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6.5.3sr - SRTC Procedure: Student Grievances

Southern Regional Technical College (SRTC) maintains a grievance process available to all students that provides an open and meaningful forum for their grievances, the resolution of these grievances, and is subject to clear guidelines. This procedure does not address grievances related to the unlawful harassment, discrimination, and/or retaliation for reporting harassment/discrimination against students. Those complaints are handled by the State Board Procedure: Unlawful Harassment and Discrimination of Students.

For all timelines established herein, if a student will need additional time, an extension may be granted at the Vice President for Student Affairs’ discretion.

  1. Informal Grievance Procedure. Students with grievable issues should resolve those issues, if possible, on an informal basis without the filing of a formal grievance.
  1. A student has 10 business days from the date of the incident being grieved to resolve the matter informally by approaching their instructor, department chair, or any other staff or faculty member directly involved in the grieved incident.
  2. Where this process does not result in a resolution of the grievable issue, the student may proceed to the formal grievance procedure below.
  1. Formal Grievance Procedure. Where a student cannot resolve his or her grievance informally, he or she may use this formal grievance procedure.
  1. Within 15 business days of the incident being grieved, the student must file a formal grievance in the office of the Vice President for Student Affairs (VPSA) with the following information:
  1. Name,
  2. Date,
  3. Brief description of incident being grieved,
  4. Remedy requested,
  5. Signed, and
  6. Informal remedy attempted by student and outcome.
  1. If the grievance is against the VPSA, the student shall file the grievance with the President.
  2. The VPSA or the College President’s designee will investigate the matter and supply a written response to the student within 15 business days.
  3. If the grieved incident involves possible unlawful harassment, discrimination, or retaliation for reporting unlawful harassment/discrimination, the investigation will be handled pursuant to the State Board Procedure: Unlawful Harassment and Discrimination of Students.
  4. If the grieved incident is closely related to an incident being processed through the harassment/discrimination or disciplinary procedures, the proceedings under the Unlawful Harassment and Discrimination of Students procedure will take precedence, then the disciplinary procedure, and then the student’s grievance will be addressed. The grievance will not be processed until after the other procedures have run their course.
  5. The VPSA or College President’s designee shall be granted an additional 15 business days to investigate the grievance upon notice to the aggrieved student.

  1. Appeal: The student may appeal the decision from the VPSA or the College President’s designee to the President. Only the student has the right to appeal. 1. A student shall file a written appeal to the President within 5 business days of receiving the response referenced above. 2. The appeal will be decided based entirely on documents provided by the student and the administration; therefore, the student must ensure that he or she has provided all relevant documents with his or her appeal. 3. At the sole discretion of the President, grievance appeals may be held in one of the following two ways: The President may review the information provided by the student and administration and make the final decision; or The President may appoint a cross-functional committee to make the final decision. 4. The decision of President or the cross-functional committee shall be made within 10 business days of receipt of the appeal. The decision of the President or committee for the grievance appeal is final.

    NC-SARA

    Southern Regional Technical College has been approved to participate in the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). NC-SARA is a nonprofit organization that helps expand students’ access to educational opportunities and ensure more efficient, consistent, and effective regulation of distance education programs. Recognizing the growing demand for distance education opportunities, higher education stakeholders – including state regulators and education leaders, accreditors, the U.S. Department of Education, and institutions – joined together in 2013 to establish the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (SARA), which streamline regulations around distance education programs.

    SARA consumer protection provisions require the institution’s home state, through its SARA State Portal Entity, to investigate, and resolve allegations of dishonest or fraudulent activity by the state’s SARA-participating institutions, including the provision of false or misleading information. A student has the right to lodge a complaint or grievance. The student should begin the complaint process with the institution and if resolution is not found, the student would contact the institution’s home state SARA Portal Entity.

    SARA Student Complaint procedure and policy

    GA-SARA Online Student Complaint Form

  2. Retaliation: Retaliation against a student for filing a grievance is strictly prohibited.
  3. Record Retention: Documents relating to formal grievances including investigations, dispositions and the grievance itself shall be held for five (5) years after the graduation of the student or the date of the student’s last attendance

Responsibility:
The Vice President for Student Affairs has the overall responsibility for ensuring this procedure is implemented.

References:
TCSG Procedure 6.5.3p: Student Grievance Procedures

Status:

Revised: 12-17-2015
Adopted: 11-04-2014
Implemented: 07-01-2015