Grievance Procedure
When a student believes he or she has a grievance against Mount Saint Mary College for which no adjudication procedures appear to exist, he/she may bring the grievance to the College Review Board chair, who is the VPAA. If the VPAA is alleged in the grievance to be directly and immediately the cause for the grievance, the VPAA will withdraw as chair and the President of the College will appoint another chair.
A grievance should be in writing and describe in detail the basis for the grievance and any remedy deemed appropriate. The College Review Board chair will investigate the grievance. If the grievance cannot be resolved informally to the satisfaction of all parties and if indeed no specific college procedures exist for adjudication, the grievance will be accepted for review by the College Review Board.
The College Review Board is composed of the chair who appoints two other Mount educators (faculty or administrators) for the adjudication in question. Other persons may be added to the board by the chair as non-voting members or asked to advise the board as the nature of the grievance warrants.
The College Review Board will then hold a hearing to review the grievance. At the hearing, the person bringing the grievance has the opportunity and responsibility to present his/her entire case, including allegations and evidence. Witnesses may be introduced by the person bringing the grievance. The person bringing the grievance may be advised by a counselor who may not directly participate in the hearing. The board may also receive other information from the College as part of its investigation and hearing. Upon completion of the hearing, the board will deliberate and make a decision that is communicated in writing to the person making the grievance.
The decision may be appealed to the President of the College. Notice of appeal of the decision of the College Review Board must be submitted to the President within two working days of the decision. The full written appeal must be submitted to the President within six working days of the decision and be based on an alleged violation of the college procedure, local, state, and/or federal law. The President reviews the appeal as appropriate and makes the final decision.