Students are to follow an informal complaint procedure prior to filing a formal academic grievance involving a faculty member. If a student has difficulty with one or more faculty members over an academic matter, these informal procedures can assist the student in resolving the difficulty without the need to file a formal grievance.

1. The student should discuss the problem directly with the faculty member(s) with whom the student has a problem and/or ask the student's faculty advisor or AD to intercede. Faculty members are expected to respond to such an inquiry within five business days. It is recommended that any written correspondence between parties be saved.
2. If the student is not satisfied with the results of (a), the student should contact a faculty or student member of the Psychology Personnel Committee. The informal complaint to the Personnel Committee member must be made within 45 days of the incident. The committee member contacted must inform the Personnel Committee as a whole within five days of being notified.
3. If an unresolved dispute is with a member of the Personnel Committee, that member will not be included in the discussion by the committee as a whole and will be treated as any other non-committee faculty member in the complaint process. The faculty member who is the subject of the complaint will have an opportunity to respond to the complaint before any action is taken by the Personnel Committee.
4. The Personnel Committee may assign one or more of its members to serve as mediator(s) with the student and faculty member(s). If the mediator(s) are unable to resolve the problem, the student may file a formal grievance.
5. The Personnel Committee must resolve the matter satisfactorily with the student within 75 days of the original incident, so the student can still file a formal complaint within the 90 day time limit required by the formal grievance procedure.

Related Policies

• Student Complaint and Grievance Procedure

Policy Revised 07/01/2006