Grade Disputes Between TA's and Students
The most common grievance issues are grade disputes. Students have the right to contest the grade assigned to any course work (incidental assignments, formal writing assignments, exams, etc.) or even the final grade for the course. Grievances are initiated by students who either don’t agree with your grading criteria, or who simply have a higher opinion of their performance that you do.

Usually the student will approach you first, but sometimes they will attempt to circumvent the TA by going directly to the course instructor. In this case, most faculty members will refer the student back to the TA who issued the grade, emphasizing that the TA is, indeed, the authority in matters of evaluating and grading all course work. In general, the faculty of this department will fully respect your judgment in matters of grading and will support your decision in such disputes.

You should always consult with the instructor of record as soon as possible after a student approaches you with a grade dispute—not only so they can be alerted to the situation, but because they may have some helpful advice about how to deal with the dispute.

If a student approaches you before, during, or after class about a grade dispute, the best thing to do is to defer the conversation to a better time. Arguing over a grade in front of the class can diminish your authority with other students, and it’s also a waste of valuable class time.
Ask the student if she/he might be able to come to your office hours to discuss the grade (if they can’t make office hours, take a moment to arrange an appointment). If the student has the assignment on hand, ask if you can have it (or a copy of it) to look over prior to your meeting with the student. Scheduling a time for the discussion has three benefits:

• it will give you a chance to review your comments and to reaffirm or consider changing your assessment of the student’s work
• it will give you time to formulate your explanation of your decision
• it will give the student some time to cool off
  

Sticking To Your Decision
In the meeting, you may want to let the student begin. Give the graded assignment to her/him, and let them explain why they think the grade you assigned was unfair. You may even ask them what grade they think they deserve. Try not to be huffy or defensive; but don’t be excessively conciliatory, either. Listen to the student’s position, then state your reasons for giving the grade you did. Very often, grades dispute over writing assignments are quickly resolved by further explanation (many disputes arise simply because the comments on the paper don’t make the reasons for the grade sufficiently clear to the student).

Changing The Grade
After reading the assignment again and talking with your student, you may agree that the paper deserved a higher grade. If you do, this will no doubt be the end of the conflict.

The Next Level
When an issue cannot be resolved between a student and the TA, it goes up to the next level—either the instructor of record or the Staff Undergraduate Advisor.

Instructor Of Record
If the student is unhappy with the outcome of your meeting (usually because you didn't’t change the grade, or didn’t raise it enough), you can suggest that the course professor act as arbiter. Usually the instructor will agree with the TA.’s assessment, but not always; in one recent incident, the professor felt the TA had been too generous, and assigned the paper an even lower grade.

If the student is contesting a course grade, you should discuss the student’s overall performance with the professor. It will be helpful if you can also submit a record of the grades the student received for each assignment, as well as records of his or her attendance and participation.

Undergraduate Advisor
The Staff Undergraduate Advisor, Susan Gosling, will counsel the student and advise him/her of as of their right to file an official grievance with the department chair. But largely, what the undergraduate advisor aims to do is to clarify the issues between the two parties. If the resolution sets a precedent, it will be put into writing and archived. These are the steps involved when a student contacts Susan:

Step 1: Let the student verbally unload his/herself. Be certain that the student has gone to the instructor with the complaint first before coming to the department If it seems that there is a valid conflict, (grades, deadlines, etcetera-any issue that the two do not agree upon), then ask the student to submit the grievance in writing and to leave a contact phone number or email address.
Step 2: Contact the instructor and ask for his side of the story. Confirm with the instructor that the student has spoken to him/her about it. Ask him/her to also submit, in writing, his/her side of the story in writing.
Step 3: Submit the written statements to the chair and set up a meeting for the three to meet. (The Assistant to the Chair usually does this). The Chair mediates and if some type of resolution cannot be concluded at this meeting (the student does not get the answer s/he wants) the student may, at that time, bring his/her grievance to the Dean of Undergraduate Studies at the College of Letters & Science.

WHAT IF I'M THE ONE WHO WANTS TO CONTEST A GRADE?
If you have a conflict with a professor regarding your own work, you should contact the Graduate Division. You can read about the appeal procedure as outlined in The Graduate Division Graduate Student Handbook here: http://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/academic/handbook/appendix/appeals.shtml

PLAGIARISM
Sometimes what appears to be a case of plagiarism is a really only case of improper citation....and sometimes it isn't. You can deter students from plagiarizing by making a clear statement about your position on plagiarism (see the TA handbook for more details on preventing plagiarism). If you believe a student has plagiarized a source, you should first talk with the professor of the course about it. Show her/him the assignment in question and any supporting materials you may have; they will advise you on how to next proceed.

Dartmouth has a handy web site with a detailed description of the definition of plagiarism and sound advice regarding how to decide when to cite.

To read the official UCSB position on plagiarism, visit this page regarding the university policies regarding Academic Honesty: http://hep.ucsb.edu/people/hnn/conduct/disq.html#over.

UNIVERSITY OMBUDS OFFICE
Sometimes, for whatever reason, it becomes clear that tempers or radical differences in communication styles are such that an issue reaches a stalemate. If you have tried in good faith to resolve an issue and feel that you and the individual with whom you are negotiating are at a deadlock, it may be time to seek counsel from the Ombuds Office.

UCSB's Ombuds serve as independent agents to improve the communication between individuals and the institution, and to provide avenues through which possible institutional injustices can be rectified and the causes of those injustices alleviated.

More specifically, this includes receiving complaints, investigating and taking appropriate action (e.g., counseling, negotiating, persuading). In such ways, the Ombuds assist in making the institution less impersonal, more equitable and flexible, and help the individual find a significant role in relation to it. The Ombuds Office serves the entire University population ­ it is available to students, staff, and faculty.

The functions of the Office are (1) to redress individual grievances and complaints; (2) to prevent recurrence of patterns of complaints; (3) to increase responsiveness of the institution; (4) to protect officers of instruction and administration from unfounded complaints; (5) to identify undesirable procedures and practices; (6) to relieve complaint-handling burden from other agencies; and (7) to educate and inform about the nature of higher education.

You can find out more about Ombuds services here: http://www.sa.ucsb.edu/ombuds/aboutombuds/WhatdoesanOmbudsdo.asp

SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Federal and State law, as well as University of California policy prohibits sexual harassment in an employment setting and in an educational setting. Sexual harassment can occur between various constituencies present on campus. For example harassment can take place between professors and students; between supervisors and their supervisees; or between peers. The best way to avoid misunderstandings is to become aware of the definition of sexual harassment. If you feel you are the victim of sexual harassment, or if a student accuses you of harassment, you should immediately notify your department advisor as well as the Staff Graduate Advisor, Dana Spoonerow. You should also contact the UCSB Sexual Harassment Complaint Officer, Paula Rudolph: paula.rudolph@shot9.ucsb.edu

DEFINITION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT
The University of California defines sexual harassment as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:

• Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of instruction,
employment or participation in any University activity;
• Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as basis for evaluation in making academic or personnel decisions affecting an individual; or
• Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive university environment.

To read the UCSB POLICY ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND COMPLAINT RESOLUTION PROCEDURES go to
http://ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu/sex-harass-complaints/Shpolicy.html

THE WOMEN'S CENTER SEXUAL HARASSMENT PAGES
The UCSB Women's Center is a safe zone for men and women who feel they are victims of sexual harassment.
The Sexual Harassment Pages of the Women's Center are a well developed resource with many useful links: http://www.sa.ucsb.edu/women'scenter/sexualharassment/definitionofsexual/index.asp?category=sexualharassment&subcategory=definitionofsexual