Reappraisals and Academic Appeals

The process to appeal your final grade can be found under Section III "How to Appeal" subsection (1) "Appeal of a Final Course Mark": Reappraisal and Academic Appeals. Your first step is to discuss the final grade with your course instructor, once the grade has been released by Enrolment Services.

If this does not resolve your concern (or you are unable to connect with your professor prior to the end of the 15 day period), your next step is to file an appeal to your faculty Dean. You will need to fill out Form A, "Request for an Appeal of a Final Course Mark," ("Request") which can be found here: Academic Appeal Forms | Lakehead University. Once you've completed the Request, including the reasons for why you think your grade should be changed, you can email it directly to the Dean of your faculty. Please note that the Request must be filed within 15 working days of the grade being released by Enrolment Services. 'Working Day' means any day of the week from Monday to Friday, excluding statutory holidays and any other day that the University is closed.

You must pay the $45 administrative fee to submit your Request; you will need to speak with the Accounts Receivable office to do so: Main Phone 807-343-8140, Office UC 0002; Email accounts@lakeheadu.ca.

The process to appeal other academic decisions other than a final grade can be found under Section III "How to Appeal" subsection (2) "Appealing an Academic Decision Other than a Final Course Mark”: Reappraisal and Academic Appeals. Your first step is to discuss the final grade with your course instructor, once the grade has been released by Enrolment Services. 

You will need to fill out Form B, “Request for Appeal of Academic Decisions Other Than a Final Course Mark” ("Request") which can be found here: Academic Appeal Forms | Lakehead University. Once you've completed the Request, including the reasons for why you think your grade is unfair, you can email it directly to the Dean. For students who wish to appeal a clinical placement decision, please note the important directions listed on page 3 of the policy:

“If a student feels unfairly treated by the process of assigning a placement, practicum, clinical experience, or fieldwork grade or by the application of academic regulations pertaining to these experiences, then the student may appeal to have the process and application of the rules reviewed, but not the final grade.”

Please note that the Request must be filed within 15 working days of the grade being released by Enrolment Services. 'Working Day' means any day of the week from Monday to Friday, excluding statutory holidays and any other day that the University is closed.

You must pay the $45 administrative fee to submit your Request; you will need to speak with the Accounts Receivable office to do so: Main Phone 807-343-8140, Office UC 0002; Email accounts@lakeheadu.ca.

(3) Appeals to the Senate Academic Appeals Committee ("SAAC")

If you disagree with the decision at a lower level of appeal, after following either of the above appeal routes, you may appeal to the SAAC. The process to follow can be found under Section (IV) "Appeals to the Senate Academic Appeals Committee (SAAC) Introduction" and onwards. You will need to fill out Form C "Lakehead University Application for a Hearing before the Senate Academic Appeals Committee" and submit the completed form to student.appeals@lakeheadu.ca through your Lakehead email address within 15 working days of the release of the lower level decision. 

As appeals to the SAAC are generally more complex than lower level appeals, you are strongly encouraged to reach out to the Ombudsperson or to the Director of Risk Management and Access to Information with any questions about the process.