Making The Grade: Court Review Of University Decision-Making

INTRODUCTION

Universities have a variety of internal procedures that permit students to challenge a number of academic decisions. For example, there are often procedures allowing students to appeal grades or to challenge other decisions such as being expelled.¹

However, these decisions are not necessarily final. Students who exhaust the appeal procedures established by a university may generally apply to a superior court for judicial review. This article will summarize how courts assess these types of academic decisions and outline what courts expect from universities in order to uphold their decisions. In other words, this legal cheat sheet is intended to help universities make the grade in a courtroom.