MSBS Student Appeals Policy

Students have the right to appeal disciplinary decisions under specific grounds outlined in this policy. All appeals of Student Affairs decisions must be submitted as outlined according to their policies and procedures. All appeals of MSBS Program (e.g. MSBS-SPC) decisions or course grades must be submitted in writing to the Program Director or their designee. If the Program Director made the decision or directed the course of which a grade is being appealed, the course grade appeal will be submitted to the Provost. Appeals must be submitted within five (5) business days following the receipt of sanctions or grade submission, with the day of initial notification counted as the first day. Appeals must be submitted via email, using the MSBS Student Appeals Template.

General Guidelines

• One-Time Appeal: Students are allowed only one opportunity to submit an appeal per case.
• Confidentiality: All appeal proceedings are strictly confidential and accessible only to parties directly involved in its facilitation, execution, and final decision-making. Access by any other stakeholder to these proceedings is strictly prohibited unless mandated by legal requirements
• Conditions for Appeal: An appeal may only be made based on one or more of the below exclusive grounds.
  1. New Information
     • There is new and significant applicable evidence that was not available at the time of the original disciplinary hearing.
     • Information is considered "new" if it was discovered after the student's initial hearing.
     • Information withheld or available during the original hearing will not be accepted as "new."
  2. Disparate Sanctions
     • The sanctions imposed are disproportionately severe compared to those issued for similar violations under similar comparable facts and circumstances, and with comparable expectations outlined in relevant policies and procedures pertaining to the current student and situation.
     • Appealing a faculty judgment decision, such as a performance rating on a rubric, does not qualify as “disparate sanctions” and is not permitted
  3. Procedural Error
     • A material procedural error occurred during the initial process or decision, which may have affected the outcome.
     • Examples include, but are not limited to, the student being denied an opportunity to present evidence when that opportunity is required, the institution not adhering to its established procedures, or course deviation from the syllabus without advanced notification.
  4. Unacceptable appeals include, but are not limited to the following:
     • Appealing specific set cutoffs or policies (though disparate sanction or procedural error regarding those cutoffs or policies is acceptable grounds for appeal)
     • Dislike of a policy, procedure, course structure, course grade, or assignment grade
     • Appeal requesting consideration of information withheld from the initial review
     • Tier status, tier recommendation, and Program Letter of Recommendations
  5. Unsubstantiated claims are not appealable

Appeal Review Process

• Submission Review: Upon receipt, the Program Director or the designated representative will conduct an initial review to determine if the appeal probably meets the outlined conditions, as defined by a perceived likelihood greater than 50%. The entity conducting the appeal has the right to deny the appeal without further review if it is determined that the outlined conditions are inadequately supported or probably not met in the appeal.
• If the appeal is found to have probable merit, an investigation will occur and an appeal meeting may be scheduled to further review the case.
• The student shall receive notice of the time, place, and subject of any meetings and must confirm receipt of the notice.  Such written notice will be in the form of an official RVU email.
• Appearance at an appeals meeting is mandatory once scheduled. Lack of attendance at a required meeting may forfeit the student's opportunity to appeal. Exceptions and rescheduling may be considered for extenuating circumstances and emergencies.
• Legal representation and/or other supporting persons or entities at such meetings is prohibited.
• At the meeting, the student will be given the opportunity to present a statement in written and oral form and will answer questions posed by the entity conducting the appeal.
• Recordings: Appeal meetings may only be recorded by the entity conducting the appeal at their discretion, and does not require prior notification provided to the student.

Final Decision:

• The outcome of the appeal will be communicated to the student in writing in the form of official RVU email within ten (10) business days of either the receipt of the appeal or the date of the appeal meeting, whichever is more recent, when possible.
• The decision made by the Program Director, Provost, or their designee is final and binding.