Policy on Academic Concerns, Complaints, and Grievances

The following procedures are part of a process to ensure that student concerns about experiences in the classroom or with faculty are addressed in an informed and appropriate manner.

Due to the size and diverse nature of our scholarly community, each school maintains its own processes for addressing a variety of student life issues, including students' concerns about experiences in the classroom or with faculty at their school. Experience has shown that most student concerns are best resolved in a collaborative way at the school level, starting with the advising dean or dean of students, as explained below for your particular school.

If a student's concerns are not satisfied through this process, or if the student believes that a direct complaint to the Vice President for Arts and Sciences is
more appropriate, formal grievance procedures are available to students through the Office of Vice President for the Arts and Sciences.

For academic complaints relating to Arts and Sciences faculty, the Arts and Sciences procedures, like those of other schools, have the provision for a final
appeal to the Provost.

If the instructor at issue is not a member of the Arts and Sciences faculty, the student should consult the instructor’s particular school for its procedures.
We welcome students' thoughts on ways to clarify or enhance these procedures. If you are a Columbia College student, please e-mail us at cc-academicaffairs@columbia.edu.

Columbia College Proceess for Expressing Academic Concerns, Complaints, and Greivances

Columbia College students are members of a University community committed to fostering intellectual inquiry within a climate of academic freedom and integrity. Students and faculty alike are expected to promote these goals in the context of inclusiveness, mutual respect, and tolerance for others, as ideas are explored, facts gathered, opinions weighed, and conclusions drawn. We work together with the understanding that we are, first and foremost, an educational community with teaching and learning at the heart of our enterprise and many educational opportunities beyond the walls of the classroom. Central to all of our procedures is our educational mission, and it is this educational mission which also informs our process for dealing with academic concerns, complaints, and grievances. From time to time a student may have concerns about a particular classroom experience, a specific curricular matter, or a faculty member’s actions that seem not to be consistent with the highest ideals of our community. Different kinds of academic concerns and complaints will require different approaches to resolve them satisfactorily. The student should speak first with his or her advising dean who will help the student determine how best to proceed. It may, for example, be the case that the issue is best taken up with the student's instructor. If, after a discussion with the advising dean, it is clear that the student does not feel comfortable speaking directly with the instructor, the advising dean will then advise and support the student in a different course of action.

For all procedures that are handled in the College, we attempt first to resolve issues on an informal and educational basis, making sure that those involved
understand each other's point of view, before moving toward more formal procedures of complaint and redress.In every case we seek to address issues in a timely manner (see Timeframe for Proceedings) at the most immediate level available, before moving up to higher levels of authority and responsibility.

Concerns about Grades or Other Academic Assessments

The awarding of grades and all other academic evaluations rests entirely with the faculty. If a student has a concern relating to a particular grade or other assessment of his or her academic work, the student first should speak with the instructor of the class to understand how the grade or other evaluation was derived and to address the student's specific concern. If the student does not feel comfortable speaking with the class instructor about the matter, he or she should bring the issue to the attention of the department chair, the director of undergraduate studies, or his or her advising dean in order to seek advice on how best to address the issue.

If the student is unable thus to resolve the matter to his or her satisfaction and believes that a procedural issue is involved, the student should bring the matter to the attention of the Dean of Academic Affairs. The dean will work with the student and the faculty to determine whether there has been a procedural breach and, if so, take immediate steps to remedy the matter. If relevant faculty other than the instructor, together with the dean, decide that the grade or other academic evaluation was appropriate, given class assignments and circumstances, the student will be informed and the decision will be final.

Complaints Involving a Faculty Member

The Columbia faculty hold themselves to the highest professional standards, but from time to time there may be concern that their professional conduct is not consistent with the standards that the faculty have established for themselves. Those rights, duties, and obligations are delineated in the University Statutes and in the Faculty Handbook.

Consistent with those duties and obligations, conduct that is grievable under these procedures include:

1. failure to show appropriate respect in an instructional setting for the rights of others to hold opinions differing from their own;
2. misuse of faculty authority to promote a political or social cause within an instructional setting;
3. conduct in the classroom or another instructional setting that adversely affects the learning environment.

If a student believes that a faculty member has acted in an unprofessional manner, he or she should first speak with his or her advising dean who will work with the student to review the claim, establish the substance of the complaint, and come to a decision about how best to address the concerns raised by the student. If appropriate, the advising dean will refer the student to the Dean of Academic Affairs who, working with relevant faculty, will investigate the matter fully and attempt to resolve the matter. If the matter remains unresolved and the dean decides that further action is warranted, he or she may refer the matter to the Vice President for Arts and Sciences.

If at any time a student believes the process is not working in a constructive or timely fashion, the student may always call the Dean of the College. If the student is not satisfied with the outcome of the College procedure, or believes that a direct complaint to the Office of the Vice President for Arts and Sciences is more appropriate, the student may submit a formal grievance in writing to the Associate Vice President for Arts and Sciences, in accordance with the procedures described at the Vice-President's Office For Arts and Sciences. If the instructor is not a member of the Arts and Sciences faculty, the advising dean will assist the student to identify the appropriate faculty and the right procedures. Each school has its own grievance procedures
and they are posted on individual schools’ Web sites.

The University has alternate procedures to address other specific concerns.

If the alleged misconduct involves discrimination and sexual harassment, the complaint should be filed with the Associate Provost for Equal Opportunity and
Affirmative Action. For information on the procedures for handling such complaints see Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Policy and Procedure.

Complaints against the school's faculty that allege scientific or scholarly misconduct are also evaluated using other procedures. These are contained in
the Statement on Professional Ethics and Faculty Obligations and Guidelines for Review of Professional Misconduct.

The policy on romantic relationships can be found in the Romantic Relationship Advisory Statement or in this bulletin.

Timeframe for Proceedings

A student should ordinarily bring any concern or complaint within thirty (30) days of the end of the semester in which the offending conduct occurred or by the beginning of the following semester. The school process will ordinarily take thirty (30) days.

Confidentiality

At every level, those involved recognize and respect a student’s need for confidentiality when addressing certain kinds of concerns. If the student wishes complete confidentiality, any concern may be raised with the University’s Ombuds Officer, a neutral complaint handler for the University. The office offers a range of options and communication channels. Students, however, must be aware that the Ombuds Office has no authority to adjudicate a complaint; it is there as a confidential resource to students, faculty and administrators to advise on various avenues of redress and to mediate disputes, if both parties agree.

Columbia University Ombuds Office

The Ombuds Office is a neutral and confidential resource for informal conflict resolution, serving the entire Columbia University community—students, faculty, and employees.

For further information, contact Ombuds Officers Marsha Wagner or Associate Ombuds Officer Bathabile Mthombeni-Njenga at 660 Schermerhorn Extension; telephone: 212-854-1234; fax: 212-854-6046; e-mail: ombuds@columbia.edu. Further information is also available on the Ombuds Office Web site and in FACETS, the University student handbook.

On Wednesdays an Ombuds Officer is at the Columbia University Medical Center, 101 Bard Hall, 50 Haven Avenue; telephone: 212-304-7026.