What to Do When a Student Grieves Against You
by Stefanie Schwalb
“A STUDENT GRIEVANCE is a college-related problem, which a student believes to be unfair, inequitable, discriminatory, or a hindrance to the educational process. A grievance also includes discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability or age.” This definition from the Student Grievances Procedures section at the Web site of Richland College, neatly packages this tumultuous issue in black and white terms.
But everyone in the thick of a grievance knows that the area is gray. At many institutions, the grievance procedure begins with an attempt to coax the faculty member and the student to solve the problem on their own. If the attempt fails, department chairs or supervisors may intervene, after which, if there is still no resolution, the Dean of Student Affairs will try to broker a solution.
Alternatives to these approaches include meetings with the student and faculty committees, such as a committee for student issues or affirmative action. The Board of Trustees may intervene in the most serious cases. Colleges and universities have developed their own policies for student grievances, and the student handbook lists them.
The American Association of University Professors also has a grievance clause as part of its Statement of Professional Ethics: “In the enforcement of ethical standards, the academic profession differs from those of law and medicine, whose associations act to ensure the integrity of members engaged in private practice. In the academic profession the individual institution of higher learning provides this assurance and so should normally handle questions concerning propriety of conduct within its own framework by reference to a faculty group.
The Association supports such local action and stands ready, through the general secretary and Committee B, to counsel with members of the academic community concerning questions of professional ethics and to inquire into complaints when local consideration is impossible or inappropriate.
If the alleged offense is deemed sufficiently serious to raise the possibility of adverse action, the procedures should be in accordance with the 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure, the 1958 Statement on Procedural Standards in Faculty Dismissal Proceedings, or the applicable provisions of the Association1s “Recommended Institutional Regulations on Academic Freedom and Tenure.”
