The following complaint resolution process is intended to provide a streamlined way to resolve complaints or disagreements between students and members of the faculty or staff at CWI. This process shall be used for the following: 1) to formally question the application or interpretation of any College policy, procedure, rule, or requirement in cases where the student believes the application or interpretation to be incorrect in a manner that directly impacts the student, or 2) to resolve any complaint that is not able to be addressed by a policy, procedure, or process more specifically applicable to the complaint. Challenges to a final course grade, or grade on a specific assignment, must use the Grade Appeal Process outlined in sections 3.2 and 3.3 of this handbook. For the purpose of this resolution process, “days” do not include weekends or days that the college is closed for a holiday, observance, or other planned or emergency closure.
The student will attempt to meet with the faculty or staff member involved in the situation that is the source of the complaint. The purpose of this meeting is to attempt to resolve the situation informally between the parties. Both the student and the employee are expected to make a good-faith effort to explain their view of the situation and, if practicable, come to an understanding, find a compromise, or agree to a path forward, as appropriate.
This meeting should be held, either in person or via electronic means, within 10 business days of 1) the date of the situation resulting in a complaint, 2) the date when the student is made aware of the situation, or 3) the date of the last incident in cases where the complaint stems from a series of occurrences. At the end of the meeting, the faculty or staff member will, within 5 days, communicate the agreed-upon resolution to the student via CWI email. If an agreement is not reached, the faculty or staff member will communicate their determination of the appropriate outcome to the situation, within 5 days of the meeting, via CWI email.
In cases where a faculty or staff member fails to respond to a request by a student within the 10-day period, refuses to meet, or in cases where a student is able to demonstrate a credible fear that engaging in this meeting may lead to harassment or retaliation, the student may move directly to Step Two. In cases where a student fails to initiate the informal resolution process within 10 days, the student may request an extension of the timeline by contacting the Dean of Students. Extensions will only be granted for good cause at the discretion of the Dean of Students. The failure to adhere to any timeline set forth in this informal resolution process may result in the dismissal of a complaint at the discretion of the Dean of Students.
If a complaint is not resolved through the informal resolution process, the student may, within 10 days of the meeting with the faculty or staff member, or 10 days after the student has requested a meeting with a faculty or staff member via CWI email with no response, submit a written complaint to the direct supervisor of the faculty or staff member. This complaint must be submitted to the supervisor’s CWI email address from the student’s CWI email address, must include the name and title of the faculty or staff member, and should include information about the situation which has resulted in a complaint as well as the outcome of the informal resolution process, documentation of unsuccessful attempts to schedule a Step One meeting, or documentation of a credible fear of harassment or retaliation.
The supervisor will reach out to the student within 10 days to either a) attempt to resolve the situation via email in straightforward situations, b) schedule a telephone call to discuss the situation further, or c) schedule an in-person or virtual face-to-face meeting between the student and supervisor. The goal of this communication will be to determine if a) an effective resolution is possible, b) an effective resolution can be reached between the student and the supervisor, or c) a meeting between the student, supervisor, and faculty or staff member is appropriate. If a meeting is appropriate, the meeting should take place within 10 days of the date of the communication between the student and supervisor, if possible. If this timeline cannot be met, the supervisor will work with the student and faculty or staff member to find a mutually agreeable time. The meeting should be an informal and candid discussion of the situation, with a goal of finding a mutually agreeable solution. At the end of the meeting, the supervisor shall, within 5 days, communicate the agreed-upon resolution to the student and faculty or staff member via CWI email. If an agreement is not reached, the supervisor will communicate their determination of the appropriate outcome to the situation, within 5 days of the meeting, via CWI email.
If a meeting cannot be scheduled in a reasonable timeframe, or if a supervisor fails to respond to the written complaint within 10 days after the date the student sent it, the student may opt to continue the Supervisory Review process or move directly to Step 3.
If a student is unable to determine who the direct supervisor of a faculty or staff member is, they may a) ask the faculty or staff member for the name of their supervisor, b) contact the CWI OneStop to request the name of the direct supervisor, or c) contact the Dean of Students for the name of the direct supervisor. Contact information for all employees is available through the CWI Directory online.
If a complaint is not resolved through the Supervisory Review process, or a student opts to move directly to Step 3 due to an inability to schedule a Step 2 meeting or failure to communicate the outcome of a Step 2 meeting in a timely manner, the student may submit a formal complaint using the Student Complaint Form. Formal complaints must be submitted a) within 10 days of receiving the outcome of the Supervisory Review via email, b) at least 10, but not more than 20, days after submitting a written complaint to a supervisor, in cases where the supervisor fails to respond, or c) if a meeting cannot be scheduled within 20 days of the initial communication to the Supervisor in Step 2.
When completing the Student Complaint Form, students should include detailed information about the complaint, the desired outcome of the complaint, supporting documentation or evidence, and information regarding the outcomes of Steps One and Two of the process. Once received, the Dean of Students will review the complaint within 5 days to ensure that the requirements of Steps One and Two have been met. If so, the Dean of Students will contact the faculty or staff member and the supervisor to request any statements, information, or evidence they wish to be considered. The Dean of Students may also contact the student for additional information, at their discretion. All parties will be expected to respond to requests for additional statements or information within 5 days.
Once all information has been collected or the time for additional information to be submitted has passed, the Dean of Students will review all the available information. In cases of clear procedural error, the Dean of Students may, at their discretion, attempt to resolve the situation administratively prior to convening a panel, or may convene a panel of three neutral and unbiased faculty and staff members of the complaint resolution panel to review the submissions and make a final determination as to what, if any, steps should be taken to resolve the complaint. The determination of the panel shall be final, and no further avenues of appeal are available.
Faculty members of the complaint resolution panel shall be appointed by each of the Academic Deans. Staff members of the complaint resolution panel shall be appointed by the Non-Academic Deans and select department/division heads of non-academic areas of the college, as appropriate, to ensure that all areas of the college are represented. Each panel shall always have one randomly selected faculty member and one randomly selected staff member, while the third member shall be selected at random from the remaining available members of the Committee without regard to employee category. If any panel member has direct knowledge of the situation, a relationship with either the student or faculty or staff member, or another situation that would create potential bias, another member of the panel will be randomly selected.