Administrative Procedure 4.3
Procedure Title  
Related Board Policy Policy Governance Chapter II Section B
Treatment of Students
Related Admin Procedures  
Adopted Date 02/28/2017
Effective Date 07/01/2017
Last Reviewed Date 02/28/2017
Implementation Process By Chief Student Officer
 

The purpose of the student grievance procedure is to provide fundamental fairness to the student. The grievance procedure is intended to provide a formal avenue of appeal for students, while encouraging all administrative/informal channels prior to this formal step. Except for matters arising under the Sexual Misconduct Policy, students with complaints related to discrimination such as on the basis of sex or disability should utilize this process. It applies to complaints related to actions carried out by employees, other students or third parties.

1)         STUDENT ACADEMIC GRIEVANCE PROCESS

The purpose of the Student Academic Grievance procedure is to provide fundamental fairness to the student.  This Grievance Procedure is intended to provide a formal avenue of appeal for students, while encouraging all administrative/informal channels prior to this formal step.  Students should first bring any academic issues to the instructor.  The Student Academic Grievance procedure applies to academic complaints (e.g., grades) related to actions carried out by faculty.  The Chief Academic Officer handles all academic grievances.
 
  1. The Chief Academic Officer handles all academic (non-disciplinary) grievances.
    1. Petitions concerning academic problems should be submitted to the Chief Academic Officer.
    2. An informal meeting will be held with faculty and/or the Dean.
    3. If there is no resolution, the student petition is forwarded to the Chief Academic Officer for formal action.  The petitioner shall receive a response within two weeks of filing the petition.
    4. The student may appeal the Chief Academic Officer's decision to the President.
  2.  The formal, written grievance shall include:
    1. All academic complaints need to be made within two (2) weeks after the incident (e.g., test grade);
    2. The background of the situation;
    3. A description of steps already taken to resolve the situation, if any;
    4. A statement of the reason(s) the student filing the grievance believes the incident constitutes being treated unfairly; and
    5. The relief or remedy resolution sought by the student filing the grievance.
2.)         STUDENT NON-ACADEMIC GRIEVANCE PROCESS
  1. The Chief Student Officer handles all non-academic grievances.
    1. The student who claims unfair treatment should meet with the Chief Student Officer in order to resolve the issue informally.
    2. Within five (5) working days of the informal resolution meeting, the student should file a formal written grievance if the efforts to resolve the issue informally fail.
      1. This formal grievance should be filed with the standing Student Grievance Committee, chaired by the Chief Student Officer.
      2. If the Chief Student Officer is named as the respondent, the Chief Administrative Services Officer shall serve as chair of the Student Grievance Committee.
    3. The formal written grievance shall include:
      1. a description of the actions of all parties involved in the alleged unfair treatment and the time and location of the alleged occurrence;
      2. a description of steps already taken to resolve the situation, if any;
      3. a statement of the reason(s) the student filing the grievance believes the incident constitutes being treated unfairly; and
      4. the relief or remedy resolution sought by the student filing the grievance
    4. Within five working days, the Student Grievance Committee Chair shall provide copies of the grievance to the individual or office whose action is being appealed.
    5. Within five working days, the office or individual whose decision is being appealed may submit written response(s) to the Student Grievance Committee Chair. Within this time frame, either party to the grievance may request replacement of a maximum of one Committee member by the appropriate alternate.
    6. Within five working days, the Student Grievance Committee shall call for a hearing to be held within five working days. A minimum of two working days notice shall be given to the student filing the grievance and the person or office whose action is the subject of the grievance.
    7. The Student Grievance Committee shall conduct a hearing by calling for the presentation of the student’s case at a given time and place. The student filing the grievance and his/her chosen advocate and the representative of the office that is the subject of the grievance will be provided an opportunity to explain the grievance. The Committee may limit the attendance of other persons unless it is critical to the action and is approved by the Student Grievance Committee.
Time limits indicated in the steps shall be strictly enforced, unless mutually agreed upon by the involved parties and approved by the Student Grievance Committee. Each step begins at the completion of the preceding step.

A POSTPONEMENT may be requested by the parties to the grievance or by the Student Grievance Committee. Postponements should be requested at least 48 hours before the scheduled hearing time and normally will be granted.

Any deviations to the written procedures may be made by mutual consent of the grievant and the respondent, and with the approval of the Committee.

The grievant may withdraw the grievance at any point in the process.

Student Grievance Committee Procedures
The internal hearing will be conducted using the following format:
(1) The chair of the Student Grievance Committee of the internal hearing shall open the hearing by stating:
My name is __________________ and I am the Student Grievance Committee Chair of the Central Wyoming College Grievance proceedings to consider a formal grievance filed by ______________, the grievant, against _____________ named as respondent. Today’s date is _______ and the time is _________. Central Wyoming College requires strict confidentiality of those serving on this Student Grievance Committee, and respectfully requests that both grievant and respondent use good judgment in the use of the notes taken during these proceedings. I ask that those present at this hearing now identify themselves and their role in this proceeding. Witnesses will identify themselves and their roles as they are called. Both the grievant and respondent may have an advocate/representative present during the hearing, but no attorneys will be allowed to attend or participate in the hearing.
(2) All present at the hearing identify themselves, and their role. Witnesses identify themselves and their roles as they are called.
(3) The Student Grievance Committee Chair reviews the hearing procedures:
a.  The grievant will be allowed to explain his/her position and outline the evidence s/he proposes to offer.
b.  The respondent will be allowed to explain his/her position and outline the evidence s/he proposes to offer.
c.  First the evidence of the grievant will be heard. Witnesses for the grievant may be questioned by the grievant or his/her representative, by the respondent or his/her representative, and by the members of the Student Grievance Committee.
d.  The respondent’s evidence will be heard. Witnesses may be questioned by the respondent and his/her representative, by the grievant or his/ her representative, and by the members of the Student Grievance Committee.
e.  Additional evidence may be offered by the grievant.
f.  Additional evidence may be offered by the respondent.
g.  After both sides have presented their cases, the committee may question either party, may recall witnesses, or call additional witnesses.
h.  The Committee may feel the need to see other records or documents that could help them reach a decision on the matter. They may have access to any record or document that may pertain to the matter unless protected by privacy laws. If access to a protected document may be relevant, appropriate releases should be sought by the Committee.
i.  When both parties have presented their cases and the Committee is satisfied that it has seen or heard all pertinent evidence, then the grievant and respondent may give final statements. The respondent will be allowed to speak first. The grievant will give the closing statement.
ii.   The Student Grievance Committee Chair shall declare the evidence closed and excuse everyone other than the Committee.
iii. When recesses are necessary, the Student Grievance Committee Chair will state the following: This session of this Central Wyoming College Student Grievance proceeding related to a grievance filed by _______ against ____________ as respondent will now recess until __________________.
i.  Subsequent sessions will begin by the Student Grievance Committee Chair stating the following: This is session #_______ of a Central Wyoming College Student Grievance proceeding involving ____________, grievant, and _______________, respondent. Those also present at this session will introduce themselves. Witnesses will introduce themselves as called.
j.  The Student Grievance Committee Chair will state the following for final comments to a grievance proceeding: This concludes this grievance proceeding related to a grievance filed by ___________ against ___________ as respondent. Today is _______________. The time is _________________.
k.  The Committee will then meet in closed session, review the evidence presented and determine its recommendation.

Post-Hearing Procedures
(1)  Within five (5) working days of the conclusion of the hearing the Student Grievance Committee shall submit its written findings and recommendation to the Chief Student Officer with a copy to the grievant and respondent.
(2)  Within five (5) working days, the Chief Student Officer shall render a decision, with copies of the decision distributed to the grievant and respondent. The Student Grievance Committee Chair shall provide copies to each member of the Student Grievance Committee.
(3)  Within five (5) working days, either the grievant or the respondent may appeal the Chief Student Officer's decision to the President of the College. In the event an appeal is sought, the party wishing to appeal shall submit the appeal in writing to the Student Grievance Committee Chair, who shall send a copy to the other party and the Student Grievance Committee members. The Student Grievance Committee recommendation and the Chief Student Officer’s decision shall be sent to the President along with the appeal materials.
(4)  Within five (5) working days, the President shall render a final decision. If either party remains dissatisfied, external legal options may be pursued.
(5)  In the event the Chief Student Officer's decision is not appealed, that decision shall be considered final and will bring the Grievance to closure upon passing of the appeal deadline as referenced above in (3).
(6)   The Chief Student Officer shall maintain the grievance documents in confidence for a period of seven years.

Student Grievance Committee
The grievance procedure shall provide for a standing Student Grievance Committee to be composed as follows: The Committee shall have one professional staff and one alternate elected by professional staff, one classified staff and one alternate elected by classified staff, one faculty member elected from faculty at- large and one alternate, and two students and two alternates elected by the Student Senate. The chair of the five-member committee shall vote only in the event of a tie. The Committee reserves the right to appoint a substitute member, if a committee member and the alternate are unavailable to serve or are determined to have a conflict of interest. The Committee Chair and three Committee members shall constitute a quorum.

The Student Grievance Committee shall provide a prompt, fair, and equitable hearing for each grievance filed and submits its written findings and recommendation to the Chief Student Officer for rendering a final decision. In some cases, the Committee may determine, based on written evidence, that the grievance does not meet the definition of a grievance and shall forward a recommendation to the Chief Student Officer without convening an internal hearing.

It must clearly be understood that neither the Grievant, the Respondent, any member of the Committee, nor any other party to the grievance shall suffer any retribution for his/her part in the action, but shall have access to a new grievance should retribution be evident.

The Student Senate shall review the grievance procedure annually and recommend changes to the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, to be approved by the Chief Student Officer.

Student Grievance Hearing Guidelines
The following guidelines will govern the Student Grievance Hearing. The Hearing will be conducted in a closed session, shall be kept confidential, and is not electronically recorded.
  1. 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 by the members of the Student Grievance Committee.
  2. Either party who wishes to bring in witnesses must submit the list of witnesses to the Student Grievance Committee Chair at least two (2) days prior to the hearing.
  3. Throughout the hearing the following members may be present: the grievant, the respondent, the Student Grievance Committee members, the advocates of the grievant and the respondent, and the witness(es). All witnesses shall be excluded from the hearing except when called for giving testimony.
  4. Each party to the grievance will be allowed time for making a presentation.
  5. The Grievant will present the case first; the Respondent will present his/her case after the Grievant’s presentation.
  6. A brief time will be allotted to each party to offer any arguments in rebuttal.
  7. The only persons allowed to present the case or argue will be the Grievant and the Respondent. The person making the presentation may only address the Committee.
  8. The Committee reserves the right to question, cross examine, or to recall any party, in order to gather additional information.
  9. The student advocate will be allowed to witness the presentations and advise the student. He/she may not communicate directly with the Committee.
  10. After deliberations, the Committee will prepare its written findings and recommendation concerning approval or denial of the grievance.
  11. Procedural decisions not addressed in this document shall be the responsibility of the Student Grievance Committee (duly recorded in writing and signed by all members of the committee and provided to all parties to the grievance).
  12. All records of the grievance shall be retained in the Office of the Chief Student Officer, along with other pertinent files, for seven years. This file will be separate from student academic records and shall only be available to the grievant, respondent, President, Board of Trustees attorney, or others as authorized by the President.

Definitions
  1. Grievance:  A “grievance” is a process to obtain a hearing because a student alleges he/she has been treated unfairly with respect to academic, discriminatory, disciplinary, or other official action.
  2. Grievant:  The individual or individuals filing the grievance.
  3. Respondent: The individual or office against whom the appeal is filed.
  4. Advocate:  An individual selected by the grievant/respondent who can be present for the purposes of support and assistance during a hearing. The advocate can NOT be a witness, is not allowed to speak to the Committee on behalf of the grievant or respondent during the hearing. The advocate cannot be an attorney.
  5. Working Day:  A “working day” means a calendar day, except a Saturday, Sunday, scheduled holiday, summer recess, or other recess observed by the College.
  6. Student:  An individual who is currently enrolled or was enrolled in at least one class at Central Wyoming College.
Student Grievance Procedure
The non-academic grievance process assumes that:
  1. A student has been disciplined or sanctioned for violation, or
  2. A student has a grievance against a student or faculty/staff member for unprofessional behavior or a decision made or action taken by that student or faculty/staff member.
This grievance process assumes that existing administrative/informal channels have already been exhausted in the student’s attempt to seek remedy. This means trying to resolve the problems by meeting with the following (in the order listed):
  1. Student or faculty/staff member
  2. Supervisor of the faculty/staff member (in case of faculty, it is the Dean)
  3. Chief Student Officer
Other Central staff members may be included in this priority list as the situation warrants, e.g. Counselor. Failure to achieve a mutually acceptable solution to the informal grievance will result in informing the student of the formal Student Grievance Process.

The grievant may provide whatever evidence he/she feels shall be beneficial to his/her case. This may include, but is not limited to, written statements from witnesses and character references. The Student Grievance Committee reserves the right to limit the number of witnesses and/or to limit the time allowed for either party to present the case. The grievant shall have the right to select and to be assisted by an advocate in the proceedings.

At the conclusion of the presentation of the grievance, the Committee may ask questions of the grievant and the respondent for the purpose of clarification. Committee members may take notes of the proceedings to assist them in their deliberations. All committee hearings, including any witness testimony, will be conducted in closed sessions.

The recommendation will be by majority vote with the Chair casting the deciding vote in the event of a tie. The Committee recommendation is forwarded to the Chief Student Officer for final action and shall be communicated in writing to the student. The grievant and respondent will be informed of the Chief Student Officer's decision.

Should the grievant wish to appeal the Chief Student Officer's decision, he/ she should address such appeal to the President, in written format.

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Revision History: 
Adopted 3/11/1985
Reviewed 01/22/1992
Revised 04/18/2008
Revised 02/16/2011
Reviewed 10/26/2016
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