Student Appeals

The Extenuating Circumstances Appeal process exists to provide students with a fair and equitable means to request consideration when unexpected and unavoidable events significantly interfere with their ability to meet academic requirements.

Extenuating circumstances are defined as rare, unforeseen events beyond a student’s control that occur during the relevant academic period and have a substantial, documented impact on the student's academic performance. 

Examples include:

• Serious illness, injury, medical emergency
• Emergency hospitalization or medical treatment
• Death of an immediate family member
• Victimization due to a crime or violence
• Court mandated obligations (e.g. jury duty, subpoena).
• Sudden military activation or invluntary employment diruption
• Natural disasters or events causing displacement or loss of access 

Step 1: Appeals due to extenuating circcumstances are initiated when the student completes the Student Appeal Due to Extenuating Circumstances form. The student should explain the issue, state what they want the college to do, and attach supporting documentation. Once the form is submitted, the student will receive a Heartland email with instructions on how to schedule a meeting with the Dean of Students office. Failure to schedule and attend a meeting during the appropriate timeframe will result in the appeal request expiring or being denied. 

Step 2: Students who are unsatisfied with the decision from Step 1 above can initiate a final appeal. The final appeal must be made within 10 business days of the dated Dean of Student's or designee's response. The student should include a written explanation outlining the reason for the appeal and the proposed resultion. Each appeal must provide supporting documentation. Final appeals should be emailed to appeals@heartland.edu

Staff will provide a dated and written response to the final appeal. The College will send communication to the student's offical my.Heartland.edu email, and the College will scan the communication into the student's record. 

Students appealing a decision relating to issuance of financial aid must follow the financial aid appeal process and policies linked below:

Financial Aid Forms and Policies

The Grade Appeal process applies to credit courses and adult education courses.

Before initiating a Grade Appeal, students should immediately email or meet with their instructor to discuss their concern. The student must explain the concern and inform the instructor of what outcome or resolution they seek. If the instructor does not agree with the proposed outcome or resolution, the student may initiate the Grade Appeal process outlined below. While there may be situations in which the student may want to move straight to the appeal process prior to communicating with their instructor, grade appeals should always start with the instructor.

Step 1: If a student is unsatisfied with the initial decision from their instructor (described above), the student may complete this form to initiate a formal Grade Appeal: Grade Appeal Form. Once submitted, their instructor will respond to the appeal. Instructor’s supervisors are notified of submitted appeals. The instructor will review the appeal and issue a written decision within 5 business days.

Step 2: Once the student receives the instructor's decision, if they are unsatisfied with the decision from Step 1, they have the option to escalate the appeal to the next level supervisor (Dean or Associate Dean of that department) within 5 business days. At this level, the appeal decision will be based on an assessment of whether or not there was an error in the grade calculation or if there was any misconduct on the part of the instructor. The Dean or Associate Dean of that department will provide a decision within 5 business days.

Step 3: Once the student receives the decision from the Dean or Associate Dean of that department, if they are unsatisfied with the decision from Step 2, the student will have the option to escalate the appeal to the next level supervisor (Vice President of Academic Affairs/Provost) within 5 business days. Again, at this level, the appeal decision will be based on an assessment of whether or not there was an error in the grade calculation or if there was any misconduct on the part of the instructor. The Vice President of Academic Affairs/Provost will provide a decision within 5 business days. This is the final step in the appeal process, however, a student can elect to end the appeal at any step. The decision of the Vice President/Provost will be final. 

Start Grade Appeal

Step 1: Students with a course-related issue for Continuing Education courses should immediately email or meet with the instructor explaining the issue and stating what they want the College to do. The instructor will provide a dated decision in writing within 5 business days.

Step 2: If the student is still unsatisfied with the decision from Step 1 above, they can appeal to the Dean or Associate Dean. The student should explain in writing the issue and state what they want the College to do. The Dean or Associate Dean will provide a dated decision in writing within 5 business days.

Step 3: If the student is still unsatisfied with the decision from Step 2 above, they can initiate a final appeal to the Vice President of Academic Affairs/Provost. The final appeal must be made within 5 business days of the dated Dean or Associate Dean's response. A final appeal includes a written document explaining the reason for the appeal and the proposed resolution. Each appeal must provide supporting documentation.

Appeals may be emailed to: appeals@heartland.edu. The Vice President will provide a dated and written response to the final appeal. The College will send communication to the student’s official myHeartland email if available, and the College will scan the communication into the student record.

*Note: Students enrolled in the Nussbaum Trucking Academy at HCC must follow the steps listed in the “Communicating Concerns” section of the syllabus.

If after following the College’s process for addressing Student Appeals, an issue cannot be resolved internally, students may file a complaint about Heartland Community College with the Illinois Community College Board or with the Higher Learning Commission. Students who are living out of the State of Illinois may also file a complaint with the state in which they reside.See Student Complaint Information by State (PDF) for more information.

Students with concerns about discrimination because of race, color, sex, gender, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, pregnancy, marital or civil union status, veteran status, sexual orientation, or any basis of discrimination precluded by applicable federal and state statutes may also direct complaints to the Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, or pursue both avenues of complaint resolution. 

Reports alleging discrimination or harassment on the basis of any legally protected characteristics will be processed in accordance with the College’s Anti-Harassment and Anti-Discrimination Policy or the College’s Policy Prohibiting Sex Discrimination. 

Other Class-Related Issues  

 If a student has a class issue not related to a grade appeal or course withdrawal, it likely falls within the general complaint process. Students may submit a complaint about an instructor and/or course using the complaint form located on the complaints page. Complaints submitted through this form are routed to the appropriate party, and then any resulting resolution is recorded. Complaints may be submitted anonymously, but should include contact information if the student would like someone to follow up on their submission.