Rockhurst strives to meet the expectations of all students, families, employees and community members. We recognize that sometime we may fall short of that goal. In order to address your concerns we recommend the following process.
- If you have a complaint regarding a faculty member or instructor, the course of action to take would be to talk to the departmental chairperson followed by the dean of the college.
- If you have a complaint regarding services, the course of action would be to talk to the supervisor of the department providing the service followed by the Dean of Students.
- 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).
If you feel that your complaint is not being addressed, your first step should be to file a formal complaint with the Office of the Provost (provost@rockhurst.edu), who will route the complaint to the appropriate office (e.g., Registrar, Student Development, Academic Dean, etc.) and serve as the final arbiter. Under normal circumstances, a complainant will be notified of the resolution within 30 calendar days. If you are dissatisfied with the resolution offered, then the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development does have a mechanism for you to file your concerns at the state level. The MDHE complaint policy contains information about the complaint process and includes instructions for how to file a formal complaint. Note that the policy provides that a student who wishes to file a complaint with the department must first exhaust all formal and informal avenues provided by the institution to resolve disputes.
If you have concerns around institutional practices, then the Higher Learning Commission provides stakeholders with the opportunity to file a complaint.
For complaints or grievances about a specific program, please see the accrediting agencies website for their policies and procedures:
- Physical Therapy — Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education
- Helzberg School of Management — AACSB
- Communication Sciences & Disorders — Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology
- Occupational Therapy — American Occupational Therapy Association
- Nursing - Missouri State Board of Nursing and Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education