As stated in the Gordon State College Creed, the Gordon State College community desires that its students develop the capacity for open-minded inquiry and intellectual and academic honesty. To that end, the College protects these prerogatives for its students and student organizations:

1. Students have the right to learn and to inquire. They have the right to examine and discuss questions of interest by orderly means that do not impede the collegial process of learning.
2. Students have the right to take stands on issues and the right to support causes by orderly means that do not disrupt the regular and essential campus operation.
3. Students have the right to expect that their academic work will be evaluated on the basis of academic performance and not on the basis of irrelevant matters such as personality, personal characteristics, degree of political activism, or personal beliefs. At the same time, students are responsible for maintaining the standards of academic performance established by the faculty for each course in which they are enrolled.
4. Recognized student organizations are allowed to invite any person to address a meeting that the organization is sponsoring for the purpose of hearing that person’s ideas. However, the President of the College has final responsibility for campus events and activities and can either affirm or cancel a speaker’s invitation.
5. Individual students and recognized campus organizations have the right to publish and distribute written materials provided that the material is identified by the name of the student or organization and done in accordance with College regulations.

Students with concerns related to protection of these rights in a specific class should initiate conversation with the instructor of the class and, if the concern is not addressed, contact the appropriate Department Head followed by the Dean of the School. If the student is uncomfortable going directly to these persons or if the concern is broader than classroom interactions, the student may contact the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee or the Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs. 

Student Complaint Process

Gordon State College is committed to a transparent and effective grievance process. Students should follow the grade appeal process below for complaints that are academic in nature.  All other complaints should be directed to Student Affairs.

Academic appeals can be made by submitting an Academic Request form which can be found here: academic-request-form-combo--update-8-11-23.pdf.  All other complaints should be made using this link: https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?GordonStateCollege&layout_id=0.

Students residing outside of Georgia while taking distance education courses are required to first exhaust Gordon State College’s internal grievance procedures before appealing to external agencies. In the event that a satisfactory resolution is not reached at the institutional level, students may appeal the complaint to the Georgia SARA State Portal Entity (SPE) and/or the SARA SPE within their home state. The SPE is responsible for investigating and resolving out-of-state student complaints that fall within the scope of SARA policy. Students can visit Gordon State College’s State Authorization page for links to submit complaints to the Georgia SARA State Portal Entity (SPE) and/or the SARA SPE within their home state here: https://www.gordonstate.edu/academics/e-learning/stateauthorization/index.html.

Grade Appeal Process

It is the responsibility of the student to review final grades posted online by the Registrar’s Office at the end of each semester. A student who believes that his or her grade was incorrectly assigned should schedule a conference with the instructor who assigned the grade. If satisfactory results cannot be obtained from such a conference, the student may submit an Academic Request form to the academic services assistant of the department or school in which the grade was earned. 

Grade appeals should only be concerned with alleged violations of grading policy or procedure. A student concerned about course content or the instructor’s judgement should speak with the faculty member’s department head (or school dean, if no department head).

All grade change requests must be initiated by midterm of the semester following the posting of the grade. For grades posted in the spring semester, the Academic Request form must be submitted by midterm of the following full summer session. Failure of the student to adhere to the time deadline described above will result in forfeiture of all rights to petition the grade in question. If the deadline cannot be met due to legitimate reasons, the student can appeal to the office of Academic Affairs for an extension. 

 The form will then be circulated to the appropriate faculty member and the department head, where appropriate, for recommendations. The dean of the school will issue the decision on the grade appeal.

Special Note: A petition requesting a grade of W can only be initiated in relation to an assignment of a grade of WF. 

Appeals of Academic Request Decisions

A student shall have the right to appeal academic request decisions.  Failure of the student to adhere to the time deadlines described below will result in forfeiture of all rights to appeal. If deadlines cannot be met due to legitimate reasons, the student can appeal to the office of Academic Affairs for an extension.

1. The appeal of a decision on an academic request must be based on substantial new evidence or sufficient grounds for good cause. Substantial new evidence constitutes that which was not available during the original review process which has a direct bearing on the decision. 
2. On this basis, the student may appeal in writing to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs via the form located here, and must do so within five working days after the academic request decision has been communicated to the student. The Provost will determine the merit of the appeal. If the appeal is determined to have merit, the Provost shall consider all relevant information and render a decision.

All appeals must be initiated by midterm of the following semester. 

Academic Integrity Policy

When a faculty member becomes aware of an act of academic dishonesty, the faculty member may penalize the act in one or any combination of five ways depending on the faculty member’s assessment of the severity of the infraction.

1. Assign a grade of F for the assignment and/or require remedial action by the student.
2. Assign a grade of 0 for the assignment and/or require remedial action by the student.
3. Assign a failing grade in the course. 
4. Assign penalties as stated in the course syllabus. 
5. Refer the matter to the Dean of the School.

In addition, after having dealt with the act of academic dishonesty, the faculty member should send a brief memorandum to the Dean of the School identifying the student, the infraction, and the resolution. Academic deans will report egregious cases to the Dean of Students for placement in student record and potential additional action.

If the student wishes to contest the faculty member’s decision, the student may appeal the decision to the Department Head and then the Dean of the School using the Academic Request process. When the matter reaches the School Dean by faculty member referral or student appeal, the Dean may ask the Academic Judicial Committee to consider the matter and make a recommendation. As stipulated in the Student Code of Conduct found later in this catalog, the student may appeal the Committee’s recommendation to the Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs. When the deliberations are concluded, the Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs will communicate the decision to both the student and the faculty member.

If the Dean of Students receives memoranda reporting two different incidents of academic dishonesty by the same student and neither case is overturned by appeal in the Office of Academic Affairs, the student will be summoned to the Student Affairs Office for appropriate disciplinary proceedings.