2.41 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT GRIEVANCES

Effective: January 19, 2000

PURPOSE

a) To allow students to grieve against a faculty member or an administrator when appropriate.

b) It is designed as a university-wide policy to replace the various individual unit policies and the "Student Grievance Procedure" outlined in the Student Handbook. ( April 1, 1992).

AUTHORITY/SOURCE

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Vice President for Student Affairs

POLICY

Students have the right to bring grievances against a faculty member or an administrator concerning academic matters. Such matters may include but are not limited to: failure to abide by the stated policies and procedures articulated in a syllabus, unprofessional classroom practice, arbitrary and capricious awarding of grades, failure to respect a student's right to privacy, and discrimination based on age, sex, religion, race, marital status, national origin or disability. (The last category, discrimination, will be handled by the EOP Office, following procedures developed in compliance with the Florida Equity Act). This document outlines the procedures by which student grievances are to be handled.

Student Government Council

The Student Government Council has an Advisory Branch to counsel and assist students in grievance procedure decisions. Students may contact the SGC office for more information.

To achieve this purpose, the student must adhere to the following guidelines:

1. The student must exhaust remedies provided by the informal grievance procedure described below.

2. The student may then elect to use the formal grievance procedure described below.

3. Formal grievances may be deemed to be invalid or outside the jurisdiction of the University Student Grievance Committee.

4. When the complaint originates in a classroom setting between an instructor and a student, the complaint must be filed in a timely fashion; i.e., no later than 10 working days into the semester following the semester in which the complaint originated.

5. When the complaint does not originate in a classroom setting, the student must begin the grievance procedure in a timely fashion but no later than 20 working days following the incident.

PROCEDURE

Informal Grievance Procedure

If a student has a complaint against a faculty member, the student should attempt to resolve the complaint by an informal meeting with the faculty member involved. If the student believes that he or she cannot discuss the complaint with the instructor, the student should submit a written letter of complaint specifying the details of the grievance and the actions he or she is requesting to the chair of the department within which the faculty member is located. The student should file this complaint in as timely a manner as possible, but in no case can the complaint be filed later than the limits prescribed above.

If the student has an unresolved complaint against a chair, as an instructor of record, the student should submit a written letter to the dean of the school/college. The dean and/or the dean's designee should meet with the student within ten working days to discuss and attempt to resolve the complaint. If the student has an unresolved complaint against a dean or director as an instructor of record, the written letter of complaint should be submitted to the office of the Provost/Vice President of Academic Affairs. Again, the student should file this complaint in as timely a manner as possible, but in no case can the complaint be filed later than ten working days after the beginning of the semester (the first day of classes) following the semester in which the incident occurred.

Upon receiving a written letter of complaint, the chair of the department or the dean/director or the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs has ten working days to notify the parties involved and to schedule a meeting. The student may be accompanied by a counselor (parent, friend, attorney, faculty member, etc.) if the student so wishes. A counselor may consult with the student, but he or she may not cross-examine those giving testimony or otherwise participate in the meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to resolve the student's complaint informally. The chair (or dean/director or the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs) will keep a written record of the meeting between the parties and within five working days will inform each in writing (by certified mail to the student) of the understanding reached at the meeting. This written record will be kept for a minimum of three years.

If after receiving the written communication of the result of the informal procedure the student is not satisfied, he or she may ask for a formal resolution of his or her complaint by filing a request with the office of the Provost/ Vice President for Academic Affairs for a hearing before the University Student Grievance Committee. A petition for a formal resolution must be filed no later than ten working days from the date of the postmark of the chair's (or dean's/director's or Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs) letter stating the outcome of the informal resolution.

Formal Grievance Procedure

A student may not elect to use the formal grievance procedure until the student has met with the faculty member, the chairperson, or the dean/director of the school/college. The only exception to this is when the student has submitted his/her written complaint for informal resolution and has received no response or action within the ten working days established by this policy.

A student has ten working days following his or her notification of the conclusion of the informal resolution to request a formal resolution. The request for a formal resolution, detailing the specifics of the complaint and attaching all previous correspondence generated during the informal resolution process, must be sent to the office of the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs (form is available from Provost/Vice President's office). The student must secure the signature of the chair or dean, on the petition for a formal hearing, to certify that the informal process has been completed. Within ten working days from receiving the complaint, the office of the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs or his or her designee shall submit the complaint to the Chair of the University Student Grievance Committee for review and consideration.

The Chair of the University Student Grievance Committee may request a Committee ruling on the validity of a student grievance or whether the Committee has jurisdiction. The Committee may rule that a formal hearing is unwarranted. Should the committee determine that a hearing is unwarranted, the student will be notified in writing within ten working days of the Committee's decision. The decision of the Committee regarding the validity of the complaint is final.

If a formal hearing is to be held, it will generally be heard at the next meeting of the Committee. The Chair of the University Student Grievance Committee will inform the faculty member or the dean or the director and the student (by certified mail to the student) of the date on which the case will be heard. The student and the faculty member, chair or dean have the right to be physically present and be accompanied by a counselor. Such a counselor may consult with the student or the faculty member but cannot examine or cross-examine those giving testimony or otherwise participate in the hearing. It will be the Chair's decision as to whether or not attendance of either party is mandatory. At the Chair's discretion, either party can present his or her case in writing. All relevant documents should be in the hands of the Committee Chair no later than five working days before the Committee meets to take up the case. Any documents received after this date may be included at the discretion of the Chair of the Committee.

After hearing the case, the Committee will meet and make a recommendation which will be forwarded to the office of the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs. Within ten working days, the office of the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs will communicate the Committee's recommendation to all parties (by certified mail to the student.)

Structure of the University Student Grievance Committee

Membership

The University Student Grievance Committee consists of five members: three faculty members, including a non-voting Chair, and two students. Membership for individual hearings throughout the year may rotate among nominated faculty and/or students.

At its first meeting in the Fall Semester, the Faculty Senate shall appoint a pool of at least seven faculty members, to serve on the University Student Grievance Committee for the academic year (including the Summer term). One of these faculty members appointed by the Faculty Senate shall serve as the non-voting Chair of the University Student Grievance Committee. The selection of the Chair will be made by the Chairperson of the Faculty Senate in consultation with the Provost's office. From this faculty pool, three will be contacted for serving on each committee hearing. In the event that these appointed faculty members are not available, the Chair of the Faculty Senate shall appoint faculty members to fill the vacant positions on the Committee.

The President of the Student Government Council (SGC) shall furnish the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs the names of at least seven students who will serve on the University Student Grievance Committee for the academic year (including the Summer term). In the event that these students are not available, the President of SGC shall appoint students to fill the vacant positions on the Committee.

The decisions of the University Student Grievance Committee are based on a majority vote. The Chair of the Committee will vote only in case of a tie.

Schedule of Meetings

It will be the responsibility of the Chair of the University Student Grievance Committee to schedule meetings as needed during each semester.

Challenges

The student(s), faculty member, chair or dean involved in the grievance have the right to challenge the impartiality of any panel member and to request of the Chair that member's exclusion from participation, stating in writing to the Chair the reasons for the request. A challenge may be exercised no more than twice. Upon receiving such a challenge, the Chair is obliged to require that the participating member withdraw. Also, a member of the Committee is obliged to withdraw from participating on the Committee when he or she doubts his or her ability to be impartial and to decide the matter according to the evidence presented. In the event a member of the Committee withdraws, the Chair shall select another member to sit as a replacement.

Hearing Procedures

The hearing will be conducted under the provisions of the Florida Sunshine Law, and a tape recording will be made of all hearings. The Chair will call the hearing to order and identify all those present:

1. The student will present his or her complaint (including the calling of witnesses if necessary) and a statement of action being requested.

2. The faculty member, chair or dean will respond (including the calling of witnesses if necessary).

3. The Committee members may cross-examine any of the parties involved.

4. The student summarizes his or her case.

5. The faculty member, chair or dean summarizes his or her case.

6. The Committee reviews the case in executive session and makes its recommendations for appropriate action to the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs.

7. Within five working days, the Chair of the Committee communicates its recommendations to the office of the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs.

8. The Chair will be responsible for keeping records of the Committee's deliberations and complying with all laws regarding the confidentiality of University records.

Within ten working days, the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs or his or her designee communicates the Committee's recommendation to all parties (by certified mail to the student).

Access to Information

Faculty and administrators should comply with all reasonable and legal requests for relevant information that will assist the student in presenting his or her case and the Committee in reaching a recommendation.

Right of Appeal

If any of the above outlined policies and procedures is violated, any of the parties involved has the right to appeal to the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs. Any appeal must be made within ten working days from the date the Committee's decision is received by the student, faculty member, chair or dean. The Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs shall evaluate the complaint and render a decision and a course of action on behalf of the student no later than ten working days from the receipt of the complaint. In these matters, the decision of the Provost/Vice President is final.

Page last updated: April 3, 2002