When it comes to making decisions, the more educated inputs available, the better.  Always get a second opinion, and then a third and maybe even a fourth. 

Unfortunately, the input from an advising voice has disappeared from NIU in the arena of grade appeals.

Grade appeals occur when a student is accused of academic misconduct for reasons such as plagiarism, cheating, copying, and many others.

The Student Code of Conduct was changed last year by recommendation of faculty and staff.

According to the Student Code of Conduct, before the changes, students had a right to appeal a grade and the appeal board could recommend a different penalty than that assigned by the teacher, even though the teacher had the final say. Now this recommending voice is gone.

The appeal board provided a piece of advice to faculty. That much needed “second opinion” people value is gone now and should come back.

Having more input, advice and investigation into something is better than having one person (the faculty member) come to a decision on his or her own.

The lack of an appeal board takes away the checks and balances of what a grade appeal system should be. It would be like the President of the United States not having Congress to overrule his vetoes. A world needs checks and balances.  

“When a student feels the penalty is too harsh, the student should be able to appeal,” said NIU Vice Provost Earl J. Seaver.  “However, I do think the faculty members should have the right to choose punishment.” 

But teachers are people, and people are fallible, so teachers are fallible. Their judgments can be wrong, and their punishments can be too harsh or too lenient. 

Think of a student who completely lifts a paper from a homework site. There is no doubt this student has plagiarized and deserves the consequences.

Now think of a student who spends hours on a paper but makes the mistake of not putting quotations around a single quote, but has many other properly cited sources. 

Both examples are plagiarism, and some people see them as different degrees. 

A problem arises when teachers consider these examples of plagiarism to be on the same degree. Both students then receive an F for the course when one clearly deserves it and the other does not.

There is a line of intent to plagiarize which should be considered when determining punishment and an appeal board would help find the line. Their input would be valuable.

Staff and faculty should have control of their classrooms, but when it comes to difficult cases in the arena of academic misconduct, there should not be one overruling voice. An appeal board provided the extra advising voice.

Students can appeal to the teacher, department chair, or dean but in the end, the faculty member has the final say. Having the appeal board as another advising voice to the teacher couldn’t hurt, but having it taken away is letting valuable advice escape.