A formal student complaint is a written and signed complaint, initiated by a student or a family member on behalf of a student (and confirmed by the student), that is a non-trivial, non-routine complaint, either academic or non-academic, the resolution of which requires the intervention of a President’s Council member (or designee). Petitions for appeal/waiver of University regulations and policies, disciplinary actions, and grade appeals are not formal student complaints. Formal student complaints and their resolution are logged by the Council.
Students who have complaints in the following categories do not need to exhaust the internal complaint procedure.
- Complaints of criminal misconduct should be filed directly with local law enforcement authority;
- Complaints related to violations of federal law should be filed directly with the federal agency overseeing the law (see FERPA Policy);
Students who have other complaints with Rockhurst must first exhaust Rockhurst’s internal complaint process. Students who have exhausted the internal complaint procedure may submit their complaints as follows:
All complaints may be lodged with the Missouri Department of Higher Education only after exhaustion of all informal and formal institutional processes. MDHE requires as a prerequisite to filing any formal complaint that the student verify exhaustion of all informal and formal remedies. A student must first call MDHE at (573) 526-1577 to indicate their desire to file a complaint. At that time the MDHE will ascertain whether the issue can be resolved through informal means and also determine whether the administrative process available within Rockhurst has been exhausted. If after screening the applicant still desires to initiate a formal complaint the MDHE will send complainant the form to fill out and return for that purpose.
Adapted from North Central College (2011) and the Missouri Department of Higher Education.