Your Grading Practices and a Student's 14th Amendments Rights

Even though you have the right to confront a student suspected of cheating, as an instructor at a public institution of higher education, you do not have the right to sanction a student without offering him or her the opportunity to contest the charge and appeal the decision. Regardless of whether the student contests the charge, you do have the right, however, to report a student suspected of misconduct to the Dean's Representative. This report will be processed in accordance with the due process procedures outlined in the Student Code

• The 14th amendment affirms that the State may not deprive a student enrolled at a public university of the right to a public education without proper due process.
• The issuance of grade-related sanctions by instructors must always be accompanied with the offer of due process since giving a student a failing grade constitutes a threat to their enrollment.
• Therefore, unless the accused student is in full agreement with your account of the facts, as well as the grade-related sanction you propose, you are strongly encouraged to refer the matter to the Dean's Representative and the University's disciplinary procedures.
  

The University's disciplinary procedures are designed to assure that students accused of wrongdoing will be treated fairly. To this end, no student may be punished for any misconduct except through the procedures defined by the Student Code.

 Academic Standards

A faculty member may fail a student for failure to meet academic standards. The course itself is the procedure of due process for examining the student's academic fitness.

To avoid complaints, instructors are encouraged to define learning goals for each course. Course goals should be presented clearly, along with the means for proving mastery. In other words, the students must be evaluated in accordance with the criteria announced at the beginning of the course.

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Last updated: 09/04/07
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