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Student appeals of grades: a comparative study of university policies and practices

Handling appeals against grades is time consuming and requires allocation of resources away from the pursuit of activities such as instruction, research, and supervision of postgraduate students. This study examines grievance policies, frequencies, and outcomes of appeals at the University of California (UCB) and the University of Oslo (UIO). We find that while the number of formal grievances at the Norwegian institution is high and rising, that at UCB is extremely low and stable by comparison. Most grievance cases at UIO do not result in a change of grade; however, when grade changes do occur, they are most often in favour of the complainant. Compared with UIO, UCB had surprisingly few filed formal grievances. Grade disputes at UCB are most often resolved at an informal level and only rarely proceed to a formal case. We argue in favour of the application of informal methodologies to reduce the number of formal cases that arise. Such processes allow the core of the matter to be discerned before any formal appeal is initiated and provide excellent opportunities for the stakeholders to learn from the process.