The grievance procedures of the College of Education follow those set forth in University policy STAF 6.27 [pdf] as well as those applicable guidelines found in the Faculty Manual. The procedures described below address academic and non-academic grievances.

• The basis of an academic grievance shall be a complaint about a grade in a course, an absence that affects the final grade in a course or a violation of Teaching Responsibility policies contained in the Faculty Manual. The procedures herein shall not extend to matters of grading student work where the substance of a complaint is simply the student's disagreement with the mark or grade placed on their work. Such matters shall be discussed by a student and their instructor; final authority shall remain with the instructor. However, these procedures do provide a formal process where a student can request a review after receiving a final grade if they believe there was an error in computation of the grade or does not follow the grading rubric outlined in the syllabus.
• A non‐academic grievance is a complaint by a student about an alleged action by a university employee which adversely affects the status, rights or privileges of the student. Grievances relating to discrimination by reason of age, color, gender, disability, national origin, genetics, race, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran’s status will be referred to the Office of Civil Rights & Title IX. In addition, the Student Disability Resource Center will assist students with disabilities with university grievance procedures. For purposes of this policy, harassment is considered to be a type of discrimination.

A student who wishes to bring a grievance within the college must initiate the grievance within 30 business days from the date of the alleged violation. 

 

Informal Resolution

The student should first seek an informal resolution with the faculty member or university employee in question. The student should discuss the matter with the person who they believe was unfair. If the student has good reason not to attempt a resolution with this person, the Office of Student Advocacy will arrange for the student to meet with the appropriate supervisor or department chair to address the grievance. If no satisfactory resolution is achieved after meeting with the faculty member or university employee in question, the student may pursue the matter further with the department chair (for academic grievances) or supervisor of the person (for non-academic grievances). Informal resolutions are deemed satisfactory when all parties arrive at a resolution that is acceptable. The outcome of the informal resolution will be shared in writing, an email is acceptable, by a university official to create a record of the outcome.

 

Formal Resolution

If the parties cannot reach a satisfactory informal resolution or one of the parties does not accept the informal resolution shared in writing, they can file for a formal resolution with the College of Education Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

The student must submit a request for formal resolution of their grievance in a written petition to the Associate Dean within five (5) business days of conclusion of the informal resolution process. The written request for a formal resolution can be sent via email and must clearly address the following:

• A description of the grievance to include the way(s) in which the student was aggrieved and by whom. Include a description of the ways in which the students has sought resolution with the faculty member/employee including dates of communications.
• Preferred outcome(s).
• Any documentation and/or evidence that substantiates the claim(s).

The written formal resolution petition will be shared with The College Student Affairs Committee, which serves as the student grievance committee for the College of Education. The committee will follow procedures outlined in STAF 6.27 [pdf] when reviewing the request for formal resolution of the grievance. This procedure includes sharing the names of the committee members with the student so that the student may review to identify any member who may have a bias related to the grievance. The committee will also share the written petition with the person who is the subject of the grievance. That person will submit a response in writing to the Student Affairs Committee within five business days of receiving the petition. The committee will meet within five business days of receiving the response to make a decision on the student grievance. While appeal committee decisions will be made on a review of the written petition and response, in extraordinary circumstances, the committee can request to call parties as witnesses. Generally,  committee decisions will be made at the meeting stage, but the committee may take additional reasonable time, if needed, but not to exceed ten business days without permission from the academic dean or vice president.

The College of Education Student Affairs Committee decision will be issued to both parties in writing. The decision of the committee is final for non-academic issues. For academic issues, students have one additional appeal opportunity. Undergraduate students may appeal to the Faculty Senate Committee on Scholastic Standards and Petitions, while graduate students may appeal to the Grievance, Appeals and Petitions Committee of the Graduate Council.

 

The College of Education Student Affairs Committee

The make-up of the College Student Affairs Committee is outlined in the College of Education by-laws and includes faculty and two students. If both students are not available, at least one must be present when the committee is reviewing the grievance. An undergraduate student committee member will be present when the committee is reviewing a grievance brought by an undergraduate student and a graduate student committee member will be present when the committee is reviewing a grievance brought by a graduate student. In cases when the full committee is not available during the fall/spring of the academic year, the committee to hear a grievance will be comprised of at least three members of the College Student Affairs Committee and must include at least one undergraduate or graduate student depending on the level of the student bringing the grievance. When decisions are required outside the fall/spring academic year and members of the committee are not available, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs may appoint a committee that includes representatives outside the student's department to review the petition. In accordance with University policy STAF 6.27 [pdf], the Dean of the college will not serve on the grievance committee.