Administrative Regulation Title:  Student Grievance Procedure

Regulation Number:  5.13.2

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The student grievance procedure provides a process for resolving certain student disputes with employees, decisions, and defined processes and procedures of the college. This procedure applies to all student issues, including but not limited to academic issues, student services, or administrative concerns. Students who wish to appeal final course grades should follow the Grade Appeal Process defined in Administrative Regulation 5.13.3.

 

Persons who were enrolled as students at Eastern Wyoming College (EWC) at the time the incident occurred may use the grievance procedure. The person filing the grievance must be the subject of alleged unfair treatment that is related to their status as a student or program participant. A grievance cannot be filed on behalf of another person.

 

If the basis of the claim is discrimination and/or harassment based on federal or state civil rights laws, the student may use the College’s grievance process or file a complaint directly with the Office of Civil Rights. Complaints may be filed with the OCR using OCR’s electronic complaint from at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/about/otfices//;st/ocr/complaihtintro.html.

 

Definitions

  1. Vice President of Student and Academic Services is the College employee designated by the College President to administer student grievances.
  2. Complainant(s) is a person who is subject to alleged inequity as it applies to Board Policies, and/or College Procedures. For purposes of this procedure, a Complainant(s) is a student who was enrolled at the time of the alleged incident.
  3. Accommodations – Assistance for students requiring language or interpretation assistance, disabilities accommodations, or alternate arrangement for online/distance learning students.
  4. Appeal – The procedure for further consideration of a grievance if the complainant or respondent believes there were exceptional circumstances that affected the grievance procedure decision.
  5. Bias – “A tendency to believe that some people, ideas, et c., are better than others that usually results in treating some people unfairly.” (Source: Webster’s online dictionary)
  6. Department Chair/Program Director – Person who oversees a department at Eastern Wyoming College.  Refer to the EWC Organizational Chart for specific information.
  7. Discrimination – Unequal treatment based on race, gender, color, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity, or religion. (Source: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/howto.html)
  8. Exceptional Circumstances – The discovery of new evidence not presented in the initial grievance and/or an allegation of serious bias or discrimination at some level of the student grievance procedure and/or documentation showing that the grievance policy was not properly followed by the College.
  9. Formal – The informal communication regarding an incident has not led to resolution through initial steps in the procedure and the student files an official grievance form.  All formal grievances are documented and logged in the office of the Vice President of Student and Academic Services.
  10. Harassment – Severe, pervasive, and offensive behavior that negatively affects another’s access to an educational opportunity or other college benefit.
  11. Incident – The situation or circumstance that the student perceives as grievable.
  12. Informal – The communication regarding an incident is simply at the inquiry stage and open to resolution without a formal procedure.
  13. Student Grievance Form – The electronic form a student uses during the grievance procedure, available on the College website and the office of the Vice President of Student and Academic Services.
  14. Working Days – Days the College is open and operating under a normal schedule. This excludes weekends, closings due to weather conditions, and holidays observed by EWC.

Grievance Process

 

  1. EWC has established the grievance process to ensure that the student’s rights are protected and the College community functions in an orderly manner.
  2. Except as otherwise outlined herein, a grievance is a dispute of policy and/or procedure with college employees.
  3. The following steps outline the formal steps the Student Grievance Committee and the Vice President of Student and Academic Services shall follow to ensure that all parties in the process receive fair and equitable treatment.

 

Student Grievances

 

  1. The basic outline of the procedure shall be included in the Student Handbook.  The formal grievance procedure is not intended to replace informal complaint procedures, but only provides an additional avenue of dialog for students.
  2. The Student Grievance Committee shall provide a prompt, fair, and equitable hearing for each grievance filed and submit a written recommendation to the Vice President of Student and Academic Services.  In some cases, the committee may determine, based on written evidence, that the grievance does not meet the definition of a grievance and shall so recommend a summary judgement to the Vice President of Student and Academic Services without convening an internal meeting.
  3. If a student has a disability and would like to request an accommodation to assist them through the grievance process, they may do so by informing the Vice President of Student and Academic Services. The Vice President of Student and Academic Services will then work with disability services to accommodate the request.

 

Non-Grievable Matters

 

The following matters are not grievable under this procedure except as noted:

  1. Matters over which the College is without authority to act.
  2. Final Course Grades.

 

 

Student Grievance Procedure

 

  1. Receiving grievance phase:
    1. If efforts to resolve a complaint informally fail, the student may obtain a Student Grievance Form from the Vice President of Student and Academic Services or in order to file a written complaint. The completed Student Grievance Form must be submitted to the Vice President of Student and Academic Services within thirty (30) working days of the alleged unfair action or within ten (10) working days of the unsuccessful resolution of the informal complaint process. The written complaint shall contain the following:
      • A concise statement of the grievance;
      • A complete description of the action(s) of all parties involved;
      • A detailed description of the alleged events;
      • The date of the alleged occurrence;
      • The place of occurrence of the alleged events;
      • The relief or remedy sought by the complainant.
    2. After the written complaint is filed, the grievance enters the formal hearing phase and is remitted to the Student Grievance Committee for consideration.
  2. Hearing phase
    1. Within three (3) working days after the receipt of the written complaint, the Vice President of Student and Academic Services will provide copies of the formal complaint to all parties involved.
    2. Within three (3) working days after the receipt of the written complaint, the Vice President of Student and Academic Services will appoint a grievance committee.
    3. The Student Grievance Committee shall be composed as follows and shall have at least:
      • One professional/classified staff and one alternative selected by the Staff Alliance President.
      • One faculty member from the faculty at-large and one alternative selected by the Faculty Senate President, and
      • One (1) student and one alternative selected by the Student Senate President.
    4. The chair of the Student Grievance Committee will be identified by the Vice President of Student and Academic Services from within the designated committee and shall have voting privileges. The committee reserves the right to appoint a substitute member, who is acceptable to both parties, if a committee member and the alternative is unavailable to serve. The three (3) committee members shall constitute a quorum.  Within five (5) working days of receipt of the written complaint, the office or individual whose action is being grieved may submit a response to the Student Grievance Committee.
    5. Within two (2) working days of receipt of the written response, the Student Grievance Committee will review the complaint and determine if the complaint constitutes a grievance. In some cases, the committee may determine, based on the written evidence, the grievance does not meet the definition of grievance and shall recommend to the Vice President of Student and Academic Services the claim be dismissed. All parties will be provided all written evidence collected by the Student Grievance Committee prior to the formal hearing.
    6. Within the next five (5) working days, the Student Grievance Committee will hold a hearing at which both the student who filed the grievance and the accused party shall have an opportunity to participate relevant information.
    7. Within the five (5) working days after the hearing, the committee shall submit written findings to the Vice President of Student and Academic Services and make a recommendation to resolve the grievance. Copies of this recommendation will be provided to all parties involved.
    8. Either party may appeal in writing the recommendation within five (5) working days to the Vice President of Student and Academic Services.
    9. If no appeal from either party is received by the Vice President of Student and Academic Services within five (5) working days of the recommendation from the Student Grievance Committee, the Vice President of Student and Academic Services will communicate the recommendation(s) of the Student Grievance Committee to all parties. The recommendation is final and binding.
  3. Appeals Process
    • In the event of an appeal, the Vice President of Student and Academic Services shall, within five (5) working days, give written notice to involved parties that an appeal of the recommendation has been received. The Vice President of Student and Academic Services will review the appeal to determine if the appeal meets the limited grounds and is timely. The original finding will stand if the appeal is not timely or substantively eligible and that decision is final and binding.  The party requesting appeal must show error as the original finding is presumed to have been decided reasonably and appropriately.  The ONLY grounds for appeal are as follows:
      1. A procedural or substantive error occurred that significantly impacted the outcome of the hearing (e.g., substantiated bias, material deviation from established procedures); or
      2. To consider new evidence, unavailable during the original hearing or investigation, that could substantially impact the original finding. A summary of this new evidence and its potential impact must be included in the written appeal.
      3. Within five (5) working days, the Vice President of Student and Academic Services will render a determination. The Vice President of Student and Academic Services will inform in writing the findings to all parties within five (5) working days.
      4. If the Vice President of Student and Academic Services determines that new evidence should be considered, it will return the complaint to the Student Grievance Committee to reconsider in light of the new evidence, only.    The deciding of the Vice President of Student and Academic Services is final and binding.

Student Grievance Hearing Guidelines

 

  1. The following guidelines will govern the student grievance hearing.  The hearing will be conducted in a closed session and be recorded by the committee.
  2. The student grievance hearing is not a “court hearing” and is not meant to substitute for any external legal proceedings.  Hence, the rules are flexible and follow the standards of internal procedures, as agreed upon the members of the Student Grievance Committee. No legal counsel for either party will be allowed to be present or participate in the hearing.
  3. Each party may have an advisor who will be allowed to witness the presentation. They may not communicate directly to the committee.
  4. Either party who wishes to bring witnesses must submit the list of witnesses to the chair of the Student Grievance Committee at least two (2) working days prior to the hearing.
  5. All witnesses shall be excluded from the hearing except when called for giving testimony.
  6. Each party to the grievance will be allowed the same amount of time for making a presentation, if they so choose.
  7. The complainant will present the case first; the respondent will present after the complainant’s presentation.
  8. A brief time, as determined by the chair, will be allowed to each party to offer any arguments or rebuttals.
  9. The only persons allowed to present the case or argue will be the complainant and the respondent. The person making the presentation may only address the committee.
  10. The Committee reserves the right to question, cross examine, or recall either party or witnesses, in order to gather additional information.

 

Procedural decisions not addressed in this document shall be the responsibility of the Student Grievance Committee (duly recorded and signed by all members of the committee and provided to all parties to the grievance).  Such records shall be retained with other pertinent files.

 

Retaliatory Acts

Any person who files a grievance, or any person who testifies, assists or participates in a proceeding, investigation or hearing relating to such grievance, who feels they are being subjected to retaliatory acts should report such incidences to the Vice President of Student and Academic Services.

 

It is a violation of the grievance procedure to engage in retaliatory acts against any person who files a grievance or any person who testifies, assists or participates in the grievance proceeding, investigation or hearing relating to such grievance.  Such act will be subject to discipline, up to and including expulsion for students, termination for EWC employees, and dismissal for authorized volunteers, guests or visitors.

 

 

Original Adoption Date: 9/10/19

Date(s) Amended: 2/24/20, 6/1/21, 9/10/24(RN)

Date(s) reviewed, no change: