Grievance and Due Process Procedure
Any person can make a verbal or written complaint to any faculty or staff member concerning a decision(s) or alleged violation(s) of the standards of conduct of students and/or college employees. Immediate resolution of the matter at the lowest level is the goal of the institution. Therefore, when appropriate, violations of a minor nature will be resolved through informal procedures.
Informal Complaint Procedure: Where possible, student complaints should be resolved on an informal basis without the filing of a formal grievance. A student has 10 business days from the date of the incident being grieved to resolve his/her complaint informally by approaching his/her instructor, department chair, or any other staff or faculty member directly involved in the grieved incident. Where this process does not result in a resolution of the grievance, the student may proceed to the formal grievance procedure.
Formal Complaint Procedure: When a student cannot resolve his/her complaint informally, he/she may use the formal grievance procedure.
Within 15 business days of the incident being grieved, the student must file a formal grievance in the Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs (VPSA) with the following information:
Name, date, brief description of the incident being grieved, remedy requested, signature, and a description of the informal remedy attempted by student and outcome.
If the grievance is against the VPSA, the student must file the grievance in the Office of the President.
The VPSA, or his/her designee, will investigate the matter and supply a written response to the student within 15 business days. The same timeline for response to the student will be followed if the investigation is conducted by the President or his/her designee. If the grieved incident involves possible unlawful harassment, discrimination, or retaliation for reporting unlawful harassment/discrimination, the investigation will be handled pursuant to the Procedure: Unlawful Harassment and Discrimination of Students. If the grieved incident is closely related to an incident being processed through the disciplinary procedure, the disciplinary procedure will take precedence; and the grievance will not be processed until after the disciplinary procedure has run its course. The VPSA, or his/her designee, shall be granted an additional 15 business days to investigate the grievance upon notice to the student filing the grievance.
Appeal of Response: If a student is dissatisfied with the response from the VPSA, the student may appeal the decision to the President of the College. The college staff has no right to appeal.
A student shall file a written appeal to the President within five (5) business days of receiving the response from the Office of the VPSA.
The appeal will be decided based entirely on documents provided by the student and the administration; therefore, the student must ensure that he/she has provided all relevant documents with his/her appeal.
At the sole discretion of the President, grievance appeals at the College may be held in one of the following two ways: the President may review the information provided by the student and administration and make the final decision; or the President may appoint a cross-functional committee comprised of three (3) to five (5) members, including one chair, to make the final decision.
The decision of either the President or the cross-functional committee will be made within 10 business days of receipt by the President of the appeal.
The President shall send notification of the decision to the student in writing within five (5) business days of the final decision.
Whichever process is chosen by the President, the decision of the grievance appeal is final.
Retaliation against a student for filing a grievance is strictly prohibited.
