Dept. of AM: Graduate Appeals Procedures

Appeals Procedures

Informal resolution of disputes prior to use of the formal appeals process is encouraged and desirable. If such resolution is impossible to achieve through discussion among the parties directly involved, there are then the following two levels in the Department of Applied Mathematics.

First Level of Appeal

There are two levels of appeal in the Department of Applied Mathematics. For disputes with a thesis supervisor, the first level of appeal is directly to the student's supervisory committee, excluding the student's supervisor. For disputes concerning the mark received in a course, the first level of appeal is directly to the course instructor. In either case, the decision of the first level appeal must be made within two weeks.

Second Level of Appeal

If a resolution of the appeal is not accomplished after the first level of appeal, the appeal will then go to the Appeals Committee of the Department of Applied Mathematics. This committee consists of the Department Chairman, the Chairman of the Graduate Affairs Committee, and all members of the Department Graduate Affairs Committee who are not members of the student's supervisory committee and who are not direct parties to the conflict in question (i.e., the course instructor in the case of an appealed examination mark). The Graduate Student representative (or, if the Graduate Representative is the student making the appeal, an alternate elected by the graduate students within the department) to the Graduate Affairs Committee will be a member of the Department Appeals Committee.

Appeals in the Graduate Program of the Department of Applied Mathematics can cover from the accuracy of marks received on exams and/or assignments, waivers of progression requirements, disputes between the student and the student's supervisor, the appropriateness of sanctions imposed for scholastic offenses, or any other issue that would be recognized by the Faculty of Graduate Studies as a valid issue for an Appeal. Any appeal must be submitted in writing by the student within six weeks of the event triggering the appeal, in order to assure a timely response.

The appeal process will be kept confidential at all levels to members of the student's supervisory committee, and subsequently, to members of the Department Appeals Committee. At the initial (Student Supervisory Committee) stage of an appeal, the Department Chairman and the Chairman of the Graduate Affairs Committee may be informed about the appeal in order to facilitate a speedy resolution.

Legal representation is not permitted at any Department level of appeals. A student making an appeal is permitted to choose a colleague from the Department of Applied Mathematics to serve as the appealing student's advocate at hearings of the Appeals Committee of the Department of Applied Mathematics.

The Department Appeals Committee will furnish a written response to the student's appeal within six weeks of receiving all pertinent documentation. This written response may be waived by the student if the student regards the outcome of the committee's proceedings as satisfactory and not entailing recourse to higher levels of the Appeals process. There is no further level of appeal within the Department of Applied Mathematics. Any subsequent appeal must be made to the Faculty of Graduate Studies, in conformity with the appeals procedures of that Faculty.