Grievances

The School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences upholds values that include institutional responsiveness and creating a community where individuals from all backgrounds and experiences have equitable opportunities to participate, succeed, and feel a sense of belonging.

Our internal grievance procedures aim to aid students, faculty, and staff in resolving concerns about unfair treatment in the conduct of academic or university policies or practices. The goal of these procedures is to address problems and inappropriate behavior quickly and directly; to work toward a reasonable resolution; and to promote a productive and positive learning environment.

The IAS Grievance Policy is aligned with UW Executive Order No. 58 Student Academic Grievance Procedures and the UW Graduate School Policy 3.8: Academic Grievance Procedure.

What is a grievance?

A grievance is an allegation of unfair treatment, inappropriate behavior, or substantive injustice in the conduct of academic or university policy, practice, or business.

Other forms of complaints:

Complaints regarding the specific issues outlined below have their own specific procedures. Information about how to raise concern about these issues are linked in the following list:

• Grade appeal
• Concerns involving discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct, or retaliation should be reported to the Civil Rights Compliance Office
• Student conduct, including plagiarism and cheating
• Parking citations
• Actions or practices of the university that are the result of UW system-wide requirements, i.e., student fees

Student grievance procedure

Academic advisors are available to assist students in navigating this process and identifying the best way to proceed. Undergraduate students should make an appointment with their assigned academic advisor at uwbadvis@uw.edu.

Graduate students should email the Graduate Programs Manager at iasgrad@uw.edu. All conversations and records relating to grievances will be treated as confidential. Students can also review frequently asked questions to receive additional information and guidance about grievances.

Step 1: Informal Resolution

Students should attempt, in good faith, to resolve concerns or difficulties informally and directly in a face-to-face conversation with the person(s) concerned. Most conflicts can be resolved at this stage. Either the student or the person(s) involved may request another person to be present during this discussion. Persons appropriate to this intermediary role could include a faculty member, an academic advisor, or other University staff member. All parties should be notified in advance by email if an intermediary will be present no less than 72 hours before the scheduled meeting.

Additionally, undergraduate and graduate students may request assistance through the UW Office of the Ombud.

The Office of the Ombud has been established to assist in the protection of the rights of all members of the UW community. To facilitate early and informal resolution of grievances, the ombud will be available, at the request of any party concerned, to act as an impartial conciliator. The Office of the Ombud may be called upon to intervene at any stage of the grievance process.

If direct communications are not successful in resolving the issue, the student should contact the IAS Associate Dean for Diversity & Equity, the designee of the Dean, via email. This step represents the effort of a third party to examine the situation with some degree of objectivity and attempt to resolve the issue in an informal way.

Students should note that the Associate Dean may directly inform the Dean of any complaints. The Dean reserves the right to address the matter by administrative action, especially when the actions of a UW employee are involved. Administrative action can occur independently of any grievance procedures pursued by the student.

If all efforts at informal resolution of the problem prove to be unsuccessful, the next step involves filing a formal written grievance complaint. Review the information below for the separate processes for graduate and non-graduate (undergraduate, non-matriculated, etc.) students.

Step 2: Submit a Formal Grievance

If attempts at informal resolution are not successful, or if circumstances make discussion inappropriate with the person(s) most directly involved, then the student should fill out the IAS Grievance Form so that IAS may direct the complaint to the appropriate Dean or Director for review. All information recorded on the Grievance Form will be treated as confidential.

Formal Grievance Procedures:

• The form requires students to indicate which academic policy was wrongly applied and provide evidence that they have been subjected to unfair treatment. Students must also describe their desired outcome or remedy to the complaint.
• The formal grievance must be filed by the end of the quarter following the incident causing complaint, excluding summer term, unless directed otherwise by the School of IAS.
• Form submissions are automatically routed to the Associate Dean for Diversity & Equity and the Director of Academic Services, who will work with the Dean to form an ad-hoc committee.
• Any issues raised in the grievance that fall beyond the scope of the academic grievance policy may be routed to the appropriate delegated authority. This includes matters related to grade appeals, plagiarism, student misconduct, discrimination, accommodation needs, and student employment concerns.
• For those submissions that fall within the scope of the scope of academic grievances, the ad hoc committee shall consist of three full-time faculty members and two students. The chairperson of the committee shall be a faculty member appointed by the Dean. It shall be the responsibility of the committee to provide the student with a fair and impartial hearing regarding the filed grievance.
• The Associate Dean for Diversity & Equity will coordinate a call for participation among eligible students and establish a pool from which 2 student committee members shall be randomly chosen. The admission type of the student who filed a formal grievance will determine the eligibility of students forming the pool. Graduate students will comprise the pool when a grievance is filed by a graduate student. Conversely, undergraduate students will comprise the pool when an undergraduate student files a grievance.
• The Dean or their designee shall notify all persons directly involved and provide each with a copy of the written grievance. The chairperson shall establish a time and place of the hearing to be held within 20 school days after the establishment of the committee.
• All parties may individually and personally present evidence and testimony necessary either to establish or to refute the alleged grievance. Only evidence presented at the hearing shall be considered in determining the validity of the grievance.
• All hearings will be conducted in closed session.
• All documentation of the proceedings shall be kept on record. Such a summary shall be maintained for a period of five years in order to ensure adequate review, if requested.
• Within 10 school days after the adjournment of the hearing, the committee shall present to the Dean (or their designee), with copies to all parties involved, a report of the committee, including findings of fact, conclusions, and recommendations. The committee shall reach its findings and recommendations by a majority vote. Dissenting opinions may be presented with the majority report, if desired.
• Within 10 school days after receipt of the committee report, the Dean (or their designee) shall issue a decision on the grievance. Such a decision and the reasons therefore, together with an enumeration of the actions to be taken, if any, shall be transmitted to all parties.
• The decision of the Dean (or their designee) shall become final at the close of 21 days after issuance.

Step 3: Appeal Process

The grievance process may be appealed only in circumstances in which the School of IAS has failed to follow its own published grievance procedures or applied them non-uniformly.

• Undergraduate student appeals: The student who originally filed the grievance — and any individual filed against — may, within 21 days of the decision, file a written request with the Provost of the University for consideration of the decision by the Provost. If the Provost concludes there have been any procedural irregularities in the proceedings or finds there is any basis for reconsideration they shall, within ten days of their receipt of the written request, remand the matter to the Dean for appropriate action. Otherwise, the decision of the Dean shall become final.
• Graduate student appeals: Within 15 business days of the conclusion of grievance procedure (receipt of the decision letter), a graduate student may file an appeal with the dean of The Graduate School alleging a lack of procedural uniformity in the unit’s application of their grievance procedure. Refer to Policy 3.8 for more information regarding the appeals process.

Additional Resources

What other university resources may students, faculty, staff, and community members enlist for raising and resolving complaints?