STUDENT GRIEVANCE
The University of Florida College of Medicine is committed to a policy of treating all members of the college community fairly in regard to their personal and professional concerns. The student grievance procedure ensures that concerns are promptly dealt with and resolutions reached in a fair and just manner. The College's procedures enable students to bring complaints and problems to the attention of the College of Medicine administration; the College forbids any retaliatory action against students who present concerns and complaints in good faith.
DEFINITION
A grievance is defined as dissatisfaction occurring when a student believes that any decision, act or condition affecting him or her is illegal, unjust or created unnecessary hardship. Such grievances may concern, but are not limited to, the following: academic problems (excluding grades, except when there is an allegation of illegal discrimination or where a grade penalty has been imposed without proper authority), mistreatment by any university employee, wrongful assessment of fees, records and registration errors, student employment and because of race, national origin, sex, marital status, religion, age or disability.
COLLEGE OF MEDICINE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE
Additionally, or in the alternative, the student may wish to present his or her grievance in writing to the person(s) alleged to have caused the grievance. In either case, the person alleged to have caused the grievance must respond to the student either orally or in writing within ten-business days.
INITIAL REVIEW
If a student decides not to present his or her grievance to the person(s) alleged to have caused the grievance, or if the student is not satisfied with the response, he or she may decide to file a grievance with the Student Advocacy Committee, which shall conduct an investigation as warranted to resolve any factual disputes. The Student Advocacy Committee will determine and present facts to the department chair, who will be responsible for disposition of the grievance.
The department chair's response should be transmitted to the student and the dean within ten business days from the date the Student Advocacy Committee findings were provided to the department chair. If the disposition extends beyond the ten business days, the departmental chair should inform the student of the delay and the expected response date.
If a student is not satisfied with the department chair's disposition, the student can appeal to the dean. The Dean will communicate his decision to the student.
If there is a grievance against a department chair, the Student Advocacy Committee will report its findings directly to the Dean, who will respond to the student as described for the chair.
If the student is not satisfied with the decision of the Dean on the student's appeal or the grievance against a department chair, the student may appeal to the university's vice president of academic affairs, whose decision constitutes final agency action of the university.
Location: http://medinfo.ufl.edu/oea/osa/pp_student_grievance.shtml