Subject: L&S Guidance on Graduate Policies
From: "'Lynne Prost' via ls-dept-admins" <[email-masked]>
To: "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>, "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2025 19:51:28 +0000
List-Id: <ls-dept-admins.g-groups.wisc.edu>

To: L&S Department Chairs and Administrators
Actions requested:

  *   Share the guidance below with faculty and staff who work with graduate students.
  *   Update your Graduate Program Handbooks to reflect new policies: the L&S Policy for Graduate Student Academic Appeals <https://kb.wisc.edu/ls/page.php?id=147805> and the Graduate School policy on Annual Written Feedback<https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1250>; and clarify related existing departmental policies.
  *   Consider creating a Graduate Program Handbook<https://kb.wisc.edu/grad/34123>, if you don’t currently have one.
Why this is important:
If a graduate student raises a concern with the College or the Graduate School, we will need to have relevant program policies clearly articulated.

New L&S Policy for Graduate Student Academic Appeals
Beginning Fall 2025, L&S will implement a College-level appeal process that graduate students may use to appeal academic decisions. The policy can be found here: L&S Policy and Procedures for Graduate Student Academic Appeals<https://kb.wisc.edu/ls/page.php?id=147805>. The policy will be pushed to Guide for all L&S graduate programs via the shared content process, to be published June 1, 2025.
As described in the policy, academic appeals will first be handled at the department level. Key considerations as you review or define your departmental process include:

  *   Alignment with the L&S policy regarding what can be appealed
  *   Who will review appeals
  *   What timelines you will allow
  *   Use the word “appeal” to describe review of academic decisions. This is distinct from any grievance policies you may have, which generally relate to mistreatment.
Your Academic Associate Dean and I are available to consult on your policy and on any cases that may be brought by students before policies are published.

Annual Written Feedback
The Graduate School recently announced a new policy<https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1250> requiring that all graduate students receive annual written feedback on their progress. This policy is effective immediately, for the 2024-25 academic year. Please determine your department’s written feedback practices as soon as possible and share them with your graduate students.
Note that in cases where concerns are raised to the College level, such as an appeal of an academic decision, L&S will expect to be able to review annual written feedback.

Handbook Recommendations
If you do not currently have a Graduate Program Handbook, we recommend creating one using the Graduate School’s template<https://kb.wisc.edu/grad/34123> as a starting point.

We recommend including the following in your Graduate Program Handbooks:

  *   A link to the L&S Policy and Procedures for Graduate Academic Appeals<https://kb.wisc.edu/ls/page.php?id=147805>
  *   A department-level appeal process for review of graduate student academic decisions. Ensure that the word “appeal” is used to describe this process and that it is differentiated from any grievance policies.
  *   A clear description of how each student will receive annual written feedback.

Please reach out with any questions or concerns.
Thank you,
Lynne

Lynne Prost, PhD
she/her/hers
Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Academic Affairs
College of Letters & Science
University of Wisconsin – Madison
[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>
L&S TA Training & Support<https://teachlearn.ls.wisc.edu/tas/>
L&S Graduate Student Affairs<https://kb.wisc.edu/ls/121882>