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A08: Academic appeal

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Policy #: A08
Responsible authority: Academic Standards and Learning Development
Approval authority: Canadian Police College Executive Director
Approval date: Spring 2016

Preamble

The Canadian Police College (CPC) is accountable for setting and maintaining standards of academic performance. The (CPC) is committed to ensuring that participants are treated fairly in regard to all matters that relate to their academic performance and progress. Participants shall be provided with an opportunity to have decisions that they believe impact negatively on their academic performance and progress reviewed pursuant to policies and procedures established by the CPC.

Directive

Upon being informed in writing of an academic decision, the participant can, as soon as possible, discuss the decision with the course instructor who rendered it (informal process). If no resolution can be reached, the participant can put forth an appeal in writing to further discuss the academic decision received (formal process).

Procedures, roles and responsibilities

Informal Process

  1. A participant who believes that he/she has the basis for appealing an academic decision shall first attempt to resolve the matter informally through immediate discussion with the person who has rendered the decision. The expectation is that the decision under dispute is to be resolved as closely as possible to the level at which it originated, following a careful review.
  2. The course instructor, as soon as possible and early in the course, will discuss with the participant the demonstrated difficulties in achieving the course requirements.
  3. The decision to re-test a participant is at the discretion of the course instructor.
  4. If after providing feedback to the participant an opportunity to re-test has been offered and the participant has shown no improvement, the course instructor will fail the participant.

Formal Process

  1. When a dispute cannot be resolved through this informal process, a participant will then be provided with the opportunity to formally appeal the academic decision.
  2. A participant has the right to formally appeal decisions concerning his or her academic performance and progression through a course of study. This will include decisions regarding grades (which prevent the participant's advancement in his or her course), academic discipline, academic dishonesty (plagiarism) and sanctions.
  3. Participants may appeal evaluations of their performance at any point during the evaluation process throughout the course.
  4. All appeals are to be put forth in writing by the participant and forwarded directly to the Director of Police Sciences.
  5. A decision on whether the appeal has merit must be made within 5 working days from time of receipt.
  6. The Director of Police Sciences will review the academic decision and the grounds upon which the participant disputes said decision. This review is to consider the application of various CPC Directives and/or other factors that have an impact on the decision rendered.
  7. The Director of Police Sciences may request that the Manager of the Investigative Techniques Training unit review the appeal and propose recommendations.
  8. The Director of Police Sciences, upon completion of the review, is authorized to uphold, modify or reverse the academic decision initially rendered to the participant by the responsible course instructor.
  9. The Director of Police Sciences or delegate will request all documents deemed to be necessary for the fair determination and resolution of the Appeal. These documents are, but not limited to, the approved course design document (CDD), course syllabus, learning plans, evaluation tools used to evaluate the participant, final grade(s), and names of all those involved in the participant's evaluation.
  10. The Director of Police Sciences or delegate will issue a written decision to the participant, the Registrar and all other affected persons within five (5) working days of the completion of the appeal.

Responsibilities of the Course Instructor

  1. When an appeal has been forwarded by the Director of Police Sciences or delegate, the responsible course instructor will review with the participant only those aspects of the evaluation that form the substance of the appeal and provide any supporting documentation.
  2. The course instructor with overall responsibility will ensure that all CPC records concerning the participant's performance are amended to show the revised final evaluation.
  3. A CPC certificate of achievement will only be issued to a participant after the resolution of the appeal.
  4. Should the participant not agree with the final decision, he/she can initiate another appeal and submit it directly to the Director General for action.
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