Lansing Community College
Procedure Details

Procedure Title: Institution-Level Student Academic Appeals
Procedure #: AA.001
Revision #: 005

Unit Responsible: Academic Affairs
Individual Responsible: Academic Affairs Project Manager

Effective Date: 08/04/2023
Initial Approval Date: 08/23/2019
Last Review/Update Date: 08/04/2023
Next Review Date: 08/01/2026

*Does this procedure support a Board Policy? Yes
If yes, identify: 3.020-Academic Due Process; 3.180-Student Complaints

Board policies can be found at: LCC Board of Trustees Policy Page

*Does this procedure support HLC criteria? Yes
If yes, identify: 2A, 3A, 3B, 4A

HLC Criteria can be found at: HLC Accreditation Criteria

*Does this procedure support a State or Federal Regulation? No
If yes, identify: N/A

*Note: Standard Operating Procedures should be in furtherance of some LCC policy and/or accreditation criteria, even if the relationship is not direct. Assistance in determining this information can be obtained from the Academic Procedure Advisory Committee (APAC) and/or the Accreditation Liaison Officer.

Institution-Level Student Academic Appeals, BP 3.020, BP 3.180

1. Purpose

To ensure that all institution-level student academic appeals will be reviewed and decided upon consistently across the various Divisions of the College and to facilitate continuous improvement.


2. Scope

This procedure applies to all institution-level academic appeals.


3. Prerequisites

Institution-level student academic appeals generally are those pertaining to College catalog rules rather than the requirements of particular program pathways. Examples include appeals regarding institution-wide requirements for graduation, such as general education, minimum grade point average, minimum credit total, minimum credits in attendance, maximum pass/fail credits, expiry of program pathways, etc.

Institution-level student academic appeals also include those pertaining to the program pathways for which Academic Affairs is directly responsible: the General Associate Degree, the Certificate of Achievement in Transfer Studies, the Associate of Arts and Associate of Science in Transfer Studies, and the Electives category of all Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees.

Denials of curricular and other appeals from Divisions other than Academic Affairs that then are appealed to the Provost’s Office via Program-Level Course Substitutions and Waivers, Final Grade Appeals, or other procedures fall under the institution-level purview as well. Such appeals must be submitted within 30 calendar days after the student is notified of the original denial by the other Division.

The final decision for granting institution-level student academic appeals rests with the Academic Affairs Office.


4. Responsibilities

The Academic Affairs Project Manager (AAPM), as designee for the Provost, is responsible for overseeing this Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).


5. Procedure

  1. The request for an institution-level academic appeal begins with the student, advisor, or program area.
  2. Upon receipt of any institution-level student academic appeal, the AAPM will check the appeal for completeness. If necessary, the AAPM will contact the student to clear up any issue that is incomplete or unclear in the appeal.
  3. The AAPM will evaluate any appeal in light of catalog and/or curricular rules, Higher Learning Commission Assumed Practices, student academic history, advising notes, etc. Depending on these, the appeal may be amended for clarification or to add options that student, advisor, or program area might not have noted, and/or the AAPM may work with the Registrar’s Office to transfer in other appropriate credit.
  4. The AAPM will approve, deny, or note as unneeded any appeal.
  5. Within 10 business days after receipt of the fully completed appeal, the AAPM will notify the student, the Registrar’s Office, and, if applicable, advisor that the appeal is approved, denied, or not needed. Student notification will be via email or US Mail, depending on the student preference selected, while notification within the College will be via email.
  6. The AAPM will record the decision in the advising notes of the student’s educational record in the College student information system.
  7. The AAPM will retain any applicable emails in the Academic Affairs email account; will save to the Academic Affairs workspace a copy of any finalized form plus email(s) and/or, if applicable, letter; and will retain this documentation for a period of five (5) years.
  8. The AAPM will update the Academic Affairs appeals tracking document housed in the Academic Affairs electronic workspace, to include not only the result of approved, denied, or not needed but also the reason(s) for the decision, along with data on gender and ethnicity for equity evaluation.
  9. After the end of each academic year, the AAPM, along with the Director of Academic Operations and/or the Accreditation Liaison Officer, will review the appeals tracking document to assess possible areas of improvement in institution-level and/or curricular rules.
  10. At the end of each academic year, the AAPM will provide the Provost and the Deans of each Division an audit of all institution-level student academic appeals processed during that academic year, to include data on gender and ethnicity.
  11. The Provost and the Deans of each Division will review the annual audit of institution level academic appeals to ensure quality and equity, and to identify and address any areas for improvement.


6. Reference

For grade appeals, see Final Grade Appeals.


7. Definitions

N/A