Situations sometimes arise in which students feel that they have been dealt with unfairly, that particular circumstances surrounding a policy decision requires special consideration, or that they have a complaint about the behavior/performance of a faculty or staff member. Iowa Wesleyan University provides a grievance procedure process as part of its effort toward treating students fairly in regard to their personal and educational concerns. Any student who believes that an employee of the college has subjected him or her to treatment that violates college policy or practices may seek to have his/her grievance addressed according to these grievance procedures.
Most student complaints against faculty, administrators or other staff are resolved by discussions with the person or group involved and students are expected to address their concerns first directly with the responsible party. When this approach proves unfruitful or seems undesirable or inappropriate, students may file a formal complaint against the campus community. Students who submit complaints at this level should note that grievances are not confidential and are addressed by the University Provost or the Dean of Students.
The purpose of this procedure is to provide a mechanism to resolve student complaints against other members of the campus community. This procedure does not handle grade appeals for which there is a separate process. Likewise, complaints regarding discrimination, or harassment are separate from the grievance procedure noted above and should be directed to the Title IX Coordinator or reported via the IW SafetyFirst online reporting system. Visit https://www.iw.edu/campus-safety/ for more information.