Student Complaint and Formal Grievance Procedures
The following policy is in place to allow students to address complaints with appropriate college officials, as well as to file formal grievances, as defined below.
| I. |
The first step in resolving any complaint is ordinarily for the complaining person to discuss the matter with the person he/she feels to be responsible for the problem, offense, or violation of policy. Under some circumstances, however, the person alleging the complaint may prefer to discuss the matter first with a college official or administrator, not with the alleged offender. |
| II. |
If in doubt about this procedure or proper action under it, students should consult with a member of the Student Life Office staff. |
| III. |
At each step in this complaint and grievance procedure, the parties involved should make an attempt to resolve the issue involved. If the issue cannot be satisfactorily resolved in that way, the next step in the procedure is then taken. |
| IV. |
The student may file a formal, written grievance. The form to file a grievance may be obtained here. |
- A “grievance” is defined as a written complaint that the student has been negatively affected by a violation of the College’s policies, as contained in the Student Handbook, Student Bill of Rights, or elsewhere. It does not include generalized complaints of unhappiness or complaints about other students. In addition, it does not include appeals of decisions regarding the student if there is a separate and established appeals process already in place (for example, decisions by the Student Judiciary or the Academic Standards Committee), nor does it include complaints of a violation of the Sexual Misconduct Policy or of the Policy Prohibiting Discrimination and Harassment, which have separate procedures for resolution.
- Ordinarily such grievances are filed with the Student Life Office and handled by the Dean of Students (or a designee). If, however, the alleged grievance has occurred in the instructional program of the College, the grievance must be filed with the Associate Dean of the College and addressed under policies and procedures applicable to academic matters. Likewise, if the grievance is against an employee of the College alleging some type of misconduct, the grievance must be filed with the Office of Human Resources and addressed under policies and procedures applicable to personnel matters. The grievance should be filed within 20 days of the date of the alleged incident giving rise to the complaint. If there is person or persons against whom a grievance is filed, he/she/they will be asked to file a written response to the grievance, normally within 5 business days.
- A hearing may be requested before the dean receiving the formal grievance; if a hearing is requested, the dean should schedule the hearing as expeditiously as is reasonable and practical, giving all relevant parties at least 48 hours’ notice. At any hearing held, the parties will be allowed to present additional evidence related to the alleged grievance, limited by the discretion of the dean.
- The dean reviewing the grievance will normally make a decision within 10 business days of the receipt of the grievance and response(s) or of the hearing, whichever is later, notifying the grieving party and other college officials, as appropriate.
- If dissatisfied with the decision of the dean, the grieving party may make an appeal to the President of the College, but must do so within 48 hours of the receipt of the dean’s decision. The President’s decision is final, and will normally be made within 10 business days of receipt of the appeal.