satisfactory resolution. If successful, no further action need be taken.

Step Two: If unsuccessful, you, the student, write a letter to the Chair of the instructor’s department (this information is available at the Admissions and Records Office in Elko or from your GBC Center) requesting a meeting between you, the instructor, and the Department Chair. The Department Chair will respond within 15 days of receipt of your written request and establish a mutually agreeable date and time for the resolution meeting. After hearing both sides, the Department Chair will recommend a solution. Acceptance of this solution by both parties ends the complaint procedure and no further action will be taken. (Note: In the event that the instructor is also the Department Chair, you will write your request for a resolution meeting to the Chair of the Faculty Senate. The Senate Chair or a designee of the Senate Chair will fulfill the responsibilities of a Department Chair as outlined above.)

Step Three: Failure of Step Two requires a written complaint to be submitted to the Academic Standards Committee of the Faculty Senate. (This will be done for you, at your request, by the Department Chair or the Senate Chair or designee. This action must be accomplished within five days of the failure of Step Two.) Within 15 days of receipt of the written complaint, the Academic Standards Committee will arrange for you and the instructor to be heard before a full or quorum meeting of the Academic Standards Committee; the Chair involved in Step Two will be in attendance if deemed necessary by you or the instructor. Within 15 days of this hearing the Chair of the Academic Standards Committee will provide you with a written solution or recommendation for further action to resolve the issue. Additionally, copies will be given to the instructor and the Department Chair or Senate Chair designee (as appropriate).

Step Four: If the issue is still unresolved to the satisfaction of either party, a written request of review must be lodged in the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs within three calendar days of issuance of the Academic Standards Committee’s recommendations. The Vice President for Academic Affairs will, after review investigation, issue a written decision which will be final.

Note: During summer months,faculty may not be available to complete the appeal process. The student still must initiate the appeal within 30 calendar days of the end of the semester, but it is possible that an appeal relating to spring semester may not be resolved until fall semseter.

For More Information Contact

Great Basin College 
1500 College Parkway 
Elko, Nevada (USA) 89801 

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Why Great Basin College

Great Basin College wants to be your choice for higher education. GBC offers associate and baccalaureate level instruction in career and technical education and academic areas. About 4,000 students are enrolled annually online from across the country and on campuses and centers across 86,500 square miles, two time zones, and ten of Nevada's largest counties. We border Arizona, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and California. We are GBC!