The effort towards straight As and a 4.0 grade point average always diminishes as the semester continues. Grade appealing and repeat to replace are two ways students can “fix” academic troubles many they come across as their educational adrenaline declines.
The repeat-to-replace policy helps those who have retaken a class and want to have the first grade average they earned excluded from their official grade point average — but it will not be excluded from their transcript. Instead, it will be replaced with the grade the student earned in the class the second time they take it.
However, according to the policy, there are a number of restrictions to the repeat-to-replace policy:
- Students must retake the class
- No more than four classes can be replaced
- Ws, Ss, and Us cannot be replaced
- This policy applies only to the first recorded grade in a course that a student has repeated
- Repeat-to-replace applies only to degree-seeking students pursuing their first associate-level or bachelor-level degree at Georgia State
According to the Office of the Registrar, many students are encouraged to discuss discrepancies in their grades with their professors before filing a formal grade appeal.
According to Jeremy Craig, communications manager for the Office of the Provost, the process of appealing a grade makes its way through several people on campus.
Starting with the student and instructor themselves, if they are unable to reach an agreement, the request then heads to the department chair, the dean of the college, the provost and finally, the president. The process must be followed in this order, without skipping any steps.
Averil Smith, senior associate registrar, said that the registrar’s office works at the very end of the process.
“The provost can only consider an appeal on the basis that the decision was made in an arbitrary, discriminatory and/or capricious manner,” Craig said. “Simply disagreeing with an assigned grade is not sufficient grounds for an appeal to the provost.”
If a student can’t resolve their problems privately with the professor, the first step is to file a formal grade appeal with the department chair.
“The appeal must be in writing and describe the precise reason for the appeal,” the policy states. “Any pertinent information must be submitted with the appeal in order to be considered in this or subsequent appeals.”
Some students have reported having good experiences with grade appealing.
Elaina Pamela Amoro Nyandat, a fifth-year senior psychology major, had a successful grade appeal in two of her psychology classes.
“When grades came out that semester, I was expecting to have a B in cross-cultural psychology and an A- in social psychology based on that professor’s point system,” Nyandat said. “However, [the professor] gave me lower grades.”
After emailing her professor and the department chair to prove she should have gotten a higher grade than she received, her professor found an error in her calculation. After her appeals, she received an A in cross-cultural psychology and an A- in social psychology.
Snotti Prince St. Cyr, a senior exercise science major Georgia State, successfully appealed his failing grade in nutrition and physical fitness.
“Family issues and major depressive disorder caused me to fail the course because I was not able to commit enough time and concentrate on the coursework,” Prince said.
Prince was advised by his friend to either appeal his grade or request an incomplete. Prince chose to appeal and was able to receive a B- in the class after originally failing it.
“I think the process overall is decent, but I would ensure that the Access and Accommodations Center is still involved and instructors still adhere to the recommendations and cater to students when necessary,” Prince said.
Students have up to 10 days after final grades have been posted to take this action. This semester’s spring classes end on Apr. 27, and final grades are due May 7.
