Academic Advising & Support

Academic Advising

The College of Engineering utilizes a blended model of advising with ES3 advisors providing the primary support during the first-year and supplemental support to sophomores, juniors, and seniors, who work with a faculty advisor. In this model, students benefit from professional advisors who are specially trained to teach them about university policies, procedures, and program requirements, and faculty advisors provide them expertise related to their major and experiential opportunities to support long and short term goals. 

ES3 advisors support students and faculty advisors by:

  • providing academic advising for all first-year students as well as students looking to change their major into or out of the College of Engineering,
  • connecting declared majors with their department-specific faculty advisors,
  • clarifying university and college policies and assisting with transfer course equivalencies for other schools,
  • providing support to students from community colleges via pre-transfer advising.

ES3 advisors also work closely with students struggling academically (such as academic warning, probation, dismissal, and reinstated) and serve as the Dean's designee for students with Financial Aid SAP Appeals.

Academic Support

ES3 advisors collaborate with and refer students to other academic support offices on campus.

Office of Student Accessibility Services: works with students with documented disabilities to ensure mandates expressed in the Americans with Disabilities Act are upheld. Students with an IEP or 504 Plan in high school looking to receive academic accommodations or support must self-disclose with the Office of Student Accessibility Services and provide them with appropriate documentation from a qualified licensed professional.

Counseling Center: provides a range of services to help students develop improved coping skills to address emotional, interpersonal and academic concerns. They offer primarily short-term counseling and will help students initiate referrals to community-based services when students need specialized or longer-term services. Services include individual counseling, group counseling, and workshops.

STEM Learning Lab: offers free tutoring throughout the year in math, engineering, and science courses and provides services in a one-on-one and small group format. Tutoring is offered in both a face-to-face and/or online setting.

Student Affairs Student Assistance Form: If you are concerned about a student, you are a student with a concern, have a friend struggling or don’t know where to go to get assistance, complete the Student Assistance Form and Student Affairs will get you connected to the right person, department, and/or resources.

Writing and Multiliteracy Center: offers free tutoring to assist students with a variety of communications assignments including papers, presentations, and multimodal projects. Tutoring is offered in both a face-to-face and/or online setting.

Strategies for Success

The College of Engineering collaborated with the College of Arts & Sciences on the creation of four videos recorded during a student panel discussion for new students. Thank you to these three students for sharing their experience and providing you with some great advice.

Building Community

Time Management

Asking for Help

Resources for Help

Rights Concerning Grading Practices

The determination of grades is the responsibility of the course instructor. At the beginning of a course, students have the right to be informed through the course syllabus, the basis of grading in the course. Both during a course and at its end, students have the right to know how their work was evaluated. Any grading policy modifications in the syllabus must be communicated clearly and in a timely manner.

Students and faculty should make every effort to resolve questions about grades without seeking a formal grade appeal. A grade appeal is a last resort. A grade appeal will be pursued only if there is a valid basis and evidence. The responsibility for developing and presenting the case for changing a grade rests with the student making the appeal. The process is non-judicial insofar as the Academic Regulations and Procedures are concerned, i.e., academic sanctions such as warning, probation, and dismissal are irrelevant in grade appeals.

What Can Be Appealed

Only final course grades may be appealed. Appeals may not be filed until the final grade is posted.

Grades may be appealed that are allegedly caused by:

  1. Unequal application of grading standards or applying grading criteria to one student or some students in a manner that treats them differently.

  2. Unfair or unannounced alterations of assignments, grading criteria, or computational process as stated in the syllabus.

  3. Computation dispute about the final grade.

  4. Failure by the course instructor to document a finding of academic dishonesty that affected the final grade. See Academic Integrity Policy.

What Cannot Be Appealed

  1. If grade change does not affect the final course grade. 

  2. Disputes over the interpretation of the syllabus.

  3. Comparison of course grade policy with different courses or different sections of the same course.

  4. The impact of a grade on a student’s academic progress or eligibility for athletics, scholarships, veteran’s benefits, or financial aid. 

Grade Appeal Facilitators

The Provost/Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs appoints Grade Appeal Facilitators on the recommendation of the Faculty Senate President. There will be two Grade Appeal Facilitators for each academic council of the college/school.

Role of the grade appeal facilitator

The Grade Appeal Facilitator serves students and faculty as someone to go to for grading issues and assists with the informal resolution process and the formal grade appeal process. The Facilitator provides students and faculty with information about the grade appeal process, forms, and timeline, and addresses any questions relating to grading dispute.

Process For Grade Appeal

Informal Resolution: Students with questions concerning the final posted grade should immediately contact the course instructor to inquire about the issue as soon as grades are posted by the Registrar’s Office. The student may also notify the Grade Appeal Facilitator at the same time. When the course instructor is not available, or no longer works at UMass Dartmouth, the department chairperson should act on behalf of the instructor.

Formal Grade Appeal

If the student and course instructor do not reconcile differences informally, the student may bring the issue formally to the Grade Appeal Facilitator by filling out the Grade Appeal Form. The form should be supported with a clear basis for appeal. The burden of proof is upon the student to present documentation as evidence and demonstrate the appropriateness of formal appeal.

Deadlines: The deadline for submitting a Formal Grade Appeal each
semester, including summer terms, is seven days after final grades are due or
seven days after the final grades are posted in COIN, whichever is the later date.

If you have questions or to begin the grade appeal process, students should contact the Grade Appeal Officer (grade.appeal@umassd.edu).