The College has established policies and procedures to resolve student academic grievances that result from the acts or omissions of faculty members or administrators. This resolution should be achieved at the lowest level and in the most equitable way possible. The burden of proof rests with the complainant.
When students believe they have an academic grievance, they should first seek to resolve it by discussions with the faculty member or administrator involved. If these discussions are not satisfactory, the complaint should be taken to the next highest level listed in the following procedures. If the grievance arises from a classroom situation, students should take the following steps in seeking redress:
- Consult with the instructor involved, in person or by written contact, no later than 12 calendar days following the incident.
- If agreement on or compromise of the problem is not achieved within 3 instructional days, take the grievance to the appropriate Division Director.
- If agreement on or compromise of the problem is not achieved within 3 instructional days, take the grievance to the appropriate Associate Dean.
- If still not satisfied that a fair and equitable solution has been found within 3 instructional days, take academic grievances to the Dean, Instructional Affairs. The Dean will have 5 instructional days to review the case and attempt to find an equitable solution. If still not satisfied, move to step 5.
- The student should read the Judgments section of this policy carefully before contacting the Dean, Student Success and Sparks Campus for a hearing before the Admissions and Academic Standards Committee.
- As a last resort and only after steps 1-5 have been carried out or conscientiously attempted, a student may take a grievance in writing to the Dean, Student Affairs and Sparks Campus and the chairperson of the Admissions and Academic Standards Committee. The grievance must be filed within 20 instructional class days of the term following that in which the grievance occurred.
No instructor or administrator shall be allowed to delay resolution of an academic grievance by failing to hold a consultation with a student within a reasonable length of time of the initial request. Normally, such consultation should occur immediately after receipt of the student request, unless bona fide reasons, such as illness, personal emergency, or campus absences for professional reasons make the time limit unreasonable.
In some instances when the personalities or problem involved would make starting at the level of the complaint too awkward or embarrassing, students may initiate a complaint at the next higher level listed.