University of British Columbia: How academic appeal policies connect

UBC's foundational academic misconduct policy defines academic dishonesty, sets out the investigation process through the Dean's Designated Person (DDP), and establishes the sanctioning framework including academic sanctions and non-academic sanctions.

• Academic misconduct allegations are initially investigated by the instructor, who reports to the Dean's Designated Person (DDP) if they believe an offence occurred.
• The DDP process involves a meeting with the student, after which the DDP issues a determination. The student may be represented by a support person at DDP meetings.
• Sanctions for minor first offences are often handled at the DDP level without a formal hearing; more serious cases can be referred to a President's Advisory Committee on Student Discipline (PACSD) hearing.
• A DDP determination can be appealed to the relevant Faculty's Faculty Appeals Committee, and ultimately to the Senate Academic Appeals Board.
• Students who disagree with the alleged offence characterization should respond explicitly to the DDP — the DDP process is the student's primary opportunity to contest the allegation with evidence.

UBC's Grading Practices Policy (Policy 72) establishes the framework for how grades are assigned and reviewed. Grade appeals beyond informal instructor review are handled at the departmental and faculty levels through faculty-specific procedures.

• The first step in any grade concern is discussion with the instructor — documenting this conversation in writing is important if the issue escalates.
• Formal grade appeals are submitted to the relevant department or faculty; each faculty has its own appeal form and timeline.
• A reappraisal of a final exam or final paper can result in the grade going up, staying the same, or going down.
• If a misconduct allegation is open for the same work, the grade cannot be formally appealed for that assessment until the misconduct process concludes.

Academic Concession is UBC's mechanism for students experiencing illness, injury, or compassionate circumstances that affect their academic work. It is applied proactively — students request concession close to the time of difficulty, before grades are finalized. Outcomes include deferred standing on exams, incomplete grade agreements, late withdrawal, or retroactive withdrawal from courses.

• Academic Concession requests are submitted to Enrolment Services or the faculty's student services office, not to the instructor directly.
• Supporting documentation is typically required for medical concessions (e.g., a UBC Student Services medical certificate form).
• Retroactive concession — applying after the fact, sometimes months later — is much harder to obtain than timely concession and is subject to stricter scrutiny.
• Academic Concession can unlock a deferred exam, an Incomplete designation, or late-withdrawal without academic penalty, depending on the circumstance and faculty.
• Students who receive a failing grade for medical reasons without having applied for Academic Concession at the time often have a weaker case in subsequent appeals.

UBC assesses academic standing at the end of each session. Students whose GPA falls below faculty-specific thresholds may receive Academic Probation, and continued poor performance leads to Required to Withdraw (RTW) status. Standing is assessed by faculty and is subject to faculty-specific GPA thresholds.

• UBC's GPA threshold for Good Standing varies by faculty — Engineering, Science, Arts, and other faculties have different minimum GPA requirements.
• A student on Academic Probation who does not improve their standing in the next session is typically Required to Withdraw.
• Students Required to Withdraw can apply for re-admission after a specified period (usually one to two years), but re-admission is not guaranteed.
• An Academic Concession application that results in withdrawal from a course retroactively may change a student's standing — students should model the impact on their GPA before applying.

Deferred Standing at UBC is accessed primarily through the Academic Concession pathway. A student who cannot write a final exam due to illness or other serious circumstances applies for Academic Concession, and if approved, the outcome is typically deferred standing (the exam is deferred to the next scheduled exam period).

• Deferred exams at UBC are written in the next scheduled exam period (typically April or August), not immediately.
• A student who misses a deferred exam without a further Academic Concession application typically receives a zero for that assessment.
• Not all courses offer deferred exams — for project-based courses or courses without a final exam, the concession outcome may differ.

The Senate Academic Appeals Board is UBC's final internal appeal body. It hears appeals from students who have exhausted faculty-level remedies. SAAB reviews cases on grounds of procedural unfairness, misapplication of policy, or new evidence — it does not re-evaluate academic judgments.

• SAAB applications must be filed within one year of the final faculty-level decision being appealed.
• SAAB does not reconsider the academic merits of a grade — it asks whether the process was fair and policies were applied correctly.
• The SAAB can uphold, vary, or remit a decision; it cannot itself assign a new grade.
• Legal representation is not standard at SAAB hearings, but students may bring a support person.