Appeals

The Ombudsman's office is an independent and confidential place where you can go for advising and direction. The ombudsman is often an intermediary between students and the services that the University provides.

Additionally, the Ombudsman is a student advocate during the discipline and grade appeals processes. Faculty, staff, and administrators can refer students to the Ombudsman for any of these matters.

about the Ombudsman in the Student Code of Conduct.

All students are welcome to come by without referral during posted office hours or by appointment.

Request Help

Form:

Contact

The University's Ombudsman is Hannah McMurtry. To set up an appointment, call or email.

Location: Student Union Room 159 in the SGA Office
Phone: 337-482-2742
Email: ombudsman@louisiana.edu

Office Hours

To schedule an appointment, email ombudsman@louisiana.edu.

Types of Appeals

If you have been placed on disciplinary probation, the University Ombudsman is available to assist you. The Ombudsman can inform you of your rights and protect those rights during deliberations, including hearings, involving disciplinary action and course grade appeals.

In addition to the Ombudsman, you may have only one other person accompany you in the disciplinary hearing meeting, and that person can confer quietly with their advice.

Student Code of Conduct

Please refer to the Student Code of Conduct to for more information in regard to discipline appeals.

Discipline Committee

Dr. Bill Ferguson is the chair of the University's Discipline Committee.

Email Dr. Ferguson at ferguson@louisiana.edu. His office is located in Moody Hall, Room 323.

The University Ombudsman can assist you in academic appeals processes.

To begin a grade appeal, the Ombudsman recommends that you fill out:

, and
if you have been placed on probation or suspension.

about the grade appeal guidelines.

If you feel you have received an unfair or capricious final grade in a course, you can appeal that grade if it meets one of the following criteria. You cannot use the procedure to question an instructor's professional judgment or the content of an exam. You can only appeal final grades.

Those criteria are:

When the student contends that the professor has violated the professor’s own specified grading standards or has imposed criteria different from those used to evaluate the academic work of other students in the class.
When the student has been charged by the professor with cheating, plagiarism, or collusion resulting in a reduced grade or a grade of “F” in the course and the student contends that the charges are untrue and the penalty therefore unjust.
When the student has either been given a grade of “F” in a course or been given a grade lower than what the student earned through proper academic work because the professor accuses the student of being in violation of University Rules or Regulations, discipline for which should be administered by the Vice President for Student Affairs (or designee) and not by the instructor in any given course.
When the instructor demands as a condition of passing a course any condition not germane to the subject matter of the course.
In order to appeal a final grade under these guidelines a student must start the appeal process within twenty (20) school days of the end of the semester or summer session in which the grade was received. Initiation of the appeals procedure is accomplished by the student notifying the University Ombudsman in writing of the student’s intention to appeal a final grade and providing the Ombudsman with specific information concerning the appeal.
If unsuccessful, the student then meets with the University Ombudsman who will guide the student through the remainder of the appeals process. Copies of the Guidelines for Appealing Unfair and/or Capricious Final Grades can be obtained from the Ombudsman or the Academic Vice President.

This information is provided in Section 18 of the .

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