The Institution has adequate procedures for addressing written student complaints and is responsible for demonstrating that it follows those procedures when resolving student complaints.

   X   Compliance                    ___Partial Compliance                       ___Non-Compliance

Narrative

St. Petersburg College is in compliance with this federal requirement because the College has established formal and informal student grievance procedures.

Board policy on Student Complaints

As defined by the Board of Trustees Rule 6Hx23-4.36 concerning student complaints, a "grievance" is a complaint, other than a discrimination grievance, alleging that a student's rights have been abridged by violating College rules and procedures, arbitrarily assigning grades, removing a student from or denying admission to a program, or placing information in a student’s record.  Grievances and student academic appeals are normally directed to the next level of authority above which the decision was made.

Informal procedures.  The student is encouraged to first discuss the matter with the other party.  If the student wishes to pursue the grievance, the matter is referred to the Associate Provost.  The Associate Provost provides the student with a copy of BOT Rule 6Hx23-4.36.  To the degree permitted by law, all informal grievances shall be kept private except as required in the completion of the informal resolution process.  Completion of the informal resolution process is a prerequisite to filing a formal grievance.  Review of the grievance by the Associate Provost will include a thorough investigation of all pertinent facts in the case, including evidence presented by the grievant, and reaching an impartial judgment as to the validity of the grievance.  A decision shall be given to the student by the Associate Provost within 7 working days after the matter has been presented.  This time period may be extended by the Provost of the site for extenuating circumstances.

Formal Resolution of Appeals.  If the grievance cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of the student at the informal level, the student may file an appeal in writing with the Provost of the campus or center stating the reasons and grounds for the appeal to the Campus Appeals Committee within 7 working days of receiving the informal decision of the Associate Provost.  The Committee has two instructors, two students and one administrator.  Each year, the President of the College appoints a pool of students, instructors and administrators for each campus, which the Provost uses to select members for each specific hearing.  The Provost designates the chairperson.  During periods when the College is not in session, substitute personnel may be appointed by the appropriate Provost.  In advance of the hearing, the Provost consults with each member of the Committee to determine their ability to be fair and unbiased.

The Committee assembles for the hearing within 15 working days after receipt of the petition.  At their own expense, the grievant and the other party may employ an attorney to be present assist and counsel them; however, the attorney may not directly participate in the hearing.  The persons directly involved may offer witnesses and other evidence and shall have the right of cross-examination.  The hearing is intended to be informal and without application of any strict rules of evidence and any evidence which a reasonable person would rely upon may be accepted and the Committee may give particular evidence the weight it deems appropriate under the circumstances.

When the grievant requests the reversal of action previously taken, the burden of proving that the action taken was improper, arbitrary or capricious is on the grievant.  The Committee's decision is by majority vote and based upon the evidence presented.  Committee members may ask questions of the persons directly involved and any witnesses.  The Committee records its decision in writing in the form of a decision letter within 2 working days after the hearing.  The parties directly involved have the right to appeal to the Provost within 10 calendar days of the decision letter.  If a person directly involved is not satisfied with the decision of the Provost he or she may appeal the decision to the President whose decision is final.  The appealing party must file the appeal with the President within 10 calendar days after the Provost’s decision letter.

Grade Appeals.   Students have the burden of demonstrating that a grade given was arbitrary and/or capricious.  If the grade given was within the judgment and discretion of the instructor, the grade must be affirmed.  If the grade given is arbitrary and/or capricious the Committee may recommend a change of grade subject to the appeal rights of the instructor and student to the President.  Except when the grade given was arbitrary and/or capricious, the College believes it is not appropriate for a Committee to substitute its judgment for matters within the instructor's professional judgment or discretion.

Appeals to Waive Requirements of College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST).  By Florida Statute, a student may appeal for special consideration if the student has:

• A specific learning disability that prevents successful completion of the CLAST, is achieving at the college level except in the area of the disability, and further remediation will not help the student in overcoming the disability.
• Impaired visual, auditory, manual or speaking abilities, and believes that a test has not been administered to accurately reflect the student’s achievement.

A student who has failed any subtest of CLAST four times but has demonstrated proficiency through successful coursework in the tested area may appeal for a waiver.

Annually, the President appoints a Collegewide CLAST Appeals Committee to consider all appeals to waive the requirements of CLAST for the granting of an A.A. degree.  The Committee is chaired by the Vice President of Educational and Student Services and includes four additional appointed members:  the institutional test administrator, a Faculty member from mathematics, a Faculty member from English, and a Faculty member from another department.

Students submit their appeal in writing to their campus Associate Provost or Provost who will forward the appeal to Educational and Student Services.  Students who appeal on the basis of four failures must be able to demonstrate that they have made appropriate efforts to remediate their deficiencies and pass the test(s) and have met all other requirements for award of the A.A. degree.  The Committee meets within 20 working days and submits a recommendation to the President within 2 working days of their meeting.  The Committee will examine the student's academic records, appropriate medical records, and other pertinent materials and may hear testimony from the student, Faculty members, medical experts, or others relevant to the case.  The Committee may recommend the denial of a waiver or may specify modifications for future administrations of the test.  Committee recommendations will be based upon majority vote.  The President's decision will be communicated to the student and the Committee within 10 working days of receipt of the Committee's recommendation.  The decision of the President based on the recommendation of the CLAST Appeals' Committee is final and cannot be appealed further.

Appeals to Exclude Coursework from Grade Point Average Calculations.  Coursework attempted within the last 10 years must be included in grade point average calculations.  Coursework attempted more than 10 years ago may be excluded from grade point average calculations if there was a break in the student's continuous enrollment for a period of 5 or more years.  Decisions to exclude coursework attempted must include the exclusion of all coursework attempted prior to the date specified in the appeal.  Evidence of material change of circumstances (i.e., change of career direction) must be presented in an appeal.  Exceptions to the above provisions may be considered in cases where the student did not have the opportunity to repeat a course at St. Petersburg College in accordance with Board of Trustees’ Rule 6Hx23-4.15, Academic Average and Repeated Courses.

Student Ombudsman Office

The College also provides a Student Ombudsman office to provide assistance for any student who wishes to challenge a decision by an instructor or administrator that restricts or dismisses the student access to courses and credit granted toward his or her degree.  The Office of the Student Ombudsman may assist a student any time in matters related to the student’s access to courses and credit granted toward their degree.  A student who believes that his/her rights to access a course or to credit granted toward their degree has been wrongfully abridged may appeal to the Office of the Student Ombudsman after the student has met with the appropriate Program Director or other appropriate administrator seeking resolution and the Associate Provost has affirmed the Program Director’s decision.  The student may request the Student Ombudsman to investigate and review the matter and based upon the investigation and review, the Student Ombudsman shall have the right without holding a hearing to enter a decision.  Alternatively, the student may request a hearing with the Student Ombudsman serving as the hearing officer and decision maker.  The student, Program Director, Dean, or Associate Provost may appeal the decision of the Student Ombudsman to the President.  The President will not reverse the decision of the Student Ombudsman unless the action is not supported by substantial information or is beyond the authority of the Student Ombudsman. In lieu of appealing to the Student Ombudsman, students may use the appeal procedure for student grievances described above.  The current Student Ombudsman is the Senior Vice President of Educational and Student Services.  The College works proactively to resolve complaints before reaching this level and, as a result, there have been no requests for Ombudsman intercession since the last SACS visit.

Discrimination Grievances

To provide each student of the College an opportunity to register a charge of discrimination and get a resolution, the Board of Trustees tasked the President of College with developing procedures for hearing and responding to informal discrimination inquiries and formal complaints of discrimination.  The Board of Trustees further directed that these procedures involve the establishment of a hearing panel responsible for hearing formal complaints of discrimination and making recommendations to the President.  The purpose of the policy is to secure the resolution of charges of discrimination at the earliest possible procedural level through informal and formal procedures that allow charges to be presented free from coercion, interference, restraint, discrimination, or reprisal in order to give students adequate opportunity to resolve the charges.

If a discrimination grievance is reported, all attempts will be made to reach a satisfactory resolution through an informal process before proceeding to a formal hearing.  The Informal Discrimination Inquiry by the aggrieved party is the first step in the informal process.  The EA/EO Officer arranges whatever meetings are necessary to collect the information needed to resolve the dispute informally. If a dispute can be resolved by mutual agreement, a Mutual Resolution of Dispute is signed by all parties.  If not, then the aggrieved party may file a Formal Complaint.  Formal complaints are referred to a Hearing panel selected from a pre-designated pool of ten employees that includes an appropriate mix of minorities, women, disabled, and other persons, selected on the basis of familiarity with various phases of the College.  At a pretrial conference a hearing panel composed of three members is selected from the pre-designated pool.  The complainant and the respondent each select one panel member and the two panel members select the third member.  In addition, the EA/EO Officer serves as a nonvoting chairman.  After the hearing, the panel will arrive by a majority vote at a Findings of Fact and Recommendation that contains the facts and issues not in dispute, the facts and issues in dispute, and a fair and equitable resolution of the dispute.  The hearing panel has recommendation authority only.  The President will make the final decision in all cases after receipt of the hearing panel's report.  The President notifies all affected parties within a reasonable period of time and initiates any action which he deems necessary.

Student Complaints of Sexual Harassment.  Policies involving sexual harassment are implemented by the College Attorney.  Immediately upon receipt of a complaint, the College Attorney will have the responsibility for directing an investigation.  The College Attorney may appoint other persons to conduct or aid in the investigation.  The College Attorney is sensitive to the gender of the complaining party and reporting relationships when making these appointments.  Upon completion of the investigation, the results are submitted to the President for determination of what action, if any, is appropriate.  The complaint may be resolved by intervention, corrective action taken by the President, or by official disciplinary procedures.  The complaining party is advised of the results of the investigation.  The victim of the sexual harassment may also bring a discrimination grievance which shall be processed in accordance with Rule 6Hx23-1.34.

Student Body Governance and Recommendations.  The student governing associations are recognized as the official student organizations representing the student body of St. Petersburg College.  They are the liaisons between the student body and the College administration.  In this capacity, they receive all petitions for grievances, complaints, requests, and recommendations allegedly reflecting the opinion of the student body as a whole, or a significant portion thereof, or a recognized student organization on campus.

All petitions are directed in writing to the student governing association and shall contain the signatures of the representatives of the student group making the presentation.  The student governing association or any of its officers shall present the petition for discussion at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the association, provided there has been sufficient time for including the matter on the agenda.

Decision will be by majority vote of the association whether or not to support the petition and what recommendations, if any, the association desires to transmit to the College administration.  All recommendations to the College administration shall be directed in writing to the Associate Provost on the campus or center where they originated.  If the matter is not resolved at the site through the normal administrative channels, the Provost or Associate Provost will then transmit it to the College Committee on Student Grievances for review.

President’s Open Door policy.  The Board of Trustees of St. Petersburg College subscribes to an open door policy regarding the President's Office.  Any employee, student, or other person is encouraged to make an appointment whenever there are matters to discuss with the President.  The President’s staff maintains a record of complaints made to the President’s Office and sees that the matters are appropriately resolved.  In many cases, the complaint is forwarded to the appropriate office for action, and the President’s office is notified when the case is closed with a summary of the resolution.  Files are closed for “purposes of the President’s Office” when the President’s Office is confident that there are no remaining steps to be undertaken or factors to be considered, and when all parties concerned understand that resolution has taken place.

Example of Student Complaint Form

Disseminating policies regarding student complaints

These procedures are outlined in the College’s Board of Trustees Rule 6Hx23-4.36, which can be found online.  SPC’s definition of grievances and a summary of the grievance process can be found in the printed and online College Catalog and Student Handbook, along with the Board Rule where they can read the detailed procedures.  The online College Catalog and Student Handbook are linked from the Prospective Student, Current Student, and MySPC Web pages.  The same definition and summary of procedures are disseminated to Faculty through the Faculty Manual.

Excerpt from the online College Catalog regarding Student Complaints

Implementation of Policies regarding Student Complaints/Grievances

Documents for formal appeals related to academic concerns are maintained in the student’s record by the College Registrar.  Documentation for refunds (financial appeals) is maintained by the Collegewide business officer.  Documentation of appeals for Disciplinary action, Sexual Harassment, and Violation of ADA laws are submitted and maintained in the College Attorney’s Office.

Summary of 2005-2006 student complaint appeals

Campus/Site	Type	Total	Appeal Approved	Appeal Denied	Presidential Appeal	Presidential Appeal Approved	Presidential Appeal Denied
Clearwater	College of Education course waiver	1		X	X		X
E-campus	Grade Grievance	1		X	X		X
St. Pete-Gibbs	Disciplinary Action	1		X

Timeliness requirements set in Board rule have been followed.

Sample Time Line (Final Grade Grievance)

5/9/06 - Student Grievance to Assoc. Provost

6/12/06 - Committee Hearing

6/14/06 - Committee Denial Notification to Student

7/6/06 - Student Appeal to Provost

7/13/06 - Provost Denial Notification

8/15/06 - Student Appeal to President

8/18/06 - Student Filed Untimely Appeal.  Therefore, matter closed.

The campuses/centers maintain separate files with information regarding type of appeals, total numbers of appeals submitted, and how many were approved or denied.

Sample campus appeals for 2005-2006

Annually, St. Petersburg College submits an Educational Equity Report to the Florida State Board of Community Colleges in which waivers for disabilities are included.  The following table was submitted for 2005-2006:

 Excerpt from Educational Equity Report, 2005-2006

Disability	Number of Requests for Substitution	Original Course Required and Common Course Number	Substitution Course and Course Number	Number of Students Granted Substitutions or Waived
Learning Disability	5	Intermediate Algebra MAT 1033	Waived	5
Hard of Hearing	1	Intermediate Algebra MAT 1033	Waived	1
Learning Disability	1	Elementary Statistics STA 2023	Denied
Learning Disability	1	Introduction to Speech SPC 1600	Denied
Emotionally Handicapped	1	Intermediate Algebra MAT 1033	MGF 1107	1
Learning Disability	1	College Algebra MAC 1105	Waived	1
Learning Disability	1	College Algebra MAC 1105	Introduction to Computers and Programming CGS 1000	1
Learning Disability	1	Elementary Algebra MAT 0024	Managerial Accounting ACG 2071	1
Learning Disability	1	Mathematics for Liberal Arts II MGF 1107	Waived	1
Learning Disability	1	Intermediate Algebra MAT 1033	Studies in Applied Ethics PHI 1600	1
Learning Disability	2	Elementary Algebra MAT 0024	Waived	2

The President’s Office maintains a log of student complaints made directly to the President for file retrieval purposes only.  Official records of complaints made to the President are maintained in the College Attorney’s or appropriate Associate Provost’s Office.