Complaint/Grievances Procedure
A grievance is a complaint by a student involving the interpretation, application, or alleged violation of College policies and procedures. A grievance procedure is used for issues other than student conduct code or Title IX policy violations. Please refer to the Conduct Code and Title IX Policy for those concerns. If a student believes a University official, faculty member, administrator, or student has acted improperly or inconsistently with WCU policies and/or procedures, the student may file a grievance. This may include, but is not limited to, misapplication or misinterpretation of policy, procedures, practices, unfair treatment or conduct, etc. All grievances must be filed within 30 days of the incident.
The Complaint/Grievances Procedure is designed to support and foster a fair, objective, respectful and ethical set of policies and procedures for resolution of disputes. The policies and procedures are designed to provide students with a process in which to protect the University and its students. Students, faculty or administrators who submit or support a filed grievance may not be subjected to retaliation. Incidents of retaliation should be immediately reported to the Campus Director of Student Affairs or Executive Director.
Matters that have been or are in litigation will not be reviewed/considered.
Prior to submitting a formal grievance, student/grievant is encouraged to attempt a good faith resolution with the individual(s) at whom the grievance is directed. The University believes that most grievances can and will be resolved through this informal process.
Step 1: Discuss the issue with the individual(s). Every attempt should be made by both the student and individual(s) to resolve the matter at this level.
Step 2: If not resolved through Step 1, unresolved issues should be informally discussed/submitted in writing to the appropriate Dean or Department Head.
If dissatisfied with the response or solution, a student may submit a written grievance, along with all grievance documents, to the Director of Student Affairs
This policy and procedure is internal to WCU. If, after using the WCU procedure, a student does not feel that the University has adequately addressed a complaint or concern, the student may consider contacting external agencies:
Institutional Accrediting Agency
WASC Senior College and University Commission
1080 Marina Village Parkway, Suite 500, Alameda, CA 94501
(510) 748-9001 | www.wascsenior.org
State Agencies for campus-based programs or distance education students:
California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE)
P.O. BOX 980818
West Sacramento, CA 95798
(916) 431-6959
http://www.bppe.ca.gov/
Florida Department of Education Commission for Independent Education (CIE)
325 West Gaines Street, Suite 1414
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400
(888) 224-6684
www.fldoe.org
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB)
1801 North Congress Avenue, Suite 12.200
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 427-6101
www.thecb.state.tx.us
State Agencies for distance education only:
Arizona Office of the Attorney General
2005 N Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85004
(602) 542-5763 | Email: consumerinfo@azag.gov
Colorado Office of the Attorney General
1300 Broadway, 10th Floor, Denver, CO 80203
(720) 508-6000 | Web: www.coag.gov/file-complaint
Hawaii Department of the Attorney General
425 Queen Street, Honolulu, HI 96813
(808) 586-1500 | Web: http://ag.hawaii.gov/contact-us/email-the-department-of-ag/
Idaho Office of the Attorney General
700 W. Jefferson Street, Suite
210, Boise, Idaho 83720-0010
(208) 334-2400 | Web:
https://www.ag.idaho.gov/contact/
Louisiana Office of the Attorney General
1885 North Third Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802
(225) 326-6465, (800) 351-4889 | Email: ConsumerInfo@ag.louisiana.gov
Missouri Office of the Attorney General
207 W. High St. Jefferson City, MO 65102
(573) 751-3321 | Email: consumer.help@ago.mo.gov
Nevada Office of the Attorney General
100 North Carson Street, Carson City, NV 89701
(702) 486-3132 | Email: AgInfo@ag.nv.gov
New Jersey Office of the Attorney General
P.O. Box 45025, Newark, New Jersey 07101
(973) 504-6200 | Web: https://njconsumeraffairs.state.nj.us/file-a-complaint/
Ohio Office of the Attorney General
30 E. Broad St., 14th Floor Columbus, OH 43215
(800) 282-0515 | Web: https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/About-AG/Contact
Oklahoma Office of the Attorney General
313 NE 21st Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-2029 | Email: ConsumerProtection@oag.ok.gov
Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General
15th Floor, Strawberry Square, Harrisburg, PA 17120
(800) 441-2555 | Web: https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/submit-a-complaint/consumer-complaint/
South Carolina Office of the Attorney General
1000 Assembly Street, Room 519, Columbia, S.C. 29201
(803) 734-4200 | Web: https://consumer.sc.gov/consumer-resources/consumer-complaints
South Dakota Office of the Attorney General
1302 E Hwy 14, Suite 3, Pierre, SD 57501
(605) 773-4400 | Email: consumerhelp@state.sd.us
Tennessee Office of the Attorney General
P.O. Box 20207, Nashville, TN 37202-0207
(615) 741-1671 | Web: https://www.tn.gov/commerce/section/consumer-affairs
Vermont Office of the Attorney General
109 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05609
(802) 828-3171 | Web: http://ago.vermont.gov/consumer-assistance-program-complaint-form
West Virginia Office of the Attorney General
P.O. Box 1789, Charleston, WV 25326
304-558-8986 | Email: consumer@wvago.gov
Programmatic Accreditors and Approvals:
If a student does not feel that the University has adequately addressed a complaint or concern, the student may consider contacting the following respective agencies:
Nursing
California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN)
1747 North Market Boulevard, Suite 150
Sacramento, CA 95834
(916) 322-3350
www.rn.ca.gov
Florida Board of Nursing
Florida Department of Health
4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin C-10
Tallahassee, FL 32399-3252
(850) 245-4125, Nurse Consultant Ext. 3612
https://floridasnursing.gov/
Texas Board of Nursing (TBON)
333 Guadalupe Road, Suite 3-460
Austin, TX 78701-3942
(512) 305-7400
https://www.bon.texas.gov/
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
655 K Street, NW, Suite 750
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 887-6791
https://www.aacnnursing.org/ccne-accreditation
Dental Hygiene
Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA)
211 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611-2678
(312) 440-2500
www.ada.org
Dental Hygiene Board of California (DHBC)
2005 Evergreen Street, Suite 2050
Sacramento, California 95815
(916) 263-1978
www.dhcc.ca.gov
Occupational Therapy
Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE)
7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite
510E, Bethesda, MD 20814
301-652-6611 x2914
http://www.aota.org/en/AboutAOTA/Contact-Us.aspx
Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC)
PO Box 276567
Sacramento, CA 95827-6567
(916) 567-7000
(888)-686-3225
www.otaconline.org
Physical Therapy
Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE)
1111 North Fairfax Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 706-3245
http://www.capteonline.org/Complaints/
Pharmacy
Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE)
135 South LaSalle Street, Suite 4100
Chicago, IL 60503
(312) 644-3575
https://www.acpe-accredit.org/students/complaints.asp
Physician Assistant
Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA)
3325 Paddocks Parkway, Suite 345
Suwanee, Georgia 30024
(770) 476-1224
http://www.arc-pa.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Policy-for-inclusion-in-letters-2021-.pdf
Speech Language Pathology
The Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech Language Pathology (CAA)
2200 Research Boulevard, #310
Rockville, MD 20850
(800) 498-2071
https://caa.asha.org/programs/complaints/