Student Academic Grievances

Each academic college will implement the following procedures for the resolution of academic grievances filed by students. These procedures are to be followed by a student who feels he/she has been mistreated with respect to an academic matter. These procedures are also to be used in grade appeals. The student may seek the assistance of the SGA Director of Student Rights and Grievances at any time during the informal and formal procedures. All academic grievances must be initiated within the prescribed time period(s) indicated in the following Informal and Formal Procedures.

Informal Procedures

1. The student must attempt to resolve the academic grievance with the faculty member involved within 60 calendar days of the alleged incident.
2. If the matter is not resolved with the faculty member, for whatever reason, the student may pursue the issue with the head of the faculty member’s department within 90 calendar days of the alleged incident by completing a Student Academic Grievance Form and submitting it to the head of the department in which the faculty member teaches.  The department head may use a department based grievance committee to review and make recommendations regarding the matter. A copy of the Academic Grievance Form is available in every academic department office and Student Life.
3. If the matter is not resolved at the department level, the student may submit a copy of his/her academic grievance form to the Academic Dean of the College in which the faculty member teaches. The grievance form must be filed with the Academic Dean within six (6) months of the alleged incident. The Dean should informally review the merits of the complaint and attempt to facilitate a resolution of the matter before initiating the formal process.

Student Academic Grievance Form

Formal Procedures

1. The Academic Dean shall verify that the 6 month deadline for filing the academic grievance has been met. If so, the Academic Dean shall refer the matter to the College Academic Grievance Committee within ten (10) work days after receipt of the grievance form and/or attempts to facilitate an informal resolution. If the form is not submitted to the Academic Dean within six months of the alleged incident, the Academic Dean shall inform the student in writing that the period for acting on the matter has expired; and therefore, the form (petition) is rejected and the matter closed.
2. If the student has met the deadline, the Academic Dean shall provide the chair of the committee with copies of all pertinent documents related to the academic grievance.
3. The hearing will be scheduled by the chair at a date and time agreed upon by the complainant and the alleged offender. If an agreement is not reached, the chair will set the date and time for the hearing. The chair will make every attempt to schedule the hearing within 30 work days of receiving the grievance. The chair may postpone the hearing for good cause. The decision of the chair to postpone or reschedule a hearing is final and not subject to appeal.
4. The chair will caution both parties that there should be no communication between them concerning the grievance. Both the grievant and the faculty member shall refer all matters pertinent to the academic grievance to the chair.
5. The grievant and the faculty member will provide the chair with a list of witnesses to be called. Each party is responsible for notifying his/her witnesses of the meeting. The chair may assist with summoning witnesses to the hearing; however, the responsibility of producing witnesses rests with the respective parties involved.