Student Handbook 2010-2011 - Holyoke Community College

the incident to the college’s security department and/or thedirector of human resources. A student claiming physicalor sexual assault by another student or an employee claimingphysical or sexual assault by a student shall report theincident to the college’s police department and/or the deanof Student Services. Further, in matters involving physicalassault, students and employees are strongly encouraged toreport the incident to the local authorities.Except for under extenuating circumstances, as determinedby the president or his/her designee, failure by either partyto comply with the student grievance procedure during thecourse of a grievance shall result in the waiving of the noncompliantparty’s rights under the procedure.Level I: Informal ProcedureThis is the informal stage where most complaints areresolved. The grievant and the responding party should consultwith the student grievance officer or his/her designee atthis time.A student grievant initiates the informal phase of the grievanceprocess. The grievant shall first present his/her complaintorally and informally to the responding party. Thisshall be done in a reasonable period of time, not exceedingthirty (30) calendar days following the instructional periodwhen the grievant knew or should have known of the grievableact or inaction.The responding party must respond to the grievant’s complaintwithin ten (10) days. Though this phase of the processis informal, the parties may present their positions in writing.If the matter is not resolved informally within ten (10)calendar days from the date a response to the complaint wasdue, the grievant may proceed to level two.Level II: Formal ProcedurePrior to filing a written grievance at level two, a grievantmust consult with the student grievance officer or his/herdesignee. The responding party should also consult with thestudent grievance officer or his/her designee at this phase ofthe process.Level II: Step OneThe student grievance officer or his/her designee shallnotify the parties in writing when a complaint is notresolved informally at level one.The grievant may, within ten (10) calendar days afterreceipt of the student grievance officer’s or his/her designee’swritten notice, file with the student grievanceofficer or his/her designee a formal written grievance.The grievance shall contain the following information:the name and title of the person(s) against whom thegrievance is directed, a statement of all known facts,documents and materials supporting the grievance, a listof individuals who have information pertinent to thegrievance, and the relief sought by the grievant. All supportingdocuments, if any, shall be attached to the grievanceas part of the grievance. The grievance shall alsostate the date it is filed and that it is being filed at “leveltwo, step one.”The grievance may be filed with the student grievanceofficer or his/her designee by regular mail, certified mail,or in hand. Thereafter, the student grievance officeror his/her designee shall deliver the grievance, and allsupporting documents, if any, to the responding partywithin five (5) calendar days. If the responding partyis unavailable at the time the grievance is filed, thestudent grievance officer or his/her designee shall usereasonable means to deliver the grievance within a reasonableperiod of time.The responding party shall forward a written level two- step one response to the student grievance officer orhis/her designee within ten (10) calendar days of his/herreceipt of the grievance. The student grievance officer orhis/her designee shall deliver the written response to thegrievant within five (5) calendar days of receipt.Level II: Step Two (Supervisor)If the grievance is not resolved to the satisfaction ofthe grievant within ten (10) calendar days after his/her receipt of the step one response, or if no writtenresponse is submitted, the grievant may, within ten (10)calendar days after the written response was receivedor due, request the student grievance officer or his/herdesignee to forward the written grievance and response,if any, to the supervisor of the responding party, witha copy to the senior officer of the work area of theresponding party.The supervisor shall investigate the grievance and conferwith the senior officer. The supervisor shall forwardhis/her written decision to the student grievance officeror his/her designee, within ten (10) calendar days afterreceipt of the step two grievance. Thereafter, the studentgrievance officer or his/her designee shall deliver thedecision to the grievant and the responding party withinfive (5) calendar days.At any time before the issuance of the supervisor’s steptwo decision, the senior officer may request that the partiesmeet to discuss the issue and attempt to resolve it.Grade appeals do not go beyond this step (level two -step two) per the section on grade sppeals. Neither partyto a grievance may raise new issues or allegations afterstep two.Level II: Step Three (Student Grievance Committee)If the grievance is not resolved to the satisfaction of thegrievant within the period allowed at level two - steptwo, the grievant may request a hearing before a studentgrievance committee. Such a request must be in writing48