Appeals - Rules and Regulations

Return to Academic Regulations 

• Rules and Regulations Appeals for administrative exceptions to academic rules and regulations — including such matters as exceptions to approved program loads, variation of the General Education Requirements: Core Requirement and the Foreign Language Requirement and other academic situations involving classwork — are heard in the Office of Student Services; appeals of the GER: Pluralism and Diversity Requirement are heard by the Senate Offices.
   
• General Education Requirement Any student wishing to formulate an appeal for substitutions or exemptions from a specific General Education Requirement (i.e., Core Requirement, Foreign Language Requirement or Pluralism and Diversity Requirement) as described below should do so through the General Education Requirement Appeals Committee of the Hunter College Senate, Room 1018E. (Note: Students who matriculated prior to fall 2001 and follow the regulations for the Distribution Requirement may also appeal to this committee.) The student must present clear evidence that:
  1. it is impossible for him/her to complete the requirement as specified in the catalog and
  2. he/she can offer an adequate substitute that meets the academic objectives of the requirement; such as:
     • The student must demonstrate that a “special topics” course he/she has taken fulfills the academic objectives of the requirement, though it has not yet been approved by the Hunter College Senate as fulfilling the requirement;
                                                               – or –
     • The student must demonstrate that a course transferred from another college or university adequately fulfills the academic objectives of the requirement.
        
• Grades When a student considers a final course grade unsatisfactory, the student should first confer with the instructor regarding the accuracy of the grade received. This conference should be held within the first three weeks of the semester following receipt of the grade. At this time, errors may be corrected. If the grade is not an error, the student and instructor must together review all class material pertinent to the grade. If the student is not satisfied or if the instructor does not confer with the student within the first three weeks of the semester, the student should promptly contact the department chair by submitting a written appeal, consisting of a statement giving the factual reasons and basis for the complaint. The student has the right to request in writing that the chair appoint a student as a member of the department/school Grade Appeals Committee. This appeal at the department/school level must be submitted within the first five weeks of the semester following receipt of the grade, in accordance with the “College-wide Grade Appeals Procedures” adopted by the Senate in fall 1985. Copies of this procedure may be obtained in the Senate Office, the Office of Student Services or departmental offices.Students appealing grades to the School of Nursing or the School of Health Sciences should direct their appeal to the director of the school. Students appealing grades to the School of Social Work should direct the appeal to the dean of the school, who shall carry out the responsibilities of the department chair.