Unilateral Grade Changes by Administrators

by Donald K. Wedding

The Tennessee legislature is investigating the Tennessee State University administration for over 100 grade changes unilaterally made by university administrators. Grade changes by administrators have also occurred at The University of Toledo (UT).

In a 1989 court decision, Parate v. Isibor et al, 868 F.2d 821, 827 (6th Cir. 1989), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit held that the Tennessee State University administration can change student grades without the approval of the faculty. This ruling applies to colleges and universities in all of the states in the 6th Circuit - Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The Parate decision was cited in a 2005 decision involving The University of Toledo. The 6th Circuit ruled that University of Toledo administrators may assign or change grades.

Over the last two years, UT administrators have made a number of grade changes without the approval of the professor. Because administrative grade changes are being done quietly without the knowledge of the faculty, we do not know the full extent of the grade changes at UT. We know of some specific grade changes made by UT administrators at levels of Associate Deans up to the Provost's Office. Some faculty have learned of the grade changes after the fact. These grade changes at UT are legal under the 6th Circuit decisions.

Some administrative grade changes may be justified, for example by a Chair if a faculty member has given an Incomplete and the faculty member is no longer at UT. However, changes of letter grades such as a D to C or a B to A raise questions.

Faculty at Tennessee State have alleged that Incompletes are being changed by the administration to letter grades without assigned work being completed. The Tennessee State situation has become very ugly. After the Faculty Senate President brought the grade changes to the attention of the Tennessee legislature, she was charged with disorderly conduct for refusing to leave a Faculty Senate meeting. She had been ordered to leave the meeting by the Interim University President. She was arrested by campus police and removed from the Senate meeting in handcuffs.

Prior to the Jacobs Administration, grade changes were made only by the professor or by the Academic Vice President (now the Provost) pursuant to a decision of the Student Grievance Council (SGC). I was Chair of the SGC for a number of years. The SGC held hearings, heard student grade appeals, and received testimony from both students and faculty. Grade changes were rare.

Some argue that unilateral grade changes by administrators lessen the value of degrees. This argument has been made in the legislative investigation at Tennessee State. Nonetheless, in the absence of state law, the grade changes at Tennessee State and at The University of Toledo are legal under the 6th Circuit decisions. Unless the Ohio legislature enacts legislation or the UT Board of Trustees enacts a resolution regulating unilateral grade changes by administrators, the 6th Circuit decisions are the controlling law at UT. The Jacobs Administration can legally change grades without the knowledge or consent of faculty. Although some faculty argue that this infringes on their academic freedom, this argument was rejected by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in the Parate decision.

The 6th Circuit in Parate further held that a faculty member cannot be forced to change a grade. The administration may change a grade, but it cannot order or force a faculty to make a grade change.

The UT-AAUP is maintaining a record of administrative grade changes at UT. Persons having knowledge of administrative grade changes are encouraged to report same to the UT-AAUP. Because of FERPA, please do not provide any student names or ID numbers. All information submitted to the UT-AAUP is kept confidential.