2023-24 Undergraduate Academic Catalog | Academic Policies and Procedures

Academic Grievance Policy

The Faculty of Roberts Wesleyan University determine and enforce the academic standards of the University. Sometimes, however, students believe that they have been treated unfairly or inequitably by a faculty member or program/department. Students should first attempt to resolve such disagreements informally. [The University abides by a six-month statute of limitations for initiating grievance resolution.]

  • If informal discussion with a faculty member about what is perceived to be unfair or inequitable treatment does not result in an acceptable solution, the student should contact the faculty member’s Program Director or Department Chair to discuss next steps. If the faculty member in question is a Program Director, the student should contact the Department Chair, if there is one, or the School Dean if not. If the faculty member in question is a Department Chair, the student should contact the School Dean. If the faculty member in question is a School Dean, the student should contact the Chief Academic Officer.
  • If informal discussion with the relevant program/department representatives about what is perceived to be unfair or inequitable treatment does not result in an acceptable solution, the student should contact the Program Director, if applicable, or Department Chair to discuss next steps. If the Program Director is directly involved in the situation, or there is no program director, the student should contact the Department Chair or School Dean if there is no Department Chair. If the Department Chair is directly involved, the student should contact the School Dean. If the School Dean is directly involved, the student should contact the Chief Academic Officer.
  • If informal discussion with the department chair or program director does not result in an acceptable solution, then they should contact the Dean of the faculty member’s school.

If there is still no acceptable resolution after exhausting all departmental/program resolution options, the student may file a formal College Student Academic Grievance within ten business days when the College offices are open.*

Student academic grievances may originate with complaints such as the following: a perceived violation, misinterpretation, or inequitable application of course or program requirements; unfair or inequitable treatment by a faculty member; unfair or inequitable application of grading policies; and the like.

Steps to initiate and resolve a formal College Student Academic Grievance

  1. The student shall, within ten business days when the University offices are open.* submit a formal, written grievance to the Dean of the School in which the Department/Program is housed using the University Student Academic Grievance Form. [The Chair/Program Director or designee will ensure the student understands exactly what needs to be done at each step throughout the process.]

  2. The Chair/Program Director of the relevant Department/Program shall document in writing the steps previously taken at the Department/Program level to resolve the grievance and submit this record to the School Dean, who forwards this record to the appointed Dean mentioned in step 3.

  3. A Dean from a different School rotated by alphabetical order per grievance shall, within ten business days of receiving the written grievance, when the University offices are open* appoint and convene an Ad Hoc Committee composed of:
    • Four faculty members from 4 different programs or departments from at least 2 different Schools chosen in consultation with the Deans of those schools. Only one faculty member may, but need not, come from the School of the faculty member mentioned in the grievance, even the relevant Department/Program in this School. To assure impartiality, faculty members included in the informal process to resolve the complaint, or who have experiences with the student that may hinder impartiality (e.g. close personal friendship or prior grievances) should not be appointed to the committee.
    • A student representative appointed by the Student Association (typically either President or Vice-President), or, in Nontraditional or Graduate programs, by the relevant Department Chair/Program Director. To assure impartiality, the student appointee shall not currently be enrolled in courses with the student and shall not be in the same academic program (for traditional programs) or program cohort (for degree completion and graduate programs). Further the student appointee should not have had experiences with the student that may hinder impartiality.

  1. As soon as the Ad Hoc Committee is appointed, the members shall receive from the appointed Dean a copy of the student’s written grievance and a summary of the previous meeting(s) seeking informal resolution.
  1. At the first meeting convened by the appointed Dean, one of the faculty members shall be designated as Convener and Chair for subsequent meetings. The Committee will then:
    • Review the materials.
    • Decide what additional information is needed.
    • Decide who, in addition to the student and relevant faculty member, should be interviewed – e.g., additional faculty, a representative from Student Life, representative from Registration, etc.
    • Schedule a second meeting to consider the additional information and interview those asked to attend. [The second meeting may, in some cases, be scheduled for the same day as the first meeting.] Depending on the nature of the incident and grievance, the student and faculty member may appear separately or together.

  1. The Ad Hoc Committee shall then deliberate and make a ruling, using a simple majority vote.

(1) The appointed Dean will attend this meeting and participate in the discussion but will not vote. Once a decision has been made, the appointed Dean will send a written communication to the student, advisor, relevant department chair/program director, the affected faculty member and the CAO. (Steps 3-5 should be completed within ten business days when the College offices are open.*)

(2)  If the decision is not appealed to the CAO, the Appointed Dean and the School Dean will meet with the Department Chair/Program Director and faculty member (if relevant) within ten business days when the University offices are open to ensure that the practical consequences of the decision are implemented in a fair, timely fashion.

  1. Any further appeal shall be filed with the Chief Academic Officer (or appropriate designee). The role of the CAO is not to “retry” the case. The CAO’s role is to ensure that policy was followed, the process was free from bias, and that the committee considered all relevant options. To this end, the CAO retains the right to consult with the student, the committee, and/or additional personnel relevant to the situation.
    • Once the Chief Academic Officer has made a final decision, the student, appointed dean, school dean, department chair/program director, advisor, and faculty member (if relevant) shall be notified in writing within ten business days when the University offices are open.* Note: either the student or CAO may request a meeting to receive and review the CAO’s final decision.
    • The school dean will work with the Department Chair/Program Director and faculty member (if relevant) to ensure practical consequences of the final decision are implemented in a fair timely fashion.
  1. Once the grievance is resolved, proceedings of the meetings involved shall be filed in the Dean’s office. If the process involves the Chief Academic Officer, the proceedings of the meetings shall also be filed in that Office.
  2. Retaliation (any targeted, punitive action) by anyone against a student for initiating a grievance under this policy, for supporting a student filing a grievance, or for participating in the grievance process is strictly prohibited. Regardless of the merits of the original grievance, retaliation is a serious offense that can lead to disciplinary action.

*Ten business days refers to ten days when the College offices are open.