KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
The student’s appeal will be reviewed by the Program Coordinator of the online academic program or online course. The Program Coordinator will have five (5) business days to review the student’s appeal. During this time, the Program Coordinator may consult with the instructor and other faculty administrators (e.g., Faculty Mentor, Subject Matter Expert, Director of Online Education).
The Program Coordinator will notify the student by letter describing their decision and stating their rationale. If the student's appeal is successful at this point, the Program Coordinator will notify the instructor and the Registrar by sending the Form and supporting documentation. If needed, the instructor and Registrar will coordinate further actions with the student to finalize a grade change.
If the student's appeal is unsuccessful, they can appeal one step further. To do so, they should write a letter explaining why they disagree with the decision of the Program Coordinator and what additional information or consideration the Online Advisory Committee should consider in their review of the student's appeal. In other words, a student should not expect to achieve a different outcome to their previous appeals unless they believe there is some compelling information that should give the Online Advisory Committee good cause to overrule the previous decisions of the course instructor and the Program Coordinator. The student should submit this additional letter with all the previous documentation to KYSU Online Appeals@kysu.edu for the Online Advisory Committee to review.
The Chairperson will distribute the student's appeal documents to the appropriate committee members. The Online Advisory Committee will vote on whether to approve or deny the student's appeal. The outcome will be determined by a simple majority of the entire Committee or relevant subcommittee members (who have the authority of the entire Committee with reference to Academic Appeals).
The Chairperson will record the Committee's decision on the Form along with supporting rationale and notify the student of the outcome. If the student's appeal is successful, the Online Advisory Committee Chairperson will notify the instructor, the Program Coordinator, and the Registrar by sending the Form and supporting documentation. If needed, the instructor and Registrar will coordinate further actions with the student to finalize a grade change.
Students should be familiar with and abide by the KYSU Online Academic Code of Conduct. This policy describes violations, an instructor's responsibility to enforce the code of conduct, and the process by which students can appeal an instructor's decision. This would also include violations of the KYSU Online Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence. Appeals will be reviewed by the KYSU Online Academic Misconduct Committee, which is a sub-committee of the Online Advisory Committee.
Students in online courses are required to “attend” the course by demonstrating regular academic engagement and by remaining in communication with the instructor about their coursework. The requirements are detailed in the KYSU Online Course Attendance Policy. Students should be familiar with this policy. If a student ceases to “attend” an online course for twenty-one (21) or more consecutive days, the student will be administratively withdrawn from the course. This involves an AW grade being posted for the course, which could have implications for the student’s financial aid.
To appeal an AW grade, students should follow the procedures detailed above in the Academic Appeals of Course Grades section. Students should understand that appeals of administrative withdrawals should be