UofC

The General Faculty Council (GFC) Student Academic Appeals Committee hears appeals of decisions made by Faculty Appeals Committees on matters of academic concern to students. The GFC Student Academic Appeals Committee will hear an appeal only if all other avenues of appeal have been exhausted prior to submitting an appeal with the GFC Student Academic Appeals Committee.

The GFC Student Academic Appeals Committee receives appeals relating to academic matters or academic misconduct (discipline). Disciplinary appeals will not be restricted by grounds at the Faculty, GFC or Board of Governors levels.

The GFC Student Academic Appeals Committee will hear non-disciplinary academic appeals (reappraisal of grade, appeal of required to withdraw, and other academic appeals) only if it can be demonstrated that there is alleged bias of the Faculty Appeals Committee; and/or alleged unfairness in the Faculty Appeals Committee procedures or hearing; and/or substantial new evidence that could not have been presented to the Faculty Appeals Committee. Dissatisfaction with a prior decision is not a ground for appeal.

Before the GFC Student Academic Appeals Committee will accept an appeal, a GFC Student Academic Appeals Committee Co-Chair must be satisfied that departmental and faculty appeals procedures have been fully utilized.

Students wishing to appeal non-disciplinary academic decisions to the GFC Student Academic Appeals Committee must do so within fifteen calendar days of the date on the notification providing the unfavourable decision from the Faculty Appeals Committee, unless otherwise extended by the Secretary to GFC in their absolute discretion. An appeal letter must indicate the decision being appealed, the grounds for appeal (noted above), and the remedies being sought by the student, and must include copies of decision letters from the Faculty, Faculty Appeals Committee and any other supporting documentation. The appeal letter and supporting documentation can be mailed/dropped off to:

GFC Student Academic Appeals Committee
Office of the University Secretariat
Administration Building, Room 165
2500 University Drive NW
Calgary AB T2N 1N4

When an appeal has been lodged by a student, the Registrar shall be notified by the secretary of the GFC Student Academic Appeals Committee.

The GFC Student Academic Appeals Committee will not hear the non-disciplinary academic appeal if the co-chair decides that sufficient grounds do not exist. Academic discipline appeals will be heard.

A student whose appeal is to be heard by the GFC Student Academic Appeals Committee will be provided the principles and procedures governing the GFC Student Academic Appeals Committee. These procedures will detail the composition of the committee, the right of the student to have an assistant, how the hearing will be conducted and other information. The principles and procedures are also available on the University Secretariat website: ucalgary.ca/secretariat/student-appeals.

The committee will normally give fifteen calendar days written notice of a hearing to the appellant and to the head of the academic unit against whose office the appeal is being made. Normally, the General Faculties Council's Committee will hear an appeal within thirty calendar days of its acceptance. The chair of the General Faculties Council's Committee will convey the committee's findings in writing to the appellant, the respondent, the Secretary to General Faculties Council and the Registrar.

For more specific information and other principles governing student academic appeals, the Secretary to General Faculties Council should be consulted.