MANDEL CENTER FOR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

GRADUATE STUDENT GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

All students enrolled for graduate credit at Case Western Reserve University have adequate access to faculty and administrative consideration of their grievances concerning academic issues. Accordingly, the following procedure has been established for graduate students to present complaints about academic actions relating to courses mounted by the Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations.

1. Students with complaints should first discuss their grievance with the person against whom the complaint is directed. The goal is for the parties to be sure they understand each other before more formal steps are taken, and to be sure that every opportunity has been taken for mutually satisfactory resolution.

2. In those instances in which discussion with the faculty member involved does not resolve a grievance to the student's satisfaction, he or she should then present the complaint in writing to the Executive Director of the Mandel Center. The complaint should be filed within thirty days of the parties' unsuccessful attempt to resolve the grievance through discussion.

   Immediately after the Executive Director of the Mandel Center receives the complaint, he or she will take steps to ensure that the parties to the grievance are informed of the steps in the grievance process. The Executive Director will take responsibility for reviewing the complaint with the student and the faculty member in order to reach a resolution on the issue on the basis of all available information. In this process the Executive Director may, in his or her discretion, decide to appoint an ad hoc committee comprised of two Mandel Center faculty members and one Mandel Center student. This committee, which will be staffed by the Director of Academic Programs and Student Services, will make a written recommendation to the Executive Director.

3. If an ad hoc committee is appointed, the Executive Director may accept, reject, or modify any or all of the recommendations made by the ad hoc committee. Whether or not a committee is appointed, the Executive Director shall make a decision as to the grievance and shall communicate the decision to the student and the faculty member in writing. The Executive Director may recommend but may not mandate a grade change.

   Responsibility for the final decision will be in the Executive Director's hands, and the ruling from the Executive Director's Office will be considered final and binding on the persons involved in the grievance.

If the complaint involves the Executive Director, the student may bring the matter to the Faculty Dean to whom the Executive Director reports. That Dean will follow the grievance procedure of his or her school in order to achieve a satisfactory resolution.

Barring any exceptional circumstances, the length of the overall process - from the filing of the written grievance until the date of its resolution - should not exceed ninety days.

It should be understood that this grievance procedure relates solely to graduate student complaints concerning academic issues. The procedure for handling complaints about other matters, including disciplinary matters, is to generally follow that procedure detailed in the University's Student Services Guide.