Student Complaint Procedure

Complaint Resolution Process

Eastern Iowa Community Colleges strive to provide the best possible experience to our students, employees and communities. Should a student, employee or community member feel that we have fallen short of that goal, this complaint/grievance procedure has been established to help resolve concerns.

Informal Process

EICC’s strong preference is for complaints to be resolved at the level closest to the incident of concern. Individuals with a complaint should first address the issue directly with the party involved. Should that discussion not yield resolution, the individual should contact the appropriate campus dean, department coordinator or department supervisor, who will attempt to find a resolution. If that discussion does not yield resolution, the individual will be asked if they wish to file a formal complaint.

Please note: If the complaint is related to discrimination or harassment, the complainant may choose to immediately contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Officer/Equity Coordinator or the Title IX Compliance Officer.

Formal Process

An individual who desires to submit a formal complaint should do so using the online Formal Complaint Form located https://web2.eicc.edu/forms/new/grievance-form.php. Complaints should be submitted in a timely manner, preferably within 10 days of the occurrence. When submitted, the form will automatically be emailed to the Senior Executive Assistant at the appropriate site, who will forward the complaint to the appropriate individual for response.

For matters related to academics, student services or general college matters, the individual receiving the complaint will work to resolve the issue. If the matter is not resolved, the complaint will be referred to the appropriate President or Vice Chancellor for further review and resolution.

For matters related to discrimination, the complaint will be referred to the EEO Officer/Equity Coordinator, who will conduct an investigation. The EEO Officer will present a summary of findings and suggested remedy to the Chancellor, who will approve or modify the remedy and direct the EEO Officer to implement it.

For matters related to sex discrimination and/or sexual harassment, the question, concern or complaint will be referred to a Title IX Compliance Officer/Coordinator or Campus Official. The Campus Official will forward said information to the Title IX Compliance Officer. The Title IX Compliance Officer will determine whether the complaint allegations are prohibited sex discrimination and/or sexual harassment. If the allegations are considered to be prohibited, the Title IX Coordinator shall appoint a trained EICC Title IX investigator to conduct a formal investigation. After a complete review of investigation findings, the Title IX Coordinator will prepare a Summary of Findings* and suggested remedy to the Chancellor or Vice Chancellor for Student Development, who will approve or modify the remedy and direct the Title IX Compliance Officer to implement it.

*All investigated Equity or Title IX complaints involving students, employees or individuals participating in an educational program at EICC will have a summary of findings and conclusion. The sections included in such will be:

1. Allegations
2. Mandate
3. Investigation Procedure (to include dates, times, participants, documents/ recordings, investigative notes, location/resource of investigation)
4. Analysis
5. Conclusion

Final Appeal Process

If the complainant in a matter related to academics, student services or general college matters is not satisfied with the resolution, appeal may be made to the Chancellor (or designee), whose decision is final.

Follow Up Communication

It is the responsibility of the staff member reaching the final resolution of a formal complaint to ensure that the complainant is notified of the resolution, unless the complainant has indicated that no follow up is necessary.

Log

All formal complaints will be logged, with the log to include the information contained in the formal complaint, assignment of staff member(s) responsible for resolution, date and nature of final resolution. The master log for discrimination or harassment complaints will be maintained in the Human Resources Office. A master log for student and academic complaints will be maintained by the Senior Executive Assistant to the President at each college. A master log for general college issue complaints will be maintained by the Senior Executive Assistant to the President at each college and by the Senior Executive Assistant to the Chancellor for complaints related to district functions.

Annual Review

The master logs at the colleges and the District Office will be collected and reviewed annually by the Chief of Staff to identify any potential trends or areas of concern to bring forward for discussion.

7/2019; REV 2/2021

External Complaint Process

For cases that cannot be satisfactorily resolved internally using the above procedures, Eastern Iowa Community Colleges provides both current and prospective students with the following contact information for filing complaints with its accrediting body and the appropriate state agency for handling complaints in a student's resident state:

• Complaints about Eastern Iowa Community Colleges maybe directed to its accrediting agency, the Higher Learning Commission under https://hlcommission.org/HLC-Institutions/complaints.html 
  
  
• DISTANCE EDUCATION students in states other than California shall contact Iowa's SARA portal agency which is the Iowa College Student Aid Commission (ICSAC).
  
  State Portal Entity Contact:
  

  Iowa College Student Aid Commission
  877-272-4456
  Iowa College Aid website 

• Iowa Student Complaint Form 
  
  

• The student should begin the complaint process with the institution and if resolution is not found, the student would contact the Institution’s Home State SARA Portal Entity. The SARA State Portal Entities are listed at https://www.nc-sara.org/state-portal-entity-contacts

• Any student attending EICC may use any of the above avenues to file a complaint.