GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE 

Grievance Defined
 A grievance is a circumstance thought to be unjust with a basis for complaint. A grievance may be brought by any undergraduate or graduate student who believes that a faculty member or administrator of the College of Business and Public Administration has
a. unlawfully discriminated against the student on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, veteran or veteran disability status, or sexual orientation.
b. assigned an academic evaluation of the student that required a different standard of performance of the student than that required of other students in the class.
c. unfairly determined that a student violated academic integrity and/or imposed an unfair penalty for the violation of academic integrity defined in the section entitled “Academic Integrity Policy”.

Steps of the Grievance Process 
Step One
The student must contact the faculty member or administrator by February 1 or September 15, if the circumstance initiating the grievance occurred in the fall semester and spring or summer semesters respectively, to attempt to work out a satisfactory solution. The faculty member or administrator will endeavor to meet with the student within 14 days of notification if possible, certainly in no more than 30 days from the date of notification. If the parties cannot agree on a solution, the faculty member or administrator will confirm the lack of resolution with the student by email. The student may then progress to Step Two of the Grievance Process.

Step Two
The student must consult with the Department Chair of the faculty member involved or the supervisor of the administrator involved within 14 calendar days after notification of a lack of resolution with the faculty member or administrator in Step One. If the department chair is the faculty member involved in the circumstance, then one of the other department chairs will be designated by the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs to complete this step. The Department Chair/supervisor will investigate the circumstance and seek to resolve the issues arising from the circumstance with the student and the faculty member/administrator. The Chair/supervisor will endeavor to resolve the grievance within 14 days of notification if possible, certainly in no more than 30 days from the date of notification. If the parties cannot agree on a solution, the Department Chair/Supervisor will confirm the lack of resolution with the student by email. The student may then progress to Step Three of the Grievance Procedure.

Step Three
No later than 14 calendar days after the notification of a lack of resolution from the Department Chair/supervisor in Step Two, the student must file a formal, written complaint stating specifically in what way the student has been wronged, indicating supporting evidence, and explaining the corrective action desired by the student. Undergraduate students will file their written complaint with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of the College of Business and Public Administration. Graduate students will file their complaint with the Director of Graduate Programs of the College of Business and Public Administration. Receipt of the complaint will be acknowledged in writing. The Associate Dean/Director will then convene an Appeals Panel from the membership of the Academic Integrity Policy Committee within 14 calendar days. If either of these two individuals is the faculty member/administrator involved in the circumstance, the Dean of the College of Business and Public Administration will complete this step.

Step Four
The Appeals Panel will consist of two faculty members and one student from the Academic Integrity Policy Committee. The student member should be of the same status (undergraduate or graduate) as the student bringing the appeal. The Appeals Panel will conduct whatever investigation it deems necessary and determine a date for a hearing. The chair of the Appeals Panel will notify the student of the date of the hearing. The hearing will follow the guidelines in Appendix B of this document. The Panel will make a written recommendation to the Dean regarding the disposition of the complaint. The Dean will review the recommendations of the Appeals Panel and provide a written conclusion to the student and the faculty member/administrator. This ends the grievance procedure within the College of Business and Public Administration. Any further appeal must be taken to the Provost of the University.

Notice of Grievance Process Notice of this grievance process will be available to the public through the CBPA website. Faculty members will be encouraged to reference the web address in their syllabi.

Approved by CBPA faculty, 5-9-08.  Effective beginning Fall semester 2008.