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 using the Complaint Form.
Formal Process
An individual who desires to submit a formal complaint should do so using the online Formal Complaint Form. 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 appropriate administrator(s).
The following types of complaints can be submitted using the form:
- Academic Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, and collusion (Policy Reference Academic Dishonesty ).
- General Incident Reports are non-emergency concerns, incidents, or issues. These could include noise and disruption complaints, lost/found items, an unlit area of campus, malfunctioning door, etc.
- Harassment/Discrimination can occur in programs, activities, and employment. It can include comments, actions, and more, that create an intimidating or hostile environment (Policy Reference Non-Discrimination, Anti-Harassment ).
- Sexual Misconduct (Title IX) Violations include sexual assault, harassment, or exploitation; stalking; domestic violence; dating violence; or retaliation (Policy Reference Sexual Misconduct Policy (Title IX) ).
- Student Conduct Violations can include the use of drugs, alcohol, damage to property, violence, technology, gambling, and weapon possession (Policy Reference Students’ Rights and Responsibilities and Student Code of Conduct ).
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. 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:
- Allegations
- Mandate
- Investigation Procedure (to include dates, times, participants, documents/ recordings, investigative notes, location/resource of investigation)
- Analysis
- 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 administrator 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 digitally 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.
Annual Review
The master logs will be collected digitally and reviewed annually by the Senior Leadership Team/Cabinet to identify any potential trends or areas of concern to bring forward for discussion.
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 new window
DISTANCE EDUCATION students in states other than California shall contact Iowa’s SARA portal agency which is the Bureau of Iowa College Aid, Iowa Department of Education (Iowa College Aid).
State Portal Entity Contact:
Bureau of Iowa College Aid, Iowa Department of Education
400 E. 14th St. | Des Moines, IA 50319-0416
877-272-4456
Iowa Department of Education website: https://educate.iowa.gov/
Student Complaints Webpage: https://educate.iowa.gov/higher-ed/student-complaints
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.
State-Based Student Complaint Process
The Iowa Department of Education maintains two separate student complaint processes to review and appropriately act on complaints concerning the institution; one within the Bureau of Iowa College Aid (Iowa College Aid) and one within the Bureau of Community Colleges and Postsecondary Readiness (CCPR). Iowa College Aid accepts complaints from any student attending any post-secondary educational institution located in Iowa, and from any Iowa resident attending a post-secondary educational institution located in any other State. CCPR accepts equity-related complaints, from students whose last recorded date of attendance at an Iowa community college is within one year; and the complainant has attempted to resolve the matter through the community college’s complaint or grievance process.
Learn more about and find links to each student complaint form at https://educate.iowa.gov/higher-ed/student-complaints.
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