College of Arts and Sciences

Dean: Dr. Mark Smith (Interim)

Mission

The College of Arts and Sciences provides the intellectual nucleus of the University. The College prepares its students to be competitive in challenging careers in the humanities and performing arts, the social and behavioral sciences, and the STEM disciplines of life and physical sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The College provides students throughout the university with broad interdisciplinary awareness and competence to equip them for citizenship in the 21st century environment of diversity, globalization, and social justice.

Vision

The College of Arts and Sciences will be recognized for its depth and breadth of scholarship; its commitment to utilizing pedagogies that effectively teach students while equipping them for the workplace; its student and community engagement in research and creative activities to foster economic growth, social justice, and lifelong personal development; its support of all education programs in the University by teaching critical thinking, numeracy, and creative and purposeful writing. It will be recognized for engagement in major issues that both challenge and foster democratic thought.

College of Arts and Sciences Departmental Uniform Grievance Policy and Procedures

Introduction

The purpose of the student grievance procedure is to provide an impartial review process and to protect the rights of all parties involved in student-faculty disputes. Disputes include, but are not limited to, grading and grading policies, expectations, and standards.

The initial discussion between the student and the faculty member and the department chair, director, or coordinator may be informal. The departmental and college committee levels of the process require a formal request and clear documentation of the complaint. At each step of the complaint process, however, an interaction report is completed to document the purpose and outcome of the meeting and to indicate agreement or to identify next steps. A uniform interaction report form is available from all programs in the College of Arts and Sciences.

NOTE: Petitions by students based on circumstances that could constitute a request for an academic adjustment or modification on the basis of a disability as defined by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 will be referred to and processed by the Abilities Office for Disability Services.

Departmental Process Step One

A student who has a grievance against a faculty member should make an appointment with the faculty member within 30 calendar days of the incident to discuss and resolve the dispute. If the student feels that a satisfactory solution or relief has not been provided, the student should follow the procedures outlined in step two.

Step Two

The student should make an appointment with the chairperson, director, or coordinator of the department within ten days after the initial meeting with the faculty member. The chairperson, director, or coordinator will attempt to resolve the dispute or request the student to submit the complaint in writing for a hearing by the departmental Faculty-Student Relations Committee (FSRC), which is only needed if the student moves to step three. If the student feels that a satisfactory solution has not been provided, the student should follow the procedures outlined in step three.

Step Three

The student must submit a written complaint within 60 days of the incident (e.g., rendering of the final grade) to the chairperson, director, or coordinator. The written complaint must include supporting documents and must clearly state a resolution within the authority of the department (e.g., changing a grade from D to C). The chairperson, director, or coordinator will convene the departmental FSRC and distribute the written complaint, along with any supporting documents, to its members and to the faculty member involved in the grievance. At this point, the faculty member must submit a written response with any supporting documentation. The faculty documents are then forwarded to the departmental FSRC.

The departmental Faculty-Student Relations Committee will have a hearing with all parties present within 30 calendar days of receipt of the complaint. Within 10 calendar days after the committee has met, the committee chairperson will send recommendation(s) to the department chairperson, director, or coordinator and will also send a copy to the dean. All witnesses must be approved in advance by the departmental Faculty-Student Relations Committee.

Step Four

The student may request to have the grievance considered by the CAS FSRC within 15 days after receipt of the written notice from the department chairperson, director, or coordinator. If the decision is unsatisfactory to either party, the CAS FSRC will convene for the specific purpose of hearing an academic grievance as needed. All materials must be forwarded to the CAS FSRC Committee within 15 days. (See College Process.)

Any student who believes he or she has a grievance should first utilize the departmental process as listed herein.

Petitions by students based on circumstances that could constitute a request for an academic adjustment or modification on the basis of a disability as defined by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 will be referred to and processed by the Abilities Office for Disability Services.

College Process

When a student or faculty members initiates an appeal to the dean, the procedures are as follows:

Step One

The petitioner must file the grievance in writing, stating the reasons the appeal is being made and the facts upon which the appeal is based. He or she also must state clearly the resolution sought; however, the resolution must be within the authority of the dean to grant.

The petitioner must attach to the written petition: 1. a copy of the original complaint, 2. a copy of the instructor’s reply, if applicable, and 3. the chairperson’s, director’s or coordinator’s reply and any other supporting documentation connected with the case, as well as any new documents. No new or unrelated allegations shall be added to this petition.

Step Two

The dean will forward the written complaint to the CAS FSRC Chairperson within 10 calendar days. This committee will include a minimum of nine faculty members, two program directors and/or coordinators, and a minimum of two students. The committee chairperson will be appointed by the dean.

Step Three

Within 10 calendar days of the distribution of the grievance statement, the faculty member involved must submit a written response to the chairperson of the CAS FSRC. Copies will be distributed to committee members.

Step Four

Within 30 calendar days of receipt of all materials, the CAS FSRC will schedule a meeting to review the grievance. Both parties involved (student and faculty member) will be expected to attend the meeting.
All meetings of the CAS FSRC shall be closed to protect the confidentiality of both parties and to protect their rights of privacy.
All witnesses shall be approved by the chairperson of the CAS FSRC.
Only members of the CAS FSRC may ask questions of the parties involved.
When the CAS FSRC is convened to hear a grievance, decisions of the committee will be by a simple majority vote, provided 75 percent of the membership is present, including one student representative.
Following the final discussion of the CAS FSRC meeting, the chair of the committee within five calendar days will submit written recommendations to the dean, along with any supporting documentation.
Within 10 calendar days of receipt of the recommendations from the CAS FSRC, the dean shall inform the student, faculty member, and department chairperson, director, or coordinator of the decision made in writing.

Parties may then appeal to the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. The decision of the dean will be final.