Do you need to know how to challenge a grade?
If that’s you, then this post is for you.
You will learn how to do that and also learn a special tactic to get ahead in college.
Before we get into this post, do yourself a favor and get a glass of water to settle down.
You are going to need it.
Now, let’s get into what you need to do to get that bad grade of yours overturned!
Relax and Don’t Get Discouraged
This is the first step when you received a bad grade.
You should not panic because it’s not like you are dying and it’s not like you are getting a life sentence to prison.
You just got a bad grade.
It might be the correct grade or it might be the wrong grade.
But regardless, you are not in trouble by any means, even if you decrease your chances for entering your dream job.
The next step is to take your emotions out of the driver’s seat because this is where things can get pretty messy fast. This is the most common characteristics of students challenging grades and as a result, they have no argument to back up their claim.
If you are primarily emotional about your work, you are never going to understand where you might be wrong. This right here is the key to learning anything that you need to learn in order to improve yourself.
Learn from success, but pay particular attention to your failures and the failures of others in order to grow.
Look at your test from an objective point of view and try the problem again yourself to see where you went wrong.
If you do it again and see that you actually made a mistake, there you go. You don’t need to challenge it and it’s time to accept the result and learn from it to do better next time.
Now if you do the problem again and you don’t understand why it’s wrong, it’s time to go talk to your professor to clarify any doubts.
Talk To Your Professor
Come prepared for this meeting with your work, your explanation, and an open mind for what the professor has to say. This is the foundation of a successful grade appeal.
Start by asking the professor “Where did I go wrong here in this question?” Show that you actually want to learn why you got something wrong.
If you do this without revolt, the professor will more often than not be happy to explain the solution to you.
If the professor did make a grading mistake, they will correct it right then and there if they are conscious.
And this is a great tactic as well for networking since you are actually taking initiative and showing that you want to improve yourself instead of showing up to class like everyone else and begging for class to end. I wrote a post on how you can use your professor to your advantage here if you want to get ahead in college.
Don’t misuse it!
Now, if your professor is not cooperating and you see that it is obvious their solution is wrong (ex. It’s different from what they did in class, it has different grading from a similar solution of another student), then it’s time to proceed with the next step, which is:
The Academic Grievance Process
The academic grievance process is the university’s process for ensuring a fair judgment system like being graded correctly.
Let me explain how you can go about this as diplomatically as possible.
The first thing is to talk to your academic advisor since they can guide you as to what you need for your specific situation. They know the ropes behind this matter.
Have every piece of appropriate documentation ready to present to your advisor to see if you actually have a case. Clearly explain what happened and the steps that you took to resolve the situation. More often than not, they’ll be right as to what to do.
Now if you have a bad advisor, you need to seek the opinion of another advisor and/or your department chair to begin resolving the situation.
And at the same time, you need to be aggressive with this because you can’t expect someone to come to you and ask “Would you like to file an academic grievance?” YOU are going to need to do this yourself and control the ship.
Hence, a lesson on personal responsibility.
When you complete this whole meeting setup, typically what will happen is that you, the department chair and the professor will meet together to discuss a possible resolution. You will present your case and the professor will present his or her case. This is known as an informal academic grievance.
The department chair will take all of the facts under consideration and make a judgment on what to do.
You will all agree or disagree with the ruling. If you agree with the ruling, the judgment will stand. If you disagree, you will then proceed onto the formal academic grievance process, which varies from institution to institution.
Again, please consult your academic advisor on the specifics regarding the formal academic grievance process.
In short, this is the way to go about a grade dispute. It’s with this academic grievance process that your university has.
An example of this explanation can be found here.
Now here’s a bonus section for you so that you can improve your GPA fast!
Bonus: How to Remove a Bad Grade From Your GPA
That’s right, you CAN remove a bad grade from your GPA!
It’s with the university’s grade forgiveness policy.
Here’s how it works.
Say that you fail a class and you retake it. Let’s say that you get an A in the class. Traditionally, the A and the F would both be factored in your GPA. However, with the forgiveness policy, you can remove the F from your GPA and keep the A.
How cool is that?
Please note: The F WILL remain on your transcript. That will not go away.
But if you want to drastically improve your GPA, this is one way to do it if you got a D or an F in a class (or more classes).
Not all universities have this policy, so please check with your academic advisor or your university handbook for more information regarding whether this is at your university or not.
Also, the specifics as to how you can use this policy varies from university to university, so it’s not all equal.
At one university, you might be able to use it 3 times whereas at another university, you might only be able to use it 2 times or even up to 10 times.
Understand how you can use it at your specific university.
You can read an example forgiveness policy here.
And also, please don’t bank on it. Bank yourself in doing well in your classes.
If you are struggling with that, get started with my blog post here about the subject.
You’ll be set straight after you finish reading it.
Happy studying and please subscribe to Join the Island, the world’s greatest blog for college students all across the world, for more tips and tricks on how to navigate college to live a productive life and to achieve your goals!
Until next time,
This is Chief Islander Evan signing off.
Evan Cruz
Evan Cruz is the founder of Join the Island, the website committed to helping young adults become massively productive and reach their full potential.
He has been featured on Vox, OnlineU, and UpJourney. He has also a cited human relations expert and college expert.
He graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering.
Read more about Evan and Join the Island here.