The purpose of this complaint procedure is to establish fair and objective procedures to process students’ complaints. 

Scope

This is an administrative procedure, affecting all students, academic staff, and administrative staff. 

Referenced Laws, Regulations, and/or Policies 

This is the University procedure to comply with the University’s Grievance and Non-Retaliation policy. 

Procedures

All Parami students are entitled to be treated with fairness and respect. A student who feels that they have been wronged by anyone, including academic staff, administrative staff, or another student, or perceives that a university policy has been violated, shall have the right to a non-retaliatory complaint mechanism. Depending on the nature of the complaint, it may be relevant to various offices of the Academic Department or the Administrative Department. However, to ensure that students’ complaints are treated as swiftly as possible, they are to be submitted to the Unit of Student Support Services, Office of Admissions and Student Affairs, which will forward the complaint to or collaborate with a relevant office of the University to investigate the matter. 

Informal Resolution 

Students are advised to first notify the relevant party regarding their disagreement with a course of action. For example, if students feel that they have been unfairly graded in a course, they should first discuss the issue with the faculty member in question. If students feel that they have been unfairly treated by an administrative staff from the Office of Finance and Operations on their accounts, they should first discuss the issue with the Unit of Finance and Accounts. If the resulting outcomes of such interaction are still unsatisfactory, students may choose to first undergo an information discussion and verbal resolution process before they file a formal complaint. The student may choose to set up a meeting with a supervisor of the person involved with the complaint. The student may also request the staff from the Unit of the Student Support Services to mediate an informal resolution. If the informal resolution procedure does not resolve the complaint at hand, the student may initiate a formal complaint procedure with the support of the Unit of Student Support Services. 

Information to be Collected by the Office of Admissions and Student Affairs 

Once a student has decided to start a formal complaint procedure, they will have to provide necessary information and documentation to the Unit of Student Support Services in a formal complaint form (template provided at the end of this document). They may also file it directly to the University Management level without going through the Unit of Student Support Services, if they believe that filing it through the Unit may jeopardize their complaint. Incomplete complaint forms, i.e without the name of the student or the description of the complaint, will not be processed. Once a student submits a completed form with full information to the Unit, a staff member from the Unit will send a written notification, within five working days, that includes: a) a formal acknowledgement of the receipt of the complaint, b) an assigned complaint number, c) the nature of the complaint, and d) a statement that the student will receive a written statement after deliberation within fifteen working days as set in the institutional calendar. A staff member from the Unit may request further information from the student, if necessary, to clarify the nature of the complaint. Once the staff has all required information, they must process the complaint and forward it to the Dean of Academic Department or the Directors of the Administrative Department within one working day after sending the receipt acknowledgement to the student. 

Deliberation 

Once the Dean or the Directors receive a signed formal complaint from the Unit of Student Support Services, the respective complaint recipient must review the complaint thoroughly. If the complaint can be resolved by the Dean or the Directors, they may process it with consultation or clarification with their respective teams. If they determine that the complaint is more of an interdepartmental issue, they will raise the issue up among their departments to resolve the complaint. If they determine that it can be resolved only at the University Management level, they will need to bring it up at a weekly University Management meeting. The complaint recipient may invite relevant individuals involved in the complaint to understand the situation. If the individuals involved in the complaint have inflicted harm, such as discrimination or harassment, sanctions will be applied to such indivdiuals. If such an individual is a student, it will be processed through the Student Probation, Suspension and Expulsion mechanism. If such an individual is an academic staff, they will be dealt with in accordance with the Faculty Conduct procedure. If such an individual is an administrative staff, they will be dealt with in accordance with the rules and regulations in the Staff Disciplinary Sanction procedure. 

Once a decision has been made through a thorough deliberation, whether it be at their own office level, interdepartmental level, or University Management level, the respective complaint recipient must send a response to the student. The response to the student must include how the deliberation was done and at what level. If a student feels that their complaint has not been properly addressed at a lower level, they may appeal it directly at the University Management level (see the form). At this point, the complaint shall 85 come directly to the President. If the deliberation has already come from the University Management, the decision is final within the University complaint handling mechanism. 

Any deliberation into a complaint must generally include investigation into the source of the complaint, previous informal or formal efforts to resolve the issue, and any contingencies that will support in the deliberation and disposition of the problem. If a hearing is necessary, the complaint recipient must set up such a hearing panel to reach a fair decision. The individual who has been involved in the complaint, by default, cannot be part of the hearing panel or handling the case. 

Non-retaliation 

Regardless of the final outcome of a complaint, the University and members of the University are prohibited from taking retaliatory action against any student, as long as the claims are made in good faith, barring wrongful and deliberate accusations without sufficient proof. 

Review

The Office of Admissions and Student Affairs is responsible for ensuring compliance with this procedure in various offices of the University. 

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