Guidelines for Undergraduate Student Grievances
There may be occasions when an undergraduate engineering student has a grievance with a faculty member. An example might be a disagreement about the grading of homework or an exam. If you find yourself in this situation, you may want to consult the University’s “Grievance Policy & Procedures for Allegations by Undergraduate Students against Faculty.” This can be found at http://www.wustl.edu/policies/grievance1.html. Normally, the best way to proceed informally is to follow the steps below:
- Individual Instructors
First, make an earnest attempt to resolve the situation with the instructor. It may be best to set up an appointment to meet with the instructor outside of class time. Prepare a logical justification as to why your work should be reevaluated.
- Department Chair
If the instructor was unwilling to discuss the situation with you, or the instructor refused to consider your arguments after you met with him/her and you still believe your situation merits consideration from a higher authority, the next step is to meet with the chair of the department that offers the course. Serious complaints alleging breaches of a faculty member’s responsibilities should be brought directly to the department chair.
- School of Engineering Ombudsperson
Finally, if you have met with both the instructor and the department chair, and you feel your situation still needs attention, your next step is to make an appointment to meet with Dr. Norman Katz, our School of Engineering Ombudsperson. His office is located in Cupples II, Room 108.
The Ombudsperson is a full-time faculty member of the School designated to consider student grievances from a neutral prospective and is responsible to both the faculty of the School as represented by the Faculty Assembly and to the student body of the School as represented by the Engineering Student Council. The Ombudsperson will attempt to help resolve the issue. If your grievance involves a faculty member from another School, your Ombudsperson will advise the Ombudsperson for that School of the complaint. In the process of addressing a grievance, the Ombudsperson will make a brief written record of the grievance, including the names of the parties, the nature of the accusation, the responsive explanation of the faculty member, and the resolution of the case. In processing any type of grievance, the Ombudsperson will strive to protect, to the greatest extent possible, the confidentiality of the complaint, but complete confidentiality cannot be guaranteed in every instance. The Ombudsperson may be contacted at any time during the grievance resolution process for advice, direction, referrals to other sources of information or help, and mediation.
Discrimination or Discriminatory Harassment
If your claim involves discrimination or discriminatory harassment and you are not satisfied with the results of the informal procedure described above, or if you elect not to participate in the above informal procedure, you may file a formal grievance with the Student Discrimination Grievance Committee, formerly known as the “Title IX Committee” (“Committee”). This process may lead to a formal hearing at which evidence will be considered and witnesses heard. The specifics of this process are set forth at http://www.wustl.edu/policies/grievance1.html.