The instructor has jurisdiction in determining academic process and in issuing grades; however, the student has the right to appeal an academic process that he/she believes to be improper or a final grade that he/she believes to have been assigned in an arbitrary or capricious manner. This appeal process will involve the following sequential steps and may be resolved at any level:

1. the student confers with the instructor involved.
2. the student and involved instructor (preferably together) confer with the Chair of the department. The Department Chair documents the outcome of this joint meeting in a memorandum directed to the Assistant/Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
3. the student appeals in writing to the Student Performance Committee through the Assistant/Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. This letter should state precisely which academic process(es) or grade(s) are being appealed, and must contain any allegations which are the basis for the complaint. The burden of proof rests with the student. The student may be advised by the Assistant/Associate Dean for Student Affairs or may select an advisor from among the full-time faculty of the School of Dentistry. The student shall have the right to have this advisor accompany him/her to any interviews with the Student Performance Committee. The student will be advised in writing of the outcome.

The student has five (5) school days from the time of receipt of the results of the meeting with the Department Chair to file an appeal with the Student Performance Committee. The decision of the Student Performance Committee, if the process progresses to that point, will be final within the School of Dentistry.