Grade Change Policy and Grade Appeals

Grade Change Policy

Per Title 5, section 55025, College of the Desert adheres to the following policy and procedures for issuing and changing grades. 

The instructor of record for the class has the right to issue a letter grade to a student. Once a grade has been given, that grade is final in the absence of mistake, fraud, bad faith, or incompetence.  No grade that has been placed in a student’s record may be changed without a Grade Change form being submitted to the Admission & Records Office stating one of aforementioned reasons for the change.

  • Grade changes must be presented within two years from the time the grade was assigned.
  • For purposes of this section, "mistake" may include, but is not limited to, clerical errors and errors made by an instructor in calculating a student's grade.
  • Procedures for the correction of grades shall be consistent with Education Code section 76232 or provide an alternative mechanism which will ensure that students receive a reasonable and objective review of the requested grade change. If the procedure requires the student to first request a grade change from the instructor, provisions shall be made for another faculty member to substitute for the instructor if the instructor is not available, the student has filed a discrimination complaint, or the district determines that it is possible there has been gross misconduct by the original instructor.
  • Procedures shall also include expunging the incorrect grade from the record.
  • When grade changes are made as a result of course repetition, appropriate annotations of any courses repeated shall be entered on the student's permanent academic record in such a manner that all work remains legible, insuring a true and complete academic history.
  • If a grade change is related to an Incomplete (I) being changed to a final grade, see Grading, Non-Evaluation Symbols for definition and limitations.
  • All Change of Grade and Incomplete Grade forms will be evaluated based upon the Grading Policy adopted by the Board of Trustees.
  • All requests for Grade Changes that do not adhere to the Grading Policy shall be returned to the instructor submitting the request.

Grade Appeals

The student shall first attempt to solve the problem with the instructor involved. If the problem is not solved, the student may follow the steps outlined in the Grade Grievance Procedure.