STUDENT ACADEMIC APPELLATE COMMITTEE
MINUTES
November 6, 2002

Members Present: Tom Durham (chair), Frances Eason, Matthew Hassey, Elizabeth Layman, Jan Lewis, Janice Neil, Iona Poston, Michael Schinasi, Jonathan Wacker, George Williams

Members Absent: Bruce Albright, Janice Neil

Guests: Angela Anderson, Dorothy Muller

Chair Tom Durham called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. The minutes of the October meeting were approved as published.

Dr. Durham announced that Chancellor Muse approved the change to the grade replacement policy. He also announced that the readmission appeals hearing is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on January 3, 2003. The tentative location is the Social Work Conference Room in Ragsdale. The packets will be available for pick-up in the Registrar’s Office on January 2. The packets may possibly be ready on December 30. Committee members should call Fay Hodges at 328-6748 to confirm this, if they want to pick them up early.

Angela Anderson conducted a workshop covering the basic procedures followed during readmission appeals. She noted that grades are mailed to the permanent addresses of students who are in academic difficulty. The 4D suspension code is used for nontraditional students admitted under the Performance-Based Admission Plan who have failed to meet one or more of the special stipulations contained in their admission letters. To aid in the consideration of appeals in these cases, the Registrar’s Office will provide committee members with copies of the admission letters. Committee members may wish to review the Scholastic Eligibility Standards contained on pages 53-56 of the 2002-2003 Undergraduate Catalog.

Instead of holding a second readmissions appeals meeting to hear appeals filed after the deadline (the last day of examinations for fall semester), the committee decided to hear all appeals received by 5:00 p.m. on January 2 at the January 3 meeting. Information about these appeals will not be included in the packets. They will be decided based on oral presentations by the Registrar. Students who filed a late appeal will have their spring course registration schedules cancelled. If an appeal is granted, the student will be informed on January 6 or 7 that s/he can re-register.

Dr. Durham expressed his appreciation to Angela Anderson and Fay Hodges for the thorough, well-organized manner in which they handle the readmissions appeals process.

Dr. Muller presented eight appeals from her office’s denial of requests for late course drops. The committee granted one appeal and denied seven appeals. One appeal may be reconsidered if the student provides documentation from her professor. The committee granted an appeal from a second degree student who wanted to replace grades in two Math classes. Because the student originally took the two classes at the same time, the committee granted the appeal, even though one of the classes was a prerequisite for the other.

Dr. Schinasi raised the possibility of providing a Pass/Fail option for undergraduate students. Dr. Durham will check with ECU Faculty Senate President Bob Morrison regarding the history of the Pass/Fail option at ECU and report back at the December meeting.

The committee’s next meeting will be Wednesday, December 4, at 3:00 p.m. in Rawl Annex Building, Room 142.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Jan Lewis, Secretary