These guidelines are applicable to grade appeals for undergraduate and postgraduate courses offered by the School of Music, in addition to the University's general rules on grade appeals.

Principle of grade appeal:

A grade appeal is only admissible on possible procedural errors in determining the grade, but not on instructors' academic judgement or evaluation with which students might disagree.

Rules on grade appeal:

1. Students are strongly advised to first discuss any grade concerns directly with the course instructors before requesting a review of assessment materials or appealing to the School.
2. For the purpose of grade appeal, students are allowed to apply for the following if necessary:
   1. Checking scores of assessment component(s):
      1. Students who wish to check the score of any course assessment component should contact the instructor directly.
      2. For assessments graded by a panel, only the average score can be disclosed upon email approval by the instructor. Scores given by individual examiners on the panel will be kept confidential.
   2. Reviewing final exam answer scripts:
      1. Course instructors can decide whether to allow students to review the scripts.
      2. Students should provide detailed reasons for requesting to review their exam answer scripts.
      3. With the instructor's email approval, students can review their final exam scripts on-site at the School Registry Office.
      4. Students must present their student ID for identity verification and can only check their own exam scripts.
      5. Each student is allowed to review his/her exam script of the course concerned only once.
      6. Students must not take photos/videos of the scripts or take them away.
   3. Reviewing exam videos:
      1. To review exam videos recorded by the School, students must obtain prior written consent from the course instructor.
      2. Video recordings can be provided to Divisions/instructors upon request to assist with grade reviews.

Flowchart

Notes:

1. Timeframes for grade appeals:

• UG students: within two calendar weeks of grade release
• UG graduating students: within four calendar days of grade release
• PG students: within 10 working days of grade release

2. Instructors may consult Divisions Heads when handling grade appeals.
3. Instructors can get the Record Form for Change of Course Grade provided by the University Registry through the School Registry. When filling out the form, instructors are required to provide valid and detailed reasons for the proposed changes. All upgrades must include justifications. Upgrades of more than one level, e.g. B to A- (skipping B+), would need very strong reasons to support.
4. Students may refer to the Procedures for Dealing with Student Complaints if they need to file a formal complaint.

Drafted in August 2024