Academic and Non-academic Policy Appeal - School of Health Sciences

An academic policy appeal involves only those situations in which a student is seeking recourse from (a) a university academic petition decision; or (b) alleged discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, color, sex, disability, or age, including alleged violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Educational Amendments Acts of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the American with Disabilities Act of 1990, or other state or federal legislation.

Examples of academic policies include but are not limited to admission criteria, readmission criteria, etc. Each stated time frame will be the ordinary process. More time may be necessary in the event of a lengthy investigation, hearing, illness, or other unforeseen circumstances.

All non-academic policy appeals will be reported to the Chair of the School of Health Sciences Student Life Council. Because the appeal process is a private university administrative process, legal counsel or representation is inappropriate.

A student who wishes to file such an appeal will abide by the procedures that follow:

1. Level 1 - The student must first contact the person or the department responsible for the policy to request an exception to the policy to resolve the question informally. Such contact must occur within 10 days of the incident that generates the request for exception.

2. Level 2 - If the matter is not satisfactorily resolved at level one, the student may submit a written request within 10 days of the level one decision to the Dean of the School of Health Sciences for a review by the Student Life Council, which is comprised of the personnel and students from the School of Health Sciences. The request from the student should include thorough documentation supporting the student's claims. The Chair of the School of Health Sciences Student Life Council will communicate the committee's findings and decision to the student.

3. Level 3 - If the complaint is not satisfactorily resolved at level two, the student may submit a written request within 10 days of the level 2 decision to the Chair of the School of Health Sciences Student Life Council for a review by the Dean, School of Health Sciences. Appeals at this level will be considered only to ensure that University procedures were followed in levels one and two. The request from the student should include thorough documentation supporting the student's claim and reference why the decision at level two is deemed unsatisfactory. The Dean will consider the situation and will inform the student of the decision, which will be final.