Student Complaint Policy and Procedure

St. Clair County Community College
Policy and Procedure

Name: Student Complaint Policy and Procedure
Original Date: 8/29/2016
Revised Date: 09/30/24
Initiator/Author: Director of Academic Support and Student Conduct

St. Clair County Community College endeavors to resolve student grievances, complaints, and concerns in an expeditious, fair, and amicable manner. It is the responsibility of the Chief Academic Officer and Director of Academic Support and Student Conduct to ensure that this procedure is followed and updated as needed.

The following guidelines have been established to provide students at the college with a process for resolving concerns related to academic and/or support services.  When a concern arises that is covered by College Policy, including sexual harassment, sex discrimination and/or other categories of sexual misconduct, the issue should be referred to the Director of Campus Patrol and Safety, Title IX Coordinator at (810) 989-5509. All others will be handled as detailed below:

Students are to follow the process pertaining to the specific type of grievances or concern they have (Academic concerns, Grades, Student Services, Disciplinary Actions, Other student concerns, Title IX/Discrimination concerns). Students are to meet or speak over the phone with each designated representative at minimum, as they progress through the process, and must allow each designated representative an appropriate amount of time to attempt to resolve the issue. It is also the expectation that the student will cooperate fully with the designated representative in attempting to come to resolution, including completing reasonable requested actions of the designated representative. Reasonable requests may include, but is not limited to, providing documentation, meeting with the representative as much as needed, or reviewing provided documentation/resources.

If the student and designated starting representative is unable to resolve the grievance or concern, after the designated representative completed all efforts to resolve the grievance(s), and the student has completed all requested cooperative actions of the designated representative, the case may then progress up to the next designee.

The student and the next designee will, again, attempt to resolve the student’s grievance or concern, and repeat the same process above. If the student feels their grievances or concerns are still not satisfied, after the next designated representative completed all attempts to resolve the issue and the student has completed all reasonable actions requested by the designated representative, their case may progress to meeting with the Chief Academic Officer or Director of Academic Support and Student Conduct dependent on the grievance type.  

Students who do not complete the reasonable requested actions of their designated representative, to show a cooperative and intentional effort to work towards resolution, may not be permitted to meet with the next designated representative.

If an issue cannot be resolved within the College structure, students may file a complaint with a state regulatory agency or the college’s accrediting agency.

St. Clair County Community College is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission. Students shall be provided instruction on how to file a complaint with the commission as needed.  Students attending SC4 classes on a campus in Michigan or Michigan residents participating in SC4 distance-learning/online classes may file a complaint with the regulatory agency in Michigan. SC4 distance-learning/online students who are residing outside of the state of Michigan while taking SC4 classes may file a complaint with the regulatory agency in their state.

Resolution Process

• Academic concerns including:
  • Quality of Instruction, Classroom Environment, and Other Matters Related to College Programs

Process:

Faculty Member -> Department Chair -> Chief Academic Officer

• Grades:

Process:

Faculty Member -> Department Chair -> Chief Academic Officer -> *Formal Grade Appeal Process.

• Student Services and Support including:

Quality and Availability of Services

Process:

Staff Member -> Unit Administrator/Coordinator/Director -> Chief Academic Officer

• Disciplinary Actions Including Student Code of Conduct Violations:

Process:

If Faculty member assigning disciplinary action:

Faculty -> Department Chair -> Chief Academic Officer -> **Formal Due Process Procedure.

If Staff member assigning disciplinary action:

Staff Member -> Director of Academic Support and Student Conduct -> Chief of Academic Officer -> **Formal Due Process Procedure.

• Concerns about Students:

Process:

Faculty/Staff member -> Director of Academic Support and Student Conduct -> Chief Academic Officer

• TITLE IX or Discrimination arising under the Americans with Disabilities Act:

Process:

Director of Campus Patrol and Safety Title IX Coordinator -> Chief of Human Resources

*If the student’s grievance is regarding a final grade for an assignment or class, the student may escalate to a formal grade appeal process after meeting with the Chief Academic Officer, so long as their case meets the criteria for a formal grade appeal process. Please refer to the grade appeal process for more details at sc4.edu/consumer.

**If the student’s grievance is regarding disciplinary action or student code of conduct charges and sanctions assigned, the student may escalate to a formal due process procedure after meeting with the Chief Human Resource Officer, so long as their case meets the criteria for a formal due process procedure. Please refer to the due process procedure for more details at sc4.edu/consumer.