Academic and Grade Appeals
Any student at Georgia Northwestern Technical College who feels he/she has an academic complaint should first seek resolution of the complaint with the instructor of the class in which the situation has occurred. The complaint should be presented to the instructor in written form, and dated, in order to better establish a timeline for the resolution of the complaint.
The complaint should be brought to the instructor’s attention before the end of the semester in which the situation occurred. In any case, the complaint must be brought to the attention of GNTC faculty before the beginning of the next academic session.* Failure to lodge a complaint in a timely fashion may preclude the student from filing said complaint at a later date. Once a student has notified the instructor of the complaint the instructor has five (5) business days to reply in writing. This reply should list the student’s original complaint and the solution offered by the instructor. A copy of the original complaint and a copy of the instructor’s response will be forwarded to the instructor’s dean of academic affairs.
If the student does not get a satisfactory resolution to his/her complaint, resolution may be sought by appealing to the dean of academic affairs for the instructor of the course in which the situation arose. A written description of the incident, including all pertinent details and the solution offered by the instructor, must be given to the dean. The appeal must be received within 10 business days after the failure to obtain satisfaction from the instructor. Once the dean receives the formal complaint, he/she has seven (7) business days to reply in writing to the student.
If the student is still not satisfied with the results of their complaint he/she has 10 business days from the time of the receipt of the decision to file a written appeal with the vice president of academic affairs (VPAA) at GNTC.
Once the student has filed a written appeal with the VPAA, he/she should expect to receive a reply within 10 business days. Once the vice president makes a decision on the appeal, that decision is final. No further appeal is heard.
*Note: If there is a dispute over a final grade awarded for a particular course, then the student must initiate the grade appeal process, in writing, no later than the end of the third week of the subsequent semester for which the grade was earned.