Student Academic Rights Advisor

Students may be referred to the Advisor via email, phone, website, booking system, or in person at the NAITSA office. Staff and faculty are welcome to speak with the Advisor generally about a student, but they won’t be able to share information without the express consent of the student.

The Student Academic Rights Advisor is a confidential and supportive resource. They will not share the details of your situation with anyone without your expressed permission unless there’s an indication of an intention to harm others.

Consultation, advice, and/or ongoing support from the Advisor is a service that NAITSA provides to all its members at no extra cost.

• AD 2.5 Academic Progression Appeals Procedure, section 3.2.
• Grade Reappraisal Form
• You can appeal the grade of a specific assignment or your final course grade. The first step is to follow the Informal Appeal process and contact your instructor. Suppose you’re not satisfied with the instructor’s answer or they don’t respond to you. In that case, you can forward your informal appeal to your chair/program leader within seven (7) business days from the date the final grade of your course was posted. If you are in the business school, the appeal should be forwarded to the Business Information Centre (BIC). The program leader (or BIC) has five (5) business days to provide you with a written response to your informal appeal request.
• If you’re dissatisfied with the response received, you can initiate the Formal Appeal process by submitting the Grade Reappraisal Form and supporting documents to the Office of the Registrar within three (3) business days of receiving the program leader’s written response.
• You should remember that, if the appeal package is accepted, the revised grade is final regardless if it is higher, lower, or equal to the original grade.

All NAIT students have the right to an inclusive learning environment that is free from discrimination and harassment, and that protects the students’ safety and sense of dignity.

• If you believe your rights are being violated by another student and going against the Student Rights and Responsibilities Policy, please contact the Student Resolution Office at resolutions@nait.ca.
• If you believe your rights are being violated by NAIT staff, please contact the Student Academic Rights Advisor at studentrights@naitsa.ca

• AD 2.5 Academic Progression Appeals Procedure, section 3.5. – suspension for academic reasons.
• SR 1.5 Student Appeals Procedure – suspension for non-academic reasons.
• Academic Progression Appeal Form

NAITSA is proud to partner with Nimbus Learning to bring NAIT students the opportunity to find (and become) tutors in the courses they need help with! If you can’t find a tutor for the course you need support with on the Nimbus app, you can go to naitsa.ca/nimbus and fill out the tutor request form – our VP Academic will receive the request and search for a tutor to support you in your studies! If you need extra support, don’t hesitate to reach out to us – we will be happy to help you find the resources you need!

• IP 1.3 Assessment Procedure
• According to NAIT’s Assessment Procedure, sub-section 3.4.1, “summative assessment feedback, which may or may not include grades, is provided in a timely manner, within five (5) business days, to allow students to use that feedback to inform where they should concentrate their learning.” Some assessments may require a longer period of time for feedback based on their nature, and it should be indicated on the course syllabus if that is the case.
• Students should have received grades back in the LMS (Moodle) on at least 30% of the course weight prior to the course withdrawal date.

• AD 2.7 Cancellation and Withdrawal Procedure
• Credit courses (certificate, diploma, or degree) and Academic Upgrading:
  • To view the following deadlines for each of your courses, go to your MyNAIT Student Portal > Open Self-Service > Manage Classes > View My Classes > Enrolment Deadlines.
  • Withdrawal before 12% completion of the course: no grade will be shown on your official transcript, and your GPA won’t be impacted. Withdraw can be made through the student portal.
  • Withdrawal after 12% but before 75% completion of the course: a W (withdrawn) will be shown on your official transcript, and your GPA won’t be impacted. The withdrawal form must be completed and submitted to Program Leader.
  • Withdrawal after 75% completion of the course: a WF grade will be assigned, which has a grade point of zero (0), and it will impact your GPA. The withdrawal form must be completed and submitted to Program Leader.
• Apprenticeship courses:
  • You can drop your course through the MyTradeSecrets portal before your first day of classes.
  • If you want to withdraw from a course after the first day of classes, you need to contact your program chair.
• Non-credit courses (e.g. Continuing Education and ESL):
  • Withdraw before the first day of classes: course won’t be shown on your official transcript.
  • Withdraw on or after the first day of classes: a W will be shown on your official transcript.
• For refund information, please visit NAIT’s Refunds website.
• Compassionate withdrawal: if extraordinary circumstances beyond your control (e.g. incapacitating illness, death in the immediate family, or caring for an immediate family member with a critical illness) prevent you from following the drop or withdrawal timelines, you can submit a Compassionate Withdrawal Form to request a withdrawal without academic penalty and a pro-rated refund.

NAIT’s Learning Advisors can support you with staying on top of your studies, achieving grades to a higher standard, overcoming barriers in the learning environment, and accessing disability services. You can book an appointment with them to talk about your accommodation needs here, by emailing them at learningservices@nait.ca, or stopping by room E105 at the main campus during their drop-in sessions.

If a support person contacts the SARA on the student’s behalf without their approval, we will only be able to discuss general matters without specifics regarding the student’s case.