Student Grievance Procedure / Students Appeals Procedure

 

Grievance is defined as any matter of student concern or dissatisfaction within the control of the College, except for the following:

• grades, which shall be subject to the decision of the professor unless< related to some type of suspected discrimination;
• attendance policies and matters of a purely academic nature, which shall be adjudicated through the Dean of Instruction;
• some matters involving allegations of sexual harassment, which are addressed elsewhere in this Catalog and published online at www.sandhills.edu; and
• residency classification, which shall be subject to final ruling at the campus level by the Residency Committee and may be forwarded to the State Residency Committee; and
• Financial Aid awards and eligibility, which shall be subject to review by the Financial Aid Appeals Committee with a final ruling by the Senior Vice President for Instruction and Student Services.

Student Appeal Procedure

The purpose of the Student Appeal Procedure is to assure students of Sandhills Community College that their grievances will be considered fairly, rapidly, and in a non-threatening atmosphere. This process is designed to be used by students, not their surrogates. In keeping with the college policy of addressing all grievances informally prior to resorting to formal procedures, it is assumed that prior to embarking on the formal Student Appeal Procedure, students will initially address problems and matters of concern informally with the student(s), faculty, or staff members involved.

However, the College recognizes that not all student grievances will be satisfactorily settled on an informal basis. Therefore, this Student Appeal Procedure has been adopted and applies to all appeals of isciplinary actions, appeals regarding student records and privacy rights, and appeals based on charges of discrimination. Students should follow these procedures first in all applicable situations.

Any student electing initially to pursue a grievance outside of these procedures has thereby waived the ability to pursue his or her grievance hereunder. A complete copy of the Student Grievance Procedure may be obtained from the Senior Vice President for Instruction and Student Services or Dean of Instruction’s Office. Student grievances resulting from academic practices or learning environment activities other than disruptive student behavior should be referred to the attention of the Dean of Instruction (curriculum students), Dean of Continuing Education (continuing education students), or Hoke Center Director (Hoke Center students) after the student has met with the faculty member or department chair and attempted an informal resolution of the problem. Student grievances that affect an individual’s welfare and are not directly related to academic or classroom activities of the College should be brought to the attention of the Senior Vice President for Instruction and Student Services (curriculum students), Dean of Continuing Education
(continuing education students), or Hoke County Director (Hoke Center students) after the student has made every effort to resolve the problem in an informal basis through conversation with the individuals involved.

Student Grievance Procedure Steps