The objective of this Student Grievance Policy and Procedure is to provide students with a mechanism to request a review of decisions and actions within the College of Engineering and Applied Science. There are a number of policies within the College and the University of Colorado Denver that addresses specific concerns and it is important that those matters are referred to the appropriate office or individual. For example, sexual harassment and gender or age discrimination are thoroughly addressed in the Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Policy, while others concerns may relate to the Academic Honor and Conduct Code or the Academic Progression policy. The Student Grievance Policy outlined below is designed to cover those issues that fall outside of existing policies in the College.
As part of their professional education, students sometimes must engage in and thus learn conflict resolution skills whenever they perceive a problem with a faculty member. These problems can be quite varied and range from a grade received or from the attitude of their instructors towards them. The first step for students in dealing with a perceived problem is to talk with the involved faculty member about the problem. The discussion should be done privately, for example, in the faculty member’s office or in some other agreed upon location. This dialogue may shed light on the issue or provide the student with an adequate rationale for the event involving the faculty member. This type of dialogue between the parties involved can often resolve an issue. If students are hesitant to bring an issue to the attention of a faculty member, the College recommends that the student ask their advisor to be present when meeting with the faculty member. The Ombuds Office, a University resource available to all members of the University community to provide impartial and confidential discussion for individuals seeking to review options for informal resolutions of differences, is available to assist with this step if requested by the student.
The conflict resolution meeting should occur as expeditiously as possible, preferably within 30 days. In the event that either party is unavailable to meet within the 30-day requirement, the Assistant Dean for Academic Program Development may be contacted to facilitate the scheduling of the meeting. If the problem is resolved through informal discussion, no further steps are required. If the student and faculty member do not resolve the problem presented, the student then may wish to file a formal grievance. A formal grievance consists of two steps. Step I is a statement of grievance. Step II consists the formal resolution of the grievance.