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Appeals – Form A (Re-Reads)

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What is a Form A Re-Read/Re-Assessment?

A Re-Read/Re-Assessment is when a student questions their grade or the assessment of their performance on a piece of work or a program component and alleges error in the academic assessment of their work on the part of an instructor or a committee.

In order to qualify for a re-read the piece of work or program component must be worth 10% or more of the final course grade.

The results of a re-read shall be considered in accordance with the Student Appeal Procedures.  

The results of a Re-Read are normally issued within 7 weeks.

Fee and Exclusions

There is a $50 fee to file a Form A Re-Read/Re-Assessment.

Please note that  each piece of work submitted requires a separate Form A and the payment of another $50 fee. 

Master’s theses, doctoral theses, Ph.D. comprehensive examinations, Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE), and supervisory committee reports are excluded from the re-read procedures.

The results of a Form A re-read/re-assessment are FINAL and are not appealable.

Adjudication Process

For the Faculty of Humanities the results shall be considered in accordance with the Faculty’s procedure.

For all other Faculties (in the absence of an established Faculty policy) the following shall apply:

A grade change (on the piece of work) of three (3) points or greater UP or DOWN on the McMaster twelve-point grading scale (grading scales – graduate and undergraduate), will result in a revision of the grade for the piece of work.  The course grade will be recalculated accordingly.

For example, a grade change on the piece of work:

  • UP would be a B to A, but not B to A-
  • DOWN would be B to C, but not B to C+

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TIMELINES

Timelines are directly related to the Term in which the work was originally assessed.

The Form A must be submitted to the appropriate Office no later than:

  • July 31 immediately following the Fall/Winter Term
  • November 15 immediately following the Spring/Summer Term

PRELIMINARY INQUIRY

Students are expected to initiate a preliminary inquiry by going directly to the appropriate instructor, officer or University authority whose decision/action is being questioned. If the preliminary inquiry has not resolved the matter in a timely fashion, proceed to filing the Form A.

The timelines for submitting the Form A must be adhered to.

Submission Process - Undergraduate Students 'Appeal a Grade’ Service Request in Mosaic

  1. Review the relevant section in the Student Appeal Procedures.
  2. Download the Form A Re-Read/Re-Assessment form.
  3. Complete the Form A and save it to your computer.
  4. THE FEE FOR A RE-READ IS $50. Pay the $50 fee via online banking to your McMaster student account. Your account will be charged accordingly.
  5. Submit an ‘Appeal a Grade’ Service Request in Mosaic and provide your online banking confirmation number in the comments.
  6. Attach the completed form to your Service Request.
  7. Your Faculty Office will follow up with you to let you know about the results of the re-read.
  8. If your grade is successfully increased, the $50 fee is refunded to your student account.

Submission Process - Graduate Students SGS Admin Email

  1. Review the relevant section in the Student Appeal Procedures.
  2. Download the Form A Re-Read/Re-Assessment form.
  3. Complete the Form A and save it to your computer.
  4. THE FEE FOR A RE-READ IS $50. Pay the $50 fee via online banking to your McMaster student account. Your account will be charged accordingly.
  5. Submit the completed Form A and payment receipt to the SGS Admin email.
  6. The School of Graduate Studies will follow up with you to let you know about the results of the re-read.
  7. If your grade is successfully increased, the $50 fee is refunded to your student account.

FACULTY OFFICES

Graduate Students SGS Admin Email

McMaster University Continuing Education (MCE) Students Contact MCE

Arts & Science Program Arts & Science Program

Faculty of Business Student Experience Office

undergraduate students

Faculty of Engineering Academic Advising Office

undergraduate students

Faculty of Health Sciences Vice-Dean, Health Professional Education

undergraduate students

Faculty of Humanities Academic Advising Office

undergraduate students

Faculty of Science Office of the Associate Dean

undergraduate students

Faculty of Social Sciences Office of the Associate Dean

undergraduate students