POL 11.35.02 - Student Complaint Policy and Procedures

About this Policy

Authority:
Chancellor
Responsible Office:
Office of Sponsored Research and Programs
Date Established:
06-07-2022
Last Revised:
06-07-2022

1. PURPOSE

1.1 University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP) is committed to respecting all members of the university community and providing fair treatment regarding complaints by students. The objective of the Student Complaint Policy and Procedure is to ensure that concerns and complaints of undergraduate or graduate students are addressed fairly and are resolved promptly. Complaints usually involve actions affecting students that are alleged to be unjust, inequitable, or create unnecessary hardship. The procedure described in this policy applies to student concerns that are not governed by other existing complaint or appeal procedures. Below is a list of specific procedures for resolving student complaints, such as Academic Honor Code, Code of Conduct, Student Grievance Policy for Students with Disabilities, Sexual Harassment Policy, Inspection and Release of Student Records, Undergraduate Grade Appeals Process, Academic Suspension Appeals, Residency Appeals, and Financial Aid Appeals. Appendix 1 provides more information.

2. PROCEDURE

2.1 When a student has a concern, the student should discuss it with the appropriate faculty member, staff member, or administrator directly involved in the situation. Often a resolution or an answer can be attained informally. If an informal approach is neither successful nor advisable, the student should use the Student Complaint Policy and Procedure. The procedure for filing student complaints governed by this policy is detailed in the following three steps.

2.2 Step 1: To submit a complaint, a student must complete the official Student Complaint Form and send it via email attachment, within ten working days of the date of the initiating event, to the chair or director most directly involved (if the complaint is directed against the chair or director, it should be referred to the dean of the college or next level administrator). The chair or director will attempt to determine the validity of the complaint and, in the case of a valid complaint, seek resolution including administrative action. He or she will communicate his or her decision on the Student Complaint Form and make every effort to do so within ten working days from the conclusion of this process.

2.2.1 The determination of validity of the complaint should be made in consideration of the following criteria:

2.2.1.1 It involves a specific incident, decision, or circumstance directly impacting the student.

2.2.1.2 It clearly identifies the issue(s) of concern and provides relevant supporting evidence or documentation.

2.2.1.3 It falls within the scope of the institution's policies, procedures, or ethical standards.

2.2.1.4 It is submitted within the specified timeframe (ten working days).

2.2.2 Similarly, a complaint may be deemed invalid if one or more of the following criteria apply:

2.2.2.1 It lacks sufficient detail or evidence to substantiate the claim.

2.2.2.2 It pertains to issues outside the scope of institutional policies or jurisdiction.

2.2.2.3 It is submitted after the designated time frame without an acceptable reason for the delay.

2.2.2.4 It is frivolous, repetitive, or intended with an intent to disrupt university operations

2.3 Step 2: If a student wishes to appeal the decision made in Step 1, he or she must submit the Student Complaint Appeal Form A, the original Student Complaint Form, and all other supporting documents via email attachments to the appropriate dean or administrator within ten working days from the date of the decision.

2.3.1 For complaints involving academic affairs, undergraduate students submit the materials to the dean of the college or school where the issue(s) arose. Graduate students submit to the Dean of the Graduate School. In the case of a complaint involving a director, the student submits materials to the next level administrator.

2.3.2 The student will be invited to discuss the complaint with the dean or administrator who will attempt to determine the validity of the complaint and, in the case of a valid complaint, seek resolution, including possible administrative action. The determination of validity of the complaint should be made using the same criteria as stated in Step 1. He or she will communicate his or her decision on Student Complaint Appeal Form A and make every effort to inform the student within ten working days of the conclusion of the appeal.

2.3.3 The decision of the dean or administrator on the matter is final unless there has been a significant deviation from procedures detailed in this policy. The complaint cannot proceed to Step 3 for the sole reason that the student is dissatisfied with the decision of the dean or administrator in Step 2.

2.4 Step 3: If the student believes a significant deviation from this policy's procedures has occurred, the student must submit Student Complaint Appeal Form B along with all documents submitted in Steps 1 and 2 via email attachments to the vice chancellor of the university division in which the complaint occurred within ten working days from the date of the decision. The vice chancellor will make the final determination about the matter and communicate his or her decision on Student Complaint Appeal Form B and make every reasonable effort to submit his or her decision to the student within ten working days from the conclusion of this appeal. The determination will include reasons for the decision and direct a proposed resolution or action to be taken, if any, to the student complaint.

3. STUDENT PROCEDURAL GUIDANCE

3.1 For procedural guidance for student complaints, including guidance on specifically to whom complaint and appeal forms should be submitted, students should contact the Dean of Students office at 910-521-6851 or studentconduct@uncp.edu.

4. DOCUMENTATION

All units that receive and resolve student complaints received in any of the forms described above are required to record all student complaints and their resolution in the UNCP Student Complaint Log, which is available from the website for the Office of Academic Affairs. This will be the final record of information obtained from all other forms of recording student complaints. The Log contains the following elements: date complaint received, description of the complaint, steps to resolution, result, date resolved, and location of supporting documentation. A unit's Log will be considered up-to-date when it reflects that all complaints have been resolved and complaints that are still in the process of resolution are duly noted.

Each unit must identify a designee who will be responsible for maintaining the Complaint Log and any other written or electronic documentation related to student complaints within their unit.  Annually, all designees will be asked to send their up-to-date Complaint Log to the Office of Academic Affairs, where all of the logs will be consolidated into one document and provided to the institution's accrediting agency as necessary. A copy of the unit's Complaint Log and all original documents pertaining to each student complaint in the Logs will be retained in individual offices for five years. The Office of Academic Affairs will maintain the list of departmental designees.

5. STUDENT COMPLAINTS TO EXTERNAL AGENCIES

If a complaint cannot be resolved through the University's policies and procedures, students may file a complaint with certain external agencies (Appendix 2).

Selected UNCP Student Appeal Policies

Policy

Office and Contact Information

Academic Honor Code

Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs
Phone: 910.521.6224
provost@uncp.edu

Code of Conduct

Student Conduct
Phone: 910.521.6851
studentconduct@uncp.edu

Student Grievance Policy for Students with Disabilities

Accessibility Resource Center
Phone: 910.521.6695 , Phone: 711 (NC Relay)
arc@uncp.edu

Sexual Harassment Policy

Office of Title IX and Clery Compliance
Phone: 910.521.6281
titleixcoordinator@uncp.edu

Inspection and Release of Student Records

Registrar's Office
Phone: 910.521.6298
registrar@uncp.edu

Undergraduate Grade Appeals Process

Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs
Phone: 910.521.6224
provost@uncp.edu

Academic Suspension Appeals

Center for Student Success
Phone: 910.521.6625
css@uncp.edu

Residency Appeals

Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships
Phone: 910.521.6255
fa@uncp.edu

Financial Aid Appeals

Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships
Phone: 910.521.6255
fa@uncp.edu
Complaints to External Agencies

External Agency

Contact Information

UNC System's Office

 

North Carolina Post-Secondary Education Complaints, c/o Student Complaints, 223 S. West Street, Suite 1800, Raleigh NC 27603, Telephone (919) 962-4550. Please review and complete the Student Complaint Procedures at the North Carolina Post-Secondary Education Complaints website.

● student complaint policy-3-3-203-1.pdf (northcarolina.edu)

● Student Complaints (northcarolina.edu)

Consumer Protection Division of the North Carolina Department of Justice

Information about the Consumer Complaint process is available from the website for the North Carolina Department of Justice here. The Consumer Complaint Form may be mailed to the following address: consumer Protection Attorney General's Office Mail Service Center 9001 Raleigh, NC 27699-9001.

● Consumer Complaint Form: File a Complaint with the North Carolina Department of Justice (ncdoj.gov)

SARA North Carolina

Students not residing in North Carolina and enrolled in a North Carolina institution that operates under SARA North Carolina may submit complaints to the organization listed below only after completing the complaint process established by the institution attended by the student. The SARA portal entity in the state where the student is located will be notified that the complaint was received and may assist as needed. Resolution of the complaint by SARA portal entity in the institution's home stat is final.

SARA North Carolina (SARANC)

North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority C/O SARA North Carolina

P.O. Box 41349
Raleigh, NC 27629
855-SARA-1-NC (or 855-727-2162)
TTY: 919-549-8614 ext. 4660.
Email: information@saranc.org
Website: SARANC

● You may also reach SARA-NC by email: complaint@saranc.org.
● Policy Information: https://www5.ncseaa.edu/SARANC/Complaint.html

● Complaint Form: https://www5.ncseaa.edu/SARANC/docs/SARA-NC-ComplaintForm.pdf

For questions related to this process, please contact the Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Planning and Accreditation at 910-521-6180. For more information about the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement's student complaint procedures, please go to Student Complaints on the Office of Online Learning's webpage.

Other state complaint agencies

Complaints about UNC Pembroke may also be filed with the student's home state by referring to the following list of state complaint agencies.

Related Policies:

Additional References: