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UNC PEMBROKE GRIEVANCE PROCESS FOR STUDENTS DENIED REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS OR SUBJECTED TO DISCRIMINATION BECAUSE OF A DISABILITY

I. PURPOSE
Students with disabilities are responsible for contacting Disability Support Services if reasonable accommodations are not implemented in an effective or timely manner. Disability Support Services works with faculty, staff, and disabled students to resolve disagreements regarding recommended accommodations. The Complaint, Grievance, and Appeals Process, as outlined below, will facilitate an internal, informal basis for filing a complaint, grievance, and finally, appealing a denial of accommodations and for grieving instances of inappropriate discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ("Section 504"). Any student with a disability who believes he or she has been discriminated against on the basis of that disability may use this process to file a grievance with the Student ADA Coordinator located in the Office of Student Affairs, Room 248, Lumbee Hall at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke or with the Office of Civil Rights.

A student may pursue a grievance if he or she believes that a University employee (including faculty, staff, and agents--hereafter, referred to only as the Employee) has discriminated against the student because of his or her disability or has improperly denied the student a reasonable accommodation. Upon request from any student, the Director of Disability Support Services will provide guidance about the appropriate process for redress of a particular complaint. If the complaint is against the Office of Disability Support Services, the student may obtain guidance from the Student ADA Coordinator in the Student Affairs Office in Lumbee Hall about the process.

A grievance which is found to be intentionally dishonest or willfully disregards the truth is a violation of the UNCP Student Code of Conduct, item # 2, Furnishing false information to the University with intent to deceive. Students violating this code will be subject to disciplinary action.
The University prohibits retaliation against any student for filing a grievance under this process. Any retaliation directed to the complainant as a result of the filing of a grievance under this process is against state and federal laws and UNCP Policy.

What May Be Grieved:
An action or decision may be grieved only if it involves discrimination against a student because of his or her disability or if it results in the improper denial of a reasonable accommodation. This process may not be used to grieve:

1. Claims based on purchases or contracts;
2. Claims against an employee on matters that are unrelated to the employee’s job or role at the University;
3. Decisions covered by other University policies (e.g. Residency appeals)

Who May Grieve:
Grievances may be initiated by any student currently enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke who (1) alleges he or she has suffered illegal discrimination because of his or her disability, or (2) has made a request for an accommodation on the basis of a disability, either to an individual faculty member, a department (either academic or administrative), a duly-appointed Department Head, or to the office of Disability Support Services as a student seeking services under the American with Disabilities Act or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and been denied that accommodation.

II. INFORMAL RESOLUTION
The informal resolution process is designed to reach an understanding of the situation and to resolve the differences in an informal and cooperative manner if possible.

Step 1
The student who has a grievance with a member of the University community is encouraged to first attempt to resolve the matter by meeting with the Employee. The purpose of the meeting is to reach a mutual understanding of the student’s situation and the Employee’s actions. The student has seven calendar days from the action being grieved or the date the student should have known about the action to initiate this discussion.

Step 2
If the consultation with the Employee is not satisfactory, or if it is impractical to consult with the Employee, the student should seek the assistance of the Director of Disability Support Services within seven calendar days of the meeting with the Employee or within fourteen calendar days of the action. The purpose of this interaction is for the Director of Disability Support Services to attempt to work with both parties to reach a resolution to the conflict.

If the complaint is against the Office of Disability Support Services the student should seek immediate assistance from the Student ADA Coordinator in the Student Affairs Office in Lumbee Hall. The Student ADA Coordinator will conduct an informal investigation for resolution. If no resolution is achieved the student may proceed to the Formal Resolution process.

III. FORMAL RESOLUTION

Step 3
If an informal resolution is not successful, the student may file a formal grievance by sending to the Student ADA Coordinator a request for a hearing by the Student ADA Grievance Committee. The student must file this within fourteen calendar days of the meeting with the Director of Disability Support Services or, if that office is the object of the complaint, within fourteen calendar days of the initial meeting with the Student ADA Coordinator that began Step 2 of the Informal Resolution process as described above.

All complaints must be in writing and signed by the student. The grievance must contain:

1. A clear and precise statement of the complaint.
2. State how the action is discriminatory or the decision unreasonable if it is a denial of a requested accommodation;
3. Name the respondent parties (the person(s) against whom the grievance is filed);
4. State how each respondent is responsible for the action or decision;
5. State the requested remedy;
6. State whether a non-participating observer will be brought to the hearing; and
7. A Grievance Statement of Authenticity Form signed by the grieving student.

If it is clear on the face of the written grievance, the complaint has not been filed according to this process (such as, but not limited to, timeframe, matter is not grievable under this process, the complaint is frivolous in the Student ADA Coordinator's judgment, or is from a person without grievance rights under this process) the Student ADA Coordinator shall so indicate in a letter to the grievant that the complaint is dismissed. Once dismissed, the student shall be provided information to file a grievance external to the university.

Otherwise, within fourteen calendar days the Student ADA Coordinator, shall refer the grievance to the chair of the Student ADA Grievance Committee, from which a fact-finding panel will be appointed. The Student ADA Coordinator will inform the Employee in writing that a grievance has been received and refer the matter to the Panel of the Committee.

The members of the Student ADA Coordinator Committee must be approved by and serve at the pleasure of the Chancellor, who will also name the Chair of the Committee. In the event any person appointed to the Committee or required to serve by virtue of his or her employment is unable to serve, the Chancellor may appoint another to serve in his or her place. The composition of the Student ADA Coordinator Committee shall be made up of three faculty members (nominated by the Faculty Senate) three staff members (nominated by the Staff Council) four upper classmen and/or graduate student members (two SGA representatives and two nominated by SGA), And two disabled students nominated by the Disabled Student Organization President and Advisor.

For the purpose of each grievance, the chair of the Committee will select four members of the Committee to serve with him/her as the fact-finding panel. The panel will consist of one faculty member, one staff member, one SGA nominated student, and one disabled student. A decision of the panel will be considered a decision of the Committee. In addition to the chair of the Committee, each fact-finding panel shall include at least two students, and two employees (faculty members if the decision maker is a faculty member). The employees cannot be part of the same office or immediate administrative unit as the Employee. Panel members should have no personal interest in the outcome of the process, and should not have any personal involvement in earlier stages of the matter. The Chair may designate another member of the Committee to serve as interim Panel Chair and the fifth member of the Panel when the Committee Chair is unavailable due to emergencies. A quorum shall consist of any 3 members of any panel including the Chair or, if she is unavailable, her designated interim Panel Chair.

The Panel members, parties and all persons involved in the grievance process are expected to maintain strict confidentiality regarding the grievance and all stages of this process. State and federal laws govern the privacy rights of students and employees. Any questions about the disclosure of information should be directed to the panel in writing, and the panel may consult with the Office of UNCP Legal Affairs.

Step 4
The fact-finding Panel must convene within fourteen calendar days of being appointed. The chair of the Committee (or his designee) shall convene the panel and provide them with the written complaint and all supporting documents provided by either party. The Chair of the Committee (or his designee) will be responsible for facilitating the work of the Panel and to proceed in a timely manner.

The Chair of the Panel shall notify the parties of a hearing date, time and place at least five calendar days in advance of the hearing. During a hearing, the grievant and the accused shall have the following rights:

1. The right to have a non-participating observer present;
2. The right to present the testimony of witnesses and other evidence, relevant to the grievance;
3. The right to confront and cross-examine witnesses; and
4. The right to examine all submitted documents and other evidence.

A legal counsel may not participate in the proceedings unless the law or policy at issue provides for a broader right to counsel.

Summer and Fast Track Review
Any grievant may elect, at the beginning of the Formal Resolution Stage (Step 3) of the grievance process, to waive his right to a committee hearing and elect Fast Track review. In the Fast Track process, the Student ADA Coordinator shall serve as the fact finder and conduct the hearing in place of the committee. The decision by the Student ADA Coordinator will be final with the student having the right to file an Appeal to the Chancellor as outlined below in Section V.

NOTE: Every grievance filed AFTER APRIL 15 AND BEFORE AUGUST 25 of each year shall be decided through Fast Track Review, and the grievant shall have no right to a hearing before the committee.

IV. THE DECISION
After hearing a student grievance, the Panel shall recommend that the decision should be upheld, reversed, or some other relief be given, based on a preponderance of the evidence presented. The Chairman of the Committee shall provide a written report to the Student ADA Coordinator. The report should include a summary of the proceeding, recommendations, a copy of all correspondence with the parties, all evidence submitted to the panel, the recording or transcript of the hearing, and anything else considered by the panel in reaching its recommendation. A dissenting panel member may also file a minority report at this time.

The Student ADA Coordinator (or his/her designee) shall review the official report of the Panel and issue a written letter to the Employee’s Senior Administrative officer, a Vice Chancellor or higher, within ten calendar days of receiving the Panel’s report. In the letter, the Student ADA Coordinator (or his/her designee) shall inform the Senior Administrator of a determination of an ADA Grievance Committee Panel and include the Student ADA Coordinator’s position statement. All supporting documents shall be forwarded to the Senior Administrator. The Senior Administrator may either adopt the Panel report and recommendations in whole, modify it in part, or reject the report and reach different findings or conclusions for reasons expressly stated. The decision should be sent to all parties.

V. THE APPEAL
The student who filed the initial grievance and the Employee may appeal the decision (including any dismissal) by the Employee's Senior Administrator or, under Fast Track Review, by the Student ADA Coordinator to the Chancellor within ten calendar days of the date the written decision is sent to the student. The Chancellor's decision shall be final with regard to the University's internal review process.

VI. ACCESS TO OTHER COMPLAINT PROCEDURES

1. At the conclusion of the Chancellor's review in Part V, if the denial of accommodation has been upheld or the Employee's action otherwise sustained, the complainant will be informed where to get information about procedures to file grievances with the appropriate governmental agency.
2. Nothing in the procedure should be construed to impede or prohibit a timely filing of an ADA or discrimination complaint with the appropriate external governmental agency or an internal complaint or grievance alleging discrimination, whether on the basis of disability or not, unrelated to the request for an accommodation.

Formal Federal Agency Grievance Procedures
Students with grievances, or complaints against the University based upon violations of Section 504 or the ADA also have the right to file a complaint with a designated federal agency. For UNCP, this agency is: U. S. Department of Education, 1100 Pennsylvania Ave. N. W., Room 316, PO Box 14620, Washington, DC 20046-4620, or telephone (202) 208-2545.

FORM: Student Grievance Policy Formal Statement of Authenticity

• PDF (requires Adobe Reader)
• Word (requires Microsoft Word)

Updated: Monday, June 4, 2007

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