Academic Policies

1. Academic Integrity
2. Academic Actions: Probation
3. Academic Ineligibility
4. Grade Appeals
5. Academic Policies and Procedures for Visiting Students

1. Academic Integrity

See the description of the Georgetown University Honor System in the Academic Regulations section of this Bulletin.

2. Academic Actions: Probation

Certificate & Degree Students

If a student fails one course during a semester (grade of F or U), the student is automatically placed on probation and remains in that status until the terms of the probation are satisfied. In addition, a student will be placed on probation if their cumulative quality index is below 2.0 at the end of any academic semester. A student remains on academic probation until a minimal cumulative 2.0 GPA is achieved.

• Academic actions: Academic termination (degree candidacy terminated)
• Academic termination is determined on one of two grounds: academic integrity or academic ineligibility.

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3. Academic Ineligibility

Certificate & Degree Students

For students in the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies certificate and degree programs, earning one F or U in a semester while on probation, two F’s or U’s in any one semester regardless of previous record, or at any time an accumulation of three F’s or U’s results in academic termination.

Students are also terminated under the following conditions:

• If their cumulative GPA is at such a low level that raising it to the required 2.000 to be eligible for certificate completion within the program credit limit (18-credits for certificate; 120-credits for degree) becomes mathematically impossible. Termination for this reason is considered final and not open to appeal.
• If they are unable to complete program requirements with acceptable grades upon having repeated a course once (see Repeating a Course in the SCS Academic Rules & Regulations).  Termination for this reason is considered final and not open to appeal.
• Student is unable to complete program guidelines within the time limit for certificate or degree completion.

Termination Appeal

Students are terminated for failing to meet the academic and degree requirements outlined under the academic standing guidelines. Students are notified in writing of the change in their status by the Office of Academic Affairs and Compliance.

The Office of Academic Affairs and Compliance convenes the SCS Academic Council to conduct a blind review of these exception requests. Once the Council has reviewed a case and a decision has been made, the decision is final and without right of further appeal. Students will be notified in writing of the outcome by the Office of Academic Affairs and Compliance. 

A return to study should not be expected. Appeals will only be considered for cases in which exceptional, complicating circumstances contributed to the student’s inability to meet the academic requirements of the program. In such cases, the Academic Council will consider whether a return is appropriate based on the student’s academic record, appeal materials, and feedback from the academic program (as appropriate).

If an appeal is denied, students are not permitted to submit an additional appeal or submit a new admissions application to return to study in the program from which they were academically terminated.  

If an appeal is approved, students will return to study on probationary status, may be held to higher academic standards than what is required for the program or degree, may be required to earn specific grades in certain courses, and/or be required to repeat or take additional courses.  The original termination notice remains on the official transcript.  A second termination is final and without right of further appeal.  

 The appeal process is not allowed for: 

• Registration errors on the part of students who did not adjust and verify their schedules during the regular add/drop and withdrawal periods.
• Students who took on too much (personally, academically, professionally) and failed to adjust their schedules accordingly.
• Students who have been terminated because their cumulative GPA is at such a low level that raising it to the minimum GPA required to be eligible for graduation within the program credit limit is mathematically impossible.

Guidelines for Submitting an Appeal

• Materials must be submitted to the Office of Academic Affairs and Compliance (scsoaac@georgetown.edu)  90 days from the date the termination letter was issued.  Appeals will not be accepted once the deadline has passed. Once the deadline has passed, the termination becomes final without right of further appeal. 
• Appeals must include a written statement and verifiable third-party documentation that demonstrates the exceptional, complicating circumstances that prevented them from meeting the minimum academic requirements of the program and degree. Appeals cannot be approved without verifiable third-party documentation. Once the deadline to submit documentation has passed, documentation will not be accepted and the termination becomes final and without right of further appeal. 

A note about supporting documentation: 

As each case is unique and the type of documentation available varies based on the circumstances, students are responsible for determining what documentation to submit in support of their appeal. Students are encouraged to submit any documentation they believe will be helpful in demonstrating to the SCS Academic Council that exceptional, complicating circumstances played a role in their case. Submission of supporting documentation does not guarantee a return to study will be approved.

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4. Grade Appeal

Students may appeal the final grade for a course after the grade has been posted to the transcript for the reasons outlined under Grounds for a Grade Appeal below. Faculty members have been chosen due to their unique experience and expertise in their respective fields. As such, SCS strongly believes in the authority of its faculty to determine the academic merit and grades of their students. While students may request a review of their final course grade, they should also keep in mind that the faculty member is considered the academic and professional expert in determining their grade. A disagreement with the professional judgment of the instructor is not grounds for an appeal nor will it result in the change of grade.

• No additional or revised coursework can or will be accepted to improve a student’s course grade after that course has been completed. Assignments that were graded real-time during the semester cannot be re-evaluated after the course has been completed. For example, if students were evaluated on in-class presentation skills or received a grade for in-class participation, the points/grades for those assignments cannot be altered at a later time as they were assessed based on the student’s real-time performance in the course. 
• Once the grade appeal deadline has passed for a course (see Grade Appeal Process policy), the grade is considered final and cannot be changed.
• After the degree has been conferred, the transcript is considered final. 
• The grade appeal procedure is not set up to address allegations of discrimination. However, SCS takes all such allegations very seriously and advises that students who believe they have been discriminated against make a formal complaint through the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Affirmative Action (202-687-4798; ideaa@georgetown.edu). The Grievance Procedure and Discrimination Complaint Form can be found at ideaa.georgetown.edu/policies/.
• The grade appeal process only applies to final grades in SCS courses. Students with questions about grades received on individual assignments while a course is in-progress should speak directly with their instructor. Students with questions about courses taken outside of SCS must contact the academic department and school that delivered the course.  
• The syllabus serves as a guideline with the understanding that instructors can make amendments to their syllabi during the semester (adding or deleting assignments, for example, or changing a percentage allocation for an assignment under unusual circumstances) if needed as long as all students in the course are held to the same academic standards.

Grounds for a Grade Appeal

If none of these grounds apply to your matter, it is not eligible for resolution via the grade appeal process. Students are encouraged to contact their instructor to better understand how the grade recorded came to be. Please remember that disagreement with the instructor’s grading or dissatisfaction with a final grade are not grounds for appeal. Please consult your advisor if you have questions about how the earned grade affects your academic plan.

Grade Appeal Process

If a student wants to appeal a final course grade based on one or more of the three grounds, they must follow the process below:

Level 1: Appeal to Instructor of Record

• Students must contact the instructor via email requesting a grade appeal no later than 30 days after the beginning of the semester following that semester in which the contested grade was received (including the summer semester). Students must:
  • Clearly state the grounds upon which they are appealing the grade (mathematical error; error in grading procedures; inequity in the application of policies stated in the course syllabus).
  • Provide copies of the course syllabus and graded assignments so that the instructor can review the grade, how it was calculated, and how it was recorded.
• Once the instructor has reviewed the appeal, students will be provided with a written explanation of the final grade breakdown, how the grade was calculated, and the instructor’s decision to sustain or adjust the grade.
• If the instructor sustains the grade, the instructor will communicate that to the student via email and no further action is needed.
• If the instructor decides that the grade should be changed,  they will submit a grade change to the Office of Academic Affairs & Compliance. The Office of Academic Affairs and Compliance will ensure the grade change is consistent with University and School policies.
• Once the recommendation has been reviewed, the Office of Academic Affairs and Compliance will confirm the outcome with program academic leadership. The academic program will follow up in writing to the student with the final decision. Grade changes are not considered final until the Office of Academic Affairs and Compliance has completed a policy review.

Level 2: Appeal to Program Leadership

The instructor’s decision to sustain a grade should be considered final. In the rare instance that a student believes and can demonstrate that the instructor’s decision failed to consider the grounds and supporting evidence, they are permitted to appeal to the program academic leadership. The appeal must be submitted to the academic program no later than 60 days after the beginning of the semester following the semester in which the contested grade was received. The contact information for each academic program can be found on the Contact Your Academic Advisor webpage (https://scs.georgetown.edu/contact-your-academic-advisor/). The program academic leadership will not judge the academic merit of the assignments. They will review the student’s appeal and documentation solely to assess the grounds and whether the stated grading criteria were followed and applied to all students. The course instructor may also be contacted by the program for additional information. To appeal to the program academic leadership after receiving notification from the instructor about the grade appeal outcome: 

• The student must state the grounds for the appeal, supply a copy of the syllabus and graded assignments, and response from the instructor.

• Upon completion of this review, the program academic leadership will decide (1) the appeal is without grounds and sustain the grade or (2) the appeal warrants further review by a faculty committee composed of three faculty members within that program. 
• If a committee is called, the program academic leadership will name a chair and all members will complete a blind review of the information and assignments and then make a formal, written recommendation to the academic program. The committee will only consider and review the syllabus and graded assignments as part of the review process.
• In re-evaluating the student’s work, the committee can decide to sustain, raise, or lower the grade. 
• If the appeal results in a grade change, a recommendation will be made to the Office of Academic Affairs and Compliance. The Office of Academic Affairs and Compliance will review the recommendation to ensure the grade change is consistent with University and School policies. Grade changes are not considered final until the Office of Academic Affairs and Compliance has completed a policy review.
• The program will notify students of the decision in writing.

Level 3: Request for a Procedural Review

This final level of appeal reviews the administrative handling of the appeal only, to ensure the grade appeal policy and process was followed as outlined above. Students must complete Level 1 and Level 2 before requesting a procedural review. The Office of Academic Affairs and Compliance and/or the SCS Dean’s Office will not evaluate the academic merit of the work (such as re-grading a paper or test),the substantive grading decisions made by the instructor of record, and/or the program academic leadership. 

• Students must submit the Procedural Review Request form no later than 90 days after the beginning of the semester following the semester in which the contested grade was received. The Procedural Review Request form is accessible on the SCS Student Forms webpage (https://scs.georgetown.edu/resources-current-students/student-forms/).
• Students are responsible for uploading the written the decisions rendered at Level 1 and Level 2. The academic program and course instructor may also be contacted for additional information. The Office of Academic Affairs and Compliance will complete a review.
• The Office of Academic Affairs and Compliance will confirm the outcome of the procedural review to students in writing. The decision at this level of appeal is final and not open to further appeal. 

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5. Academic Policies and Procedures for Visiting Students

All of the credit and degree programs within the School of Continuing Studies are application-based. Acceptance to one undergraduate program within the School does not guarantee or imply acceptance into another undergraduate program within the School or University. Specific student handbooks and policies have been developed to reflect the unique undergraduate populations (such as part-time, non-traditional, or visiting students) served within the School of Continuing Studies. Students in these programs should refer to their program handbook for policies that govern their study (http://scs.georgetown.edu/academic-affairs/student-handbooks ).

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