As a student already admitted to the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine in Vermillion, South Dakota, you know how important grades have been to your success so far. Good grades and strong MCAT scores helped you get into medical school. But of course, you can’t rest on past accomplishments. Nobody will care about your college GPA if your medical school grades are poor.
In other words, now it is time for you to keep a close eye on your medical school grades. If you receive a grade or assessment that is lower than what you believe you deserve, you should think seriously about appealing it. Every grade counts, and if you let one unfairly low grade go by without questioning it, it’s going to be that much harder to make up ground in the future. The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team is here to help you with grade appeals. We know the arguments that work in these cases, and can work with you to build the strongest case for your grade appeal. Contact us to find out more about how we can help. You can call 888.535.3686, or fill out our online contact form, and we will schedule a confidential consultation so you can tell us about your situation, and we can tell you what we can do to help.
Don’t Be Afraid to Question Your Grade
Many students who talk to us about grade appeals are worried that if they question a grade or assessment, they will upset the faculty member who gave it to them. That makes sense, but in our experience, it’s not something most students need to worry about – if they approach the grade appeal in the proper manner.
By that, we mean you need to provide some evidence to support your argument that your grade or assessment should be revised upward. If you simply go in with the argument that you “deserve” a higher grade, or “believe” you should have received a better mark, you’re not going to succeed – and you do risk irritating the faculty member involved.
It is also worth considering that more and more medical students are appealing grades at schools all across the country. This is likely because some of the components that residency programs use to consider applicants have moved to pass/fail scoring. As a result, student grades are more important than they were in the past.
USD Sanford has a detailed appeals process that applies when a student wants to appeal their grades. It is important to follow this process closely. If you don’t, you risk having your appeal denied simply because you didn’t take the right steps in the right timeframe. The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team is here to work with you so that your appeal is as strong as possible – and is submitted in line with USD Sanford’s grade appeal requirements.
The Grade Appeal Process at USD Sanford
USD Sanford has slightly different appeal procedures depending on which Pillar of the medical school you’re part of. Pillar 1 covers the first 18 months at the medical school; Pillar 2 includes a substantial amount of clerkship training; and Pillar 3 makes up the last 16 months of medical school, where students can expand their knowledge.
Grade appeals for students in Pillar 1 follow the South Dakota Board of Regents policy regarding academic grievances and appeals. There is an official appeal form that medical students must use to file their appeals. It is available from the Pillar 1 Director or from the Biomedical and Translational Sciences Dean’s Office.
Pillar 1 grade appeals can only be brought based on final course grades; students cannot appeal assignment grades or individual exam grades. (Though there is nothing preventing you from discussing an exam or assignment grade with your course instructor.)
These grade appeals must be submitted within 30 calendar days of when you receive the grade you are appealing. If you are appealing an end-of-term grade, you must do so within 15 days of the beginning of the next academic term.
Pillar 1 grade appeals can be brought on three grounds:
- There was an administrative error or a “misapprehension of some material fact or circumstance” that affected the grade
- The academic decision that resulted in the grade “departs substantially from accepted academic standards”
- The academic decision reflects some kind of prejudice or bias against the student that is unrelated to the “bona fide exercise of academic judgment”
Students are expected to first discuss their concerns with the faculty member responsible for the grade. If, after that discussion, the student’s concerns have not been resolved, the student may file a formal appeal with the Office of Medical Education, using the standard appeal form that is available on the USD Sanford intranet.
The OME will review the appeal and may also speak with the student and the faculty member involved before making a decision on the appeal. If the OME denies the appeal, the student may refer the matter to the USD president.
Because so much of the appeal depends on what is in the written submission, it’s important that the written appeal be as strong as possible. When you work with the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team, we will help you craft the strongest appeal possible based on the facts of your case.
USD Sanford medical students who are in Pillar 2 or Pillar 3 must follow different procedures if they want to appeal a grade or assessment. First, the person they file the appeal with varies depending on what they are appealing.
- Clerkship or “discipline-specific” grade appeals are made to the Clerkship director
- Pillar 2 clinical competency grades are appealed to the campus dean
- Clinical Ethics, Radiology, Friday Academy, and Cultural Immersion grades are appealed to the appropriate course director
When the appeal relates to a clinical competency grade and involves the part of the grade that is derived from the OSCE, Palliative Care, or HQIP, the campus dean will contact the individual involved with issuing the grade for that component for help reviewing the appeal. The campus dean will review the input from that person before making a decision on the appeal.
Generally, grade appeal decisions for Pillar 2 and Pillar 3 appeals should be made within 4 weeks of when the appeal is filed, though USD Sanford notes that if there are “extenuating circumstances,” it may take more time to decide the appeal.
There is a second level of appeal possible after the first appeal is decided. This second appeal is made to the Pillar Director and must be filed within 14 days of the decision on the first appeal. The Pillar Director will form an ad-hoc committee of three clerkship directors to review the appeal. The ad-hoc committee will convene within two weeks of when the appeal is filed, and will try to make a decision within 4 weeks of when the appeal is received.
The student may also appeal to the Senior Dean for Academic Affairs, who will normally try to decide the appeal within 4 weeks of when it is filed.
Because much of the grade appeal process is in writing, the LLF National Law Firm can help with preparing your appeal documents. We will work with you to gather the support you will want to have to make your appeal as strong as possible. We will also use our experience with these kinds of cases to craft an appeal that is as clear and persuasive as possible.
The LLF National Law Firm is Here to Help
As you can see, it can be challenging to successfully appeal a final grade that you received at USD Sanford. Not only must you follow the proper procedure based on which Pillar you are in, but you also must make sure your appeal is as strong and as convincing as possible. While it may be possible for you to do all of this on your own – while still keeping up with your studies – your chances of succeeding are much higher if you have experienced help.
The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team is here to give you that experienced help. Our attorneys regularly work with medical students from schools across the country who have good reasons to appeal their grades. We will help you gather the support your appeal needs to be convincing and successful, and then build the kinds of arguments that can convince seasoned faculty members that you deserve better than what you received.
It is worth noting that sometimes a student’s grades fall to the point where they may face dismissal from USD Sanford for academic reasons. At USD Sanford, the Student Progress and Conduct Committee may decide that a student is not progressing in a satisfactory manner and may recommend that the student be dismissed from the medical school. If that happens, the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team can help you draft and submit a statement to the Dean/VP of the medical school that makes the best case possible for you continuing at USD Sanford.
If you believe that you received a grade that was lower than what you should have, or if you have any other concerns about your academic standing, contact the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team. Give us a call at 888.535.3686 or fill out our online contact form. We will set up a confidential consultation where you can tell us about the issues you are facing, and we can explain the ways we can help.