Student Grievance Procedures University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
adopted November 20, 1994
Introduction The following procedures establish the jurisdiction, membership,
and process of the UNC-CH Student Grievance Committee.
I. Jurisdiction The procedures herein shall be used when a student at UNC-CH
has a grievance against a UNC-CH employee, including faculty, EPA non-faculty,
staff, and student employees (when acting in the role of an employee), that
involves one of the following policies or laws:
The UNC-CH Sexual Harassment Policy, promulgated by the Chancellor.
This policy states in part that "Sexual harassment by any member of the
University is a violation of both law and University policy and will not be
tolerated in the University Community." Students may obtain information
regarding the Sexual Harassment Policy from the Office of the Dean of Students.
The UNC-CH Racial Harassment Policy, promulgated by the Chancellor.
This policy states in part that "Racial harassment is contrary to the
University's Policy of equal opportunity, can constitute unlawful discrimination
on the basis of race, and will not be tolerated in the University community."
Students may obtain information regarding the Racial Harassment Policy from
the Office of the Dean of Students.
The UNC-CH Policy Statement on Sexual Orientation, promulgated
by the Chancellor. This policy states in part that "educational and employment
decisions should be based on individuals' abilities and qualifications and
should not be based on irrelevant factors or personal characteristics that
have no connection with academic abilities or job performance. Among the traditional
factors which are generally 'irrelevant' are race, sex, religion, and national
origin. It is the policy of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
that an individual's sexual orientation be treated in the same manner."
The Chancellor has designated the Office of the Dean of Students as the agency
responsible for receiving reports from students with complaints of discrimination
based on sexual orientation.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 168
1, et seq.). This federal law states in part that "No person . . . shall
on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits
of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity
receiving Federal financial assistance. . . ." The Chancellor has appointed
Ms. Susan Ehringhaus, Assistant to the Chancellor and Senior University Counsel,
as the officer responsible for implementing this law.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U. S.C.
70 1, et seq.). This federal law states in part that "No otherwise qualified
handicapped individual ... shall solely by reason of his handicap, be excluded
from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination
under' any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."
The Chancellor has appointed Dr. Robert Cannon, Affirmative Action Officer,
as the person responsible for compliance with this law.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (29 U.S.C. 706; 42 U.S.C.
12101, et seq.). This federal law states in part that: "[N]o qualified
individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded
from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs,
or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any
such entity." The Chancellor has appointed Dr. Robert Cannon, Affirmative
Action Officer, as the person responsible for compliance with this law.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20
U.S.C. 1232g, et seq.). This federal law states in part that "An educational
... institution shall, on request, provide an opportunity for a hearing in
order to challenge the content of a student's education records to insure
that information in the education records of the student is not inaccurate,
misleading or otherwise in violation of the privacy or other rights of students."
The Chancellor has appointed Ms. Mary P. Sechriest, Associate University Counsel,
as the officer responsible for compliance with this law.
If a student has a grievance against another student who was
not acting in the role of a University employee at the time of the incident
in question, the matter should be reported to either the Office of the Dean
of Students or the Student Attorney General for handling in accordance with
the Instrument of Student Judicial Governance.
All other grievances of students against University faculty,
EPA non-faculty, or students will be handled in accordance with applicable
University policy (e.g. grade appeals).
II. Membership
Composition The Student Grievance Committee shall be made up of the
following:
three faculty members;
three staff members; and
four student members. Individual hearing panels shall
consist of three members
Selection The faculty and staff members of the Student Grievance
Committee shall be appointed by the Chancellor, and shall serve at the pleasure
of the Chancellor. The student members of the Committee shall be the students
who are currently holding the following positions in Student Government:
Student Body President;
President of the Graduate and Professional Student Federation;
Speaker of the Student Congress; and
Chief Justice of the Student Supreme Court.
III. Grievance Procedures
Filing a Complaint*
All complaints must be in writing and signed by the student. They must contain:
a specification of the law or policy that the student alleges
was violated;
a summary of the evidence and arguments that the student
would present at a hearing;
the date of the last incident involved in the alleged violation;
and,
in complaints alleging violation of the Sexual Orientation
Discrimination Policy, Title IX, Section 504, the Americans With Disabilities
Act, or the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, information about
the grievant's attempts to resolve the grievance with the department head,
dean, or administrative official most directly empowered to make adjustments,
and information about the results of those attempts.
A complaint should be filed with the officer or agency responsible for implementing
the law or policy in question. (See Section 1.) Upon receipt, that officer
or agency shall forward the complaint to the Chair of the Student Grievance
Committee.
Response to a Complaint Upon receipt of a complaint, the Chair shall send a copy
to the accused employee, along with a letter requesting the employee's written
response. The accused employee must file that response with the Chair within
ten days after the date he or she received the Chair's letter. For good cause
shown, the Chair may grant an extension of time for the employee to file a
response.
Committee Hearings
When a formal complaint is referred to the Committee through
its Chair, the Chair shall convene a panel of three members of the Committee
to hear the grievance. A decision of any panel shall be considered a decision
of the Committee. If possible the panel shall include one staff, one faculty,
and one student member on the panel. In every case there will be one student
on the panel.
During a hearing, the grievant and the accused shall
have the following rights:
The right to have legal counsel or a non-lawyer support
person present;
The right to present the testimony of witnesses and
other evidence,relevant to the grievance;
The right to confront and cross-examine witnesses;
and
The right to examine all submitted documents and other
evidence.
Legal counsel may not participate in the proceedings-
unless the law or policy at issue provides for a broader right to counsel.
The panel is not bound by federal or state rules of evidence,
but should make all decisions based on the relevant evidence presented
at the hearing.
The panel chair is responsible for the conduct of the
hearing.
A recording or other record shall be kept of all proceedings
in which evidence is presented.
When hearing grievances under any law or policy
listed in Section I, the panel shall observe all procedures contained
in the specific law or policy. To the extent that this document conflicts
with the specific law or policy, the law or policy shall control.
Decisions
After hearing a student grievance, the panel shall decide
whether the preponderance of the evidence shows that the employee has
violated the law or policy at issue. If a majority of the panel finds
that the law or policy has been violated, the panel shall consider, and
vote on, the recommendations to be made to administrative officials.
If the majority of the panel finds that the accused has
violated the Sexual or Racial Harassment Policy, the panel shall be entitled
to receive from the Affirmative Action Officer the confidential records
of prior reports under the same Policy involving that individual, if any,
and shall be entitled to consider such records in reaching its recommendations.
A summary of such records shall be included in the panel's recommendation
of appropriate adjustments.
Following the hearing, the panel shall make a written
report of the matter and its findings to the appropriate University official.
If the administrative officer most directly empowered to make adjustment
does not act upon the panel's - recommendations within a reasonable time,
the recommendations will be forwarded to the Chancellor for consideration.
Following the hearing, the panel shall provide written
notification of its findings and recommendations to the grievant, the
accused, and other appropriate parties.
Time Frame The consideration of a grievance, including investigation,
formal hearings, and notification of recommendations, ordinarily will be completed
within three weeks after receipt of the formal complaint. If the process cannot
be completed in the three-week interval, the grievant and other appropriate
parties will be notified of the delay.
IV. Appeal and Complaint Procedures
Faculty, EPA non-faculty, and staff employees who wish to pursue
an appeal from the results of the grievance proceeding may consult the Senior
University Counsel for information about the appropriate appeal route.
Students with grievances based on alleged violations of ADA,
504, Tide IX, or FERPA may also have the right to file a complaint with designated
federal agencies. For more information about applicable federal complaint
procedures, students should consult the Chair of the Committee.
*The Committee will not consider a grievance
based on incidents that occur-red more than six months before the complaint
was filed. If the last incident involved in the alleged violation occurred less
than six months before the filing of the complaint, the Committee will consider
all of the incidents involved in the alleged violation.