SJMC Policy for Resolving Conflict

We believe part of your education is learning how to deal appropriately with conflict in the workplace. Our policy reflects that belief.

The student should begin by discussing the matter with the staff or faculty member with whom the conflict originated. If the issue is not resolved the next contact would be the SJMC Associate Dean to investigate the allegations and give an outcome. If the matter is still unresolved or the student chooses to take the matter forward for a final decision, the student should contact the Director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Student’s choosing to take their concern to the director need to submit in writing their name, college, contact information and a brief description of the circumstances including who has been involved and the current outcome. This request will be considered an “official documentation” and must be submitted within 30 days of the issue in question. Email or hardcopy will be accepted.

The student should expect communication or a meeting regarding the concern within 7 working days of the document being submitted.

All officially documented issues will be forwarded to the provost’s office for data collection as reporting general trends, not as an avenue to change the outcome. If the conflict is with one of the final decision makers the student should refer to the University Policy and Procedure website.

Grade appeals

The following procedure is spelled out in the SJMC Faculty Handbook:

3.6 Appeals Procedure

3.61 Appeal to the Instructor

If a student believes that a grade received in a School of Journalism and Mass Communication class is unfair, the student is directed to discuss the matter with the instructor who gave the grade.

3.62 Appeals to Administrators

If the dispute is not remedied, the student may appeal to the Associate Dean. The student discusses the matter with the Associate Dean and may be asked to state his or her case in writing. After discussing the matter with the student, the Associate Dean reviews the matter with the faculty member and makes a recommendation to the faculty member. If the student is not satisfied with the result, the student may appeal to the Director and then to the Dean.

3.63 Power of the Dean

The Dean does not have the authority to change a grade given by a faculty member unless the grade was clearly discriminatory, arbitrary or capricious. An example of this would be the giving of all F’s to a class by a departing faculty member or significant grade differences despite similar work and attendance by students. “Significant” would probably mean a difference of at least two grades: for example, an F or D instead of a B; a D or C instead of an A.

3.64 Grade Change Notification

The Dean shall not change the grade without notifying the faculty member involved, who would have the right of appeal to the School’s faculty and to the Provost.

3.65 Final Appeal

The student’s appeal stops with the Dean, since the Dean is the chief academic officer of the School.