812.01: Student Complaints

GRIEVANCE POLICY AND PROCEDURE FOR STUDENTS

The purpose of the grievance procedure is to provide a means for resolving legitimate complaints. A complaint is defined as a grievance that cannot be resolved informally and is submitted in writing to either the Dean of Instruction’s Office, the Dean of Students’ Office, or the President based on the nature of the complaint. The employee receiving a student complaint will direct the student to the appropriate office based on the three categories of complaints listed below.

Academic Complaints (not to include grade appeals)
1. A student with a grievance in an academic area should first discuss the problem with the appropriate faculty member to attempt to resolve the problem.
2. If the matter is not resolved to the student’s satisfaction after discussing the issue with the faculty member, the student should contact the College official immediately responsible for the division in which the issued occurred (e.g. division chair) within five (5) College work days.
3. If a mutually satisfactory agreement is not reached with the College official responsible for the division in which the issue occurred (e.g. division chair), the student may submit the grievance in writing to the Dean of Instruction within five (5) College work days.
4. The Dean of Instruction, or designee, will provide a written response to the student within five (5) college work days of receiving the letter of grievance, as described in 1.3.
5. The decision of the Dean of Instruction, or designee, will be final.
Student Services Complaints
1. The incident should first be reported/discussed with the professional staff member responsible for the area (Admissions, Counseling, Student Support Services, etc.) in which the grievance occurred within five (5) working days of the incident.
2. If, after discussing/reporting an incident with the professional staff member responsible for the area (Admissions, Counseling, Student Support Services, etc.), the complainant (student or employee) wishes to file a formal complaint they must do so by completing the Student Services Complaint Form A and submitting it to the Dean of Students.
3. Within five (5) working days of receiving a complaint form, the Dean of Students, or designee, will give a written response to the complainant.
4. The Dean of Students, or designee, may require any subjects mentioned a formal complaint (i.e. defendants) to complete the Student Services Defense Form B. This forms allows students or employees mentioned in a complaint the opportunity to rebut any allegations made against them. The Student Services Defense Form B must be completed within five (5) working days of the time it is requested by the Dean of Students, or designee.
5. The Dean of Students, or designee, will provide a decision to all parties involved in a complaint within five (5) working days after receiving all accounts detailed above.
6. After receiving notification of a decision, any parties involved in the complaint will have five (5) working days to submit Student Services Official Appeal Form C appealing the decision rendered by the Dean of Students, or designee.
7. Student Services Official Appeal Form C submissions will be sent to the Disciplinary Appeal Committee for review. The Disciplinary Appeal Committee may choose to uphold, revoke, or adapt the decision of the Dean of Students, or designee.

All decisions rendered by the Disciplinary Appeal Committee will be final.

3. General Complaints

The incident should first be discussed with the professional staff member responsible for the area in which the grievance occurred within five (5) working days of the incident.
If the matter is not resolved to the student’s satisfaction, the student should submit a complaint in writing to the President’s Office within five (5) days of the initial report and/or discussion.
The President, or designee, will give a written response to the student within five (5) working days of receiving the complaint.

All decisions of the President, or designee, are final.