Formal Complaints

A formal complaint concerning the College of Nursing is a written student complaint utilizing the College of Nursing Student Complaint Form and addressing matters not otherwise covered under UTHSC published Student Policies and Guidelines in university documents such as the UTHSC CenterScope (http://catalog.uthsc.edu/content.php?catoid=20) and/or statements from the Office of Equity and Diversity. Thus, the purpose of a formal complaint is to provide a defined mechanism for resolution of a student problem that is not otherwise addressed in stated college or university policies and procedures.

The process for a complaint is as follows. Student concerns or questions are first directed to the appropriate faculty member. If the issue remains unresolved, the Concentration Coordinator, the Program Director, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and the college Dean are consulted in progressive fashion. A complaint is regarded as a formal complaint if unresolved at the Program Director level and the College of Nursing Student Complaint Form is submitted to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. The formal complaint must include the following: 1) complainant’s name, title, and phone number; 2) detailed description of the complaint, including date and circumstances, if applicable; 3) names of all persons involved in the complaint; and 4) any proposed/ recommended solutions to the issue. The complaint must be submitted via official UT email; the form can be found under the current student page on the College of Nursing website: http://www.uthsc.edu/nursing/current-students/index.php

Formal complaints concerning the CON are sent to the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs. After a complaint is filed, the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs reviews the complaint and charts a course of action. The complainant may or may not be asked to appear in person to discuss the matter further but will be informed in writing of subsequent actions taken by the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs in regards to the matter. The Associate Dean of Academic Affairs will provide a copy of the complaint submitted by the student to any individuals named in a formal complaint. The Dean receives copies of all formal complaints. All formal complaints will be retained in the Office of Academic Affairs. If a formal complaint is not resolved at the Academic Dean level, the complaint will be turned over to the Dean for resolution. However, if satisfactory resolutions cannot be found and/or if the complaint involves a recommendation for dismissal or for repeating an entire academic year, students can submit a formal written appeal to the Vice Chancellor for Academic, Faculty and Student Affairs and/or to the Chancellor. Written complaints stating the issue, the processes that were used to address the issue, the desired outcome and the reason(s) that the student feels unfairly treated by the college’s proposed resolution should be sent to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic, Faculty and Student Affairs.