Revised:

October 1, 2016; October 1, 2017;  October 1, 2022; December 13, 2023

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

• grades, which is subject to the decision of the professor unless related to some type of suspected discrimination. Refer to the college’s Equal Opportunity, Harassment, and Nondiscrimination Policy; 
• attendance policies and matters of a purely academic nature, which shall be adjudicated through the Vice President of Instruction; 
• matters involving Title IX, which are addressed elsewhere in this Catalog and published online at www.sandhills.edu;  
• residency classification, which is subject to the residency appeal process outlined by the North Carolina Residency Determination Service (RDS); and  
• Financial Aid awards and eligibility, which is subject to review by the Financial Aid Appeals Committee with a final ruling by the Vice President of Student Services and Enrollment Management.  

Student Grievance Procedure 

The purpose of the Student Grievance 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 practice of addressing all grievances informally prior to resorting to formal procedures, it is expected that, prior to embarking on the formal Student Grievance Procedure, students will initially address problems and matters of concern informally with the faculty and/or staff members involved. 

However, the College recognizes that not all student grievances will be satisfactorily settled on an informal basis. Therefore, this Student Grievance Procedure has been adopted and applies to all appeals of disciplinary actions, appeals regarding student records and privacy rights. Appeals based on charges of discrimination will be handled by the Title IX coordinator in Human Resources. 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 Student Conduct Officer, Vice President of Instruction, or the SCC Website.    

Student grievances resulting from academic practices or learning environment activities other than disruptive student behavior should be referred to the attention of the Vice President of Instruction (curriculum students), Associate Vice President for Workforce Continuing Education (continuing education students), or Associate Vice President of the Hoke Center (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 Student Conduct Officer (curriculum students), Associate Vice President for Workforce Continuing (continuing education students), or Associate Vice President of the Hoke Center (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  

1. Informal Resolution: In non-academic disciplinary issues initiated by the student or the college, the informal grievance procedure begins with a meeting with the Student Conduct Officer, Associate Vice President of Workforce Continuing Education, or the Associate Vice President of the Hoke Center (all Hoke Center students). In academic disciplinary issues, the student must meet with the instructor and department chair and, if needed, the Vice President of Instruction to seek an informal resolution. If a satisfactory informal resolution is achieved at any point, the grievance process stops.   
2. Formal Resolution: If an informal resolution is not achieved, the student may elect to pursue a formal grievance.
   • The student obtains the Grievance Appeal Form using the eForms icon located on the MySCC Student Portal landing page.  Within the eForms portal, the student should select etrieve Central, select Forms, and then choose the Grievance Appeal Form within the Student Affairs section.
   • When completing the Grievance Appeal Form, the students must select whose decision they are appealing (Student Conduct Officer, Associate Vice President of Workforce Continuing Education, Associate Vice President of the Hoke Center [all Hoke Center students], or Vice President of Instruction).  Additionally, they must provide the nature of their appeal.
   • Students must submit the Grievance Appeal Form within three (3) business days of the Student Conduct Officer, Associate Vice President of Workforce Continuing Education, Associate Vice President of the Hoke Center (all Hoke Center students), or Vice President of Instruction’s resolution decision.    
3. Student Grievance Committee Hearing: Upon submission of the Grievance Appeal Form by the student, the form is routed to the Student Grievance Committee Chair.  
   • The Student Grievance Committee reviews the appeal, meets with the student (and others) if applicable, and renders a decision within ten (10) business days. (The Student Grievance Committee may choose to discontinue a hearing if the student fails to attend two or more scheduled meetings.)  
4. President’s Review: Based on the decision the Student Grievance Committee, the student may elect to continue the appeal to the College President.  
   • Students intending to appeal to the College President must submit the Grievance Appeal Form within three (3) business days of being notified of the Student Grievance Committee’s decision. 
   • The College President reviews the appeal, meets with the student (and others) if applicable, and renders a decision within ten (10) business days. 
   • The President’s decision is final.  
5. Final Resolution: The College President will indicate the final decision on the Grievance Appeal Form.
   • Upon making the final decision, the Grievance Appeal Form will route back to the student’s college email inbox notifying the student of the final resolution decision and effectively ending the student grievance procedure steps.  

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