Appeals Policy
Appeals Policy
School of Nursing Leadership, Faculty, and Staff are committed to creating and maintaining a welcoming and inclusive learning environment where students are treated justly. Essential to this are the guiding principles that establish expectations for conduct, behavior, and evaluation as well as the consistent and fair application of these standards. If a student believes that they have been treated unfairly they are encouraged to discuss their concerns with their Faculty Advisor and/or the Assistant Dean for Student Success
Student concerns that meet the following criteria are eligible for consideration for a formal appeal include:
- Dismissal from the program
- Procedural error
- The emergence of new information after decision has been made
- Grade grievance not resolved following the IHP Policy for Challenging a final course grade. Criteria must include; if the grade received was:
- onot based on the standards offered in the course syllabus and/or course rubric, or
- determined by standards different then what was applied to other students, or,
- if the grade was miscalculated.
Appeals Procedure
Students must submit a written petition to the Dean of the School of Nursing (or designee) which must clearly describe the unfair, unjust, or erroneous nature of the decision. The petition provides facts and relevant supporting materials to justify the merits an appeal.
Upon receipt of the appeal petition and if the petition meets the above criteria, the Dean (or designee) will assign the request to an Appeals Committee for review.
The Appeals Committee will investigate the decision and applicable policies in consultation with the student and program faculty. While not required, the Appeals Committee may initiate a Hearing Panel (henceforth hearing) to review evidence and solicit additional testimony from the involved parties.
After the panel has completed its investigation and evaluation it will provide a summary recommendation to the Dean, who will make a final determination regarding the dismissal. This decision will be communicated to the student in writing. This decision is final.
Timeline
Students have 10 business days to submit an appeal petition from the time they receive notice of a decision. The administration has 3 business days to review and communicate if a hearing will be granted. The hearing will occur within 10 business days of the receipt of the appeal petition. All documents (materials) to be used in the hearing need to be submitted and disseminated to all parties 3 business days before the hearing. The hearing panel will have 1 business day to deliberate and make a recommendation to the Dean who will communicate their decision within 5 business days.
Hearing details
Attendees: The Hearing Panel will be comprised of three faculty members from the School of Nursing with no direct conflict of interest. The student may bring one support person to the hearing, and the faculty involved may also bring a support person. The support person cannot be a legal representative or lawyer and may not speak during the hearing. The names and contact information of any support person who will attend the hearing must be communicated to the Assistant Dean of Student Success 3 business days before the appeal hearing.
Procedures: Panelists will meet to review documentation prior to the hearing. At the appointed time all other attendees will join the panelists and the hearing will begin. The student will present the facts and circumstances which led to the appeal petition and then the person(s) named in the appeal petition will respond to the argument. Hearing panelists may ask questions to both parties. At the conclusion of the hearing, all parties will be dismissed, and the panelists will deliberate and will provide their recommendation to the Dean according to the timeline above. All communications will include Dean, Program Dean, and Faculty Advisor.
All questions about the policy or procedures are to be directed to the student’s Faculty Advisor and the Assistant Dean for Student Success.
[Policy Revised July 2023]