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The complaint process is designed to resolve problems for students who are having difficulties with college faculty or staff that are not related to disciplinary action, sexual harassment, disability issues, or discrimination. Specific policies exist to address all of these concerns--See SVC's Student Rights and Responsibilities paper booklet or web site for details.
Support persons are available to assist you with the complaint process in the Counseling and Career Services Center on the Mount Vernon Campus or in the Student Services Office on the Whidbey Island Campus.
If your complaint is not resolved in the first few steps (see below for details) and reaches the Grievance Review Committee, the office that oversees the committee process will keep a single record of your complaint and all relating documents. Records related to student grievances are private as they are a part of your educational record so only those involved in the process will have access to them.
Step 1: Discuss your situation with someone within 30 working days. If you have a concern about a staff person or faculty member, you should initially discuss it with him or her. Most often, student concerns can be heard and resolved at this level. If this conversation feels difficult for you to face alone, you may bring a college support person with you. To discuss your situation with a support person, contact the Counseling and Career Services office on the Mount Vernon Campus at (360) 416-7654 or the Whidbey Island Campus Student Services office at (360) 679-5319.
Although you are encouraged to discuss the problem with a designated support person from the counseling office, you may initially contact someone on staff with whom you are comfortable and whom you trust. If your concern isn't resolved by direct conversation, proceed to step 2.
Step 2: Discuss your situation with a department chair. If you are unable to resolve your concern with the faculty or staff member involved, the next step is to talk to his or her immediate supervisor who is most likely the head of a department. Your college support person can provide you with contact information for the appropriate supervisor. At this point, you should complete the Student Grade Complaint form if your complaint meets the criteria listed in step 3 below. If, after discussing the incident with the person directly involved and his or her supervisor, you decide that you want to go no further with the complaint, it will be dropped. If your concern is not resolved, proceed to step 3.
Step 3: Meet with a college dean/associate dean. If you wish to go ahead with your complaint, you should schedule an appointment with the administrator who supervises the department about which you have a concern. Be sure to bring all of the supporting documents and information you need in order to fully describe your concern to the dean. After your meeting, he or she will send you a letter summarizing the resolution that has been reached. In appropriate cases, you will be informed of your right to file a petition to have your complaint heard before the grievance review committee.
If the resolution is not satisfactory to you and you have been informed that your complaint falls into the following categories, proceed to step 4.
Step 4: Turn in your completed Grade Complaint Form to have your grievance heard by the Grievance Review Committee. The form will ask you to document who you have talked to so far, the nature of the concern, and what resolution you are looking for from the committee. Once you have turned in your form to the Registrar's office, you will be contacted to schedule a hearing. You will be asked if you would like to bring a support person with you or if you want to attend alone.
The grievance hearing isn't intended to be intimidating to you or anyone else involved. It is a fact finding meeting in which you will have a chance to share your concerns. The person with whom you have the concern will most likely be there or his or her department will be represented so his or her perspective will be heard. The committee may choose to meet with you together or separately depending on the case. If you bring a support person, his or her role will be to remind you of the process or of something you may forget as you present your information. She/he is not there to represent you or to present your case for you. The Grievance Committee will forward its findings and recommendations to the Executive Vice President of Instruction and Student Services who will decide on a resolution in your case. If this resolution is not satisfactory to you, your final appeal can be made to the College President as outlined in step 5.
Step 5: Write a letter to the College President asking that the Vice President's decision be reconsidered. Your letter should include any reasons why you feel the decision should be overturned. The president will consider your statement along with all of the information the committee and vice president used in their decision-making process. You will be notified of the president's final decision in writing.
The United States Department of Education (USDOE) requires that institutions provide current and prospective students with contact information for filing complaints with its accrediting body and the appropriate state agency for handling complaints.Skagit Valley College is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (http://www.nwccu.org/). If you feel that your concerns have not been adequately addressed by the college, you can file a complaint with the Northwest Commission by mail at 8060 165th Ave. NE Suite 100 Redmond, WA 98052 or by telephone (425) 558-4224. The College is regulated by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (http://www.sbctc.edu) which you can reach by mail at PO Box 42495 Olympia, WA 98504-2495 or by telephone (360) 704-4400.
Students wishing to file a complaint regarding the loss of tuition and fees as the result of an unfair business practice against an institution that is authorized by the Higher Education Coordinating Board should submit a request to dainfo@hecb.wa.gov for the appropriate form.
Note: The above overview is a brief description of the Complaint policy. The full policy includes important information with which you should be familiar including mandatory process timelines and specific procedures. You can find the full written policy in the Student Policies Handbook section of the SVC web site.
WAC 132D-120-230 Student complaints
WAC 132D-120-240 Complaints excluded from this section.
WAC 132D-120-250 Initial complaint
WAC 132D-120-260 Complaint procedure.
WAC 132D-120-270 Grievance procedure—Sex and disability discrimination
WAC 132D-120-280 Grievance review committee procedures.
WAC 132D-120-290 Final decision regarding process review‑-Extra-institutional appeals.
WAC 132D-120-300 Nature of grievance proceedings
WAC 132D-120-310 Withdrawal of grievance
WAC 132D-120-320 Administrative, faculty and staff grievances.
WAC 132D-120-330 Prior Rules
WAC 132D-120-340 Severability
WAC 132D-120-350 Effective date of the rules of conduct.
The purpose of this section is to protect each student's freedom of expression in the classroom; to protect each student against improper disclosure of the students' views, beliefs and political associations; to protect each student from improper, arbitrary or capricious academic evaluation as evidenced by the student's course grade; and to afford each student reasonable protection against arbitrary or capricious actions taken outside the classroom by other members of the college community.
Skagit Valley College is committed to protecting the rights and dignity of each individual in the campus community. Therefore, the college will not tolerate discrimination of any kind, at any level.
Students may follow the college policy on sexual harassment and/or may file complaints with outside agencies, as referenced in WAC 132D-305-005(10). Students should determine the time deadlines that apply to the filing of complaints with such outside agencies, as the college's internal processing of student complaints may not recognize such time periods.
If a student believes he or she has been unfairly treated by an officer of the college, faculty member or a member of the college staff, the student may follow the complaint procedures in the order outlined below. The student must initiate proceedings with the college within thirty working days of the occurrence that gave rise to the complaint. The college may choose to take appropriate corrective action at any time based on a student report whether or not the student chooses to pursue the complaint process.
Other complaints about college employees will be considered and acted upon at the discretion of the appropriate administrator and will not be heard by the grievance review committee.
All hearings growing out of a student-initiated complaint, including appeals to the office of the president, shall remain closed unless all parties to the grievance agree on an open hearing.
Any administrator, faculty member or staff member who is the subject of a student's complaint and who is dissatisfied with the results of any level of the student complaint proceedings may file a grievance under the appropriate grievance procedure established by Skagit Valley College.
The rules contained within this chapter supersede all former rules relating to student grievances.
If any provision of this chapter is adjudged by a court to be unconstitutional, the remaining provisions shall continue in effect.
The rules contained within this chapter shall become effective November 1, 2009
