Yes, it is actually possible to protest a final grade given by any professor at the end of each semster. However, it’s no walk in the park.
In order to qualitfy …
According to the Texas A&M University-Commerce procedures, students challenging a final grade must show that the instructor’s judgment was unfair based on:
a) some basis other than performance, orb) standards different from those applied to other students in the same course section, orc) a substantial, unreasonable, and unannounced departure from previously articulated standards or the syllabus.
What to do…
1. Students who believe their grade to be unfair must first discuss the matter with the instructor.
2. If no satisfactory resolution is reached with the instructor, or if the instructor is unavailable, the student shall appeal to the department head. A grade appeal must be initiated in writing with the department head (or dean if the department head is the instructor) within six months of the last day of the semester in which the grade was awarded. The department head will examine the student’s appeal to determine whether the student has established an apparent case of unfair academic evaluation as described in Section 1. If the student has not established a case that appears to have merit, the department head will so inform the student and the instructor without delay.
3. If the case has merit, the department head will secure, from all parties, written statements and other such information as he or she deems helpful and will issue his or her findings and remedies, if any. In so doing, the department head will be guided by the principle the burden of proof lies with the student.
4. The instructor or the student may appeal the department head’s decision (with respect to findings and remedies) to the dean of the college in which the course is offered within 30 days of the date on which the department head offered his or her judgment.
5. Upon receipt of an appeal, the dean will appoint a three-person advisory committee of faculty to hear the case. The chair of the committee will be from a department other than the one offering the course in question. The two remaining committee members will be from the department offering the course. One of these faculty members may be suggested by the author of the appeal. The instructor and the student may file additional statements. The committee will review all written materials and may seek other information, as they deem appropriate. After reviewing all information, the committee will communicate their findings and suggested remedies, if any, to the dean.
6. The dean is the final authority on issues of fairness in course evaluation. He or she will consider the recommendations of the committee but has wide latitude in resolving the matter. The dean too will be guided by the principle that the student must show the evaluation to have been unfair as identified in Section 1.
7. The dean is responsible for notifying the Office of the Registrar of any decision requiring a change in records.