Policies

Students transferring a community college biology course that is offered at KU at the Jr/Sr level (courses numbered 300 or above) may petition to have the transfer course substitute for the KU course as part of their biology degree requirements. For a petition to be considered, 1) the grade earned in the transferring course must be an “A” and 2) a syllabus for the transferring course and a copy of final exam questions from the transferring course must be submitted to the Director of the Undergraduate Biology Program. Petitions will be reviewed by a committee of biology faculty who teach the KU course that is the petition’s target. This policy is open to KU biology majors only and a successful petition results in an internal substitution only. No transcript change will occur and Jr/Sr credit will not be earned. The committee’s decision is final.

• A student may appeal a final course grade solely on the grounds “that there has been an improper application of the grading procedure announced for the course by the instructor.” (USRR 2.3.5; see above)
  • Only the final course grade can be appealed; individual assignment, quiz, and examination grades cannot be appealed.
• A student wishing to appeal a final course grade first should consult with the course instructor and attempt to resolve the matter informally.
• If consultation with the instructor does not resolve the issue, the student should undertake the following to appeal the grade:
  • Take a course syllabus and any other written notice of grading policies from the instructor, a written explanation of why the student thinks there has been an improper application of the grading procedure announced for the course by the instructor, and all available graded works of the student from the course to the Director of the Undergraduate Biology Program.
  • The Director will attempt to resolve the issue by meeting with the instructor and will notify the student in writing of the outcome of the meeting, including a decision on the appeal.

In the case that the instructor decides not to change the final course grade, the Director’s written explanation to the student will include directions for what the student’s next step in the appeal process should be (see below).

• If the student would like to proceed with the final course grade appeal, the student would request, in writing, that the Director of Undergraduate Biology convene a hearing comprised of three faculty members from the Departments of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Molecular Biosciences in accordance with the Department’s grievance procedure.
  • The faculty members will review the written appeal from the student, as well as written comments from the instructor.
  • If the faculty members judge in support of the student’s appeal, they will assign a new final course grade. The instructor may appeal the decision through the Judicial Board.
  • If the faculty members uphold the original course grade, the student has the option of appealing through the Judicial Board.