Grievance

CONFLICT RESOLUTION/GRIEVANCES AND COMPLAINTS POLICY (WITH ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT STAFF)

Student Policies of conduct are published in the Student Development Handbook. Faculty and staff should familiarize themselves with policies contained in this handbook. One such policy deals with student grievances, which among other things recognizes the right of students to resolve any grievances. It reads as follows from the Handbook:

RESOLVING STUDENT COMPLAINTS AND GRIEVANCES

Students who have complaints or grievances shall have the following guidelines at their disposal for resolving them:

Student Life

In general, a complaint or grievance regarding student life such as residence living, student relationships or other non-academic issues should be addressed to the person immediately responsible for that area of student life. Examples of such include (but are not limited to) the following:

Residence grievances shall be submitted to the Director of Residence Life.
Student relationship grievances should be submitted to the Director of Student Conduct.

Counseling grievances should be submitted to the Director of Counseling Services for the Office of Student Development.
Grievances of a religious nature should be submitted to the Director of Spiritual Life/Campus Pastor.
Housing grievances should be submitted to the Supervisor of Housing.
Campus Activities, Clubs and Organization, Commuter, or International Student grievances should be submitted to the Director of Campus Life.
Complaints or grievances regarding the Student Senate should be addressed to the Vice President of Student Development.

Likewise, if a student-athlete has a complaint or issue within the athletic department, they must:

Set up a meeting and discuss the issue with the coach; if needed, the student-athlete may ask the Student Athlete Advisory Council representative of that specific team to join them in the meeting (documentation of the items must be recorded).
If a satisfactory resolution to the complaint or grievance cannot be reached at this level, then the student-athlete shall present in writing the complaint or grievance to the Athletic Director with an explanation of the reasons for the complaint or grievance and what actions have been taken to this point to resolve it. The AD will then schedule an individual meeting with the student-athlete.
The student-athlete shall then meet with the Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator or designee, along with the SAAC representative if requested, who after hearing the complaint or grievance shall decide on the matter.

All documentation regarding concern or grievance will remain on file in the athletic department until the student-athlete graduates.

Any grievance that does not warrant immediate action, put student-athletes at risk or in danger, or is in reference to illegal action must come from the student-athlete only. This ensures the accuracy of the grievance and prevents misinformation from outside sources. The athletic department does not have an obligation or policy requiring athletic department administrators to discuss a student-athlete’s grievance with parents or legal guardians.

While it is the collective effort of the department to find satisfactory resolution, satisfactory resolution may not always be achieved. In this event, not all outcomes of the resolution can be shared with the student-athlete due to confidentiality laws. Resolutions related to issues involving athletic department personnel are confidential and protected information, and will not be shared with student-athletes, parents or legal guardians, or other personnel.

REDUCTION OR CANCELLATION OF FINANCIAL AID

If a student-athlete is dismissed from a team their athletic scholarship will be canceled for the following year. Coaches also are permitted to determine any reduction and/or cancellation of athletic scholarship based on performance, not upholding team expectations and not upholding the athletic department’s expectations. If a student-athletes’ scholarship has been reduced or canceled they will have the opportunity to appeal. The appeal process is as follows:

The Director of Financial Aid or designee shall send written notification, in the form of a certified letter, to the student-athlete regarding the opportunity for an appeal hearing. The student-athlete shall have fourteen (14) consecutive calendar days upon the date of issuance of this letter to respond, in writing, to the Director of Financial Aid and formally request a hearing.

Failure by the student-athlete to submit a written request for a hearing within fourteen (14) consecutive calendar days shall be interpreted as a refusal of the opportunity for a hearing. As a result, the initial determination for non-renewal, removal, or reduction of athletic grant-in-aid shall be made final and binding.

If the student-athlete notifies the Director of Financial Aid in writing of their intent to appeal within the required time limit, the Director of Financial Aid will send an email notification of request to appeal with instructions for the appeal to the student-athlete and the Athletic Director within five (5) business days of receipt of written notification. All requested documentation must be returned by the student-athlete and the Athletic Director to the Director of Financial Aid within three (3) business days from the date of the email notification of request to appeal.

The Athletic Scholarship Appeals Committee shall conduct the hearing within 30 consecutive calendar days of receiving written notification of a student-athlete's intent to appeal, in accordance with NCAA rules. The Athletic Scholarship Appeals committee will notify the student-athlete and the Athletic Department of the time, date, and location of their respective hearings via email.

The Athletic Scholarship Appeals Committee, comprised of the Director of Financial Aid, Faculty Athletic Representative, and a faculty member, shall preside over this hearing and make the final determination. A member of the Student Development Department shall serve as an alternate for the faculty member.

Should a “in person” appeal be requested, the student-athlete and Head Coach and/or Athletic Director must come to their respective hearing with four (4) copies of any documents that will be presented, one for each member of the Appeals Committee. The Committee will have been provided copies of any email communications received regarding the request for appeal.

At this hearing, the student-athlete and the Athletic Department shall be allowed an opportunity to present their case separately regarding the non-renewal, removal, or reduction of athletic aid. Either party is permitted to present witnesses and/or documents to the committee that may support their position. Both the Athletic Department and student-athlete will each be given a maximum of 45 minutes to present their documentation and/or testimony from witnesses.

A student-athlete may be accompanied during an appeal by an adviser. The adviser is generally a fellow student, faculty member, mentor, friend, or parent. The student-athlete may not be accompanied by legal counsel. On occasion, a student-athlete has been accompanied by a mentor, who is trained as a lawyer. In this event, the mentor serves strictly as an adviser and does not serve as legal counsel.

The decision as to whether the student-athlete may be given an opportunity to compete for a roster spot on Emmanuel College athletic team is beyond the authority of the Athletic Scholarship Appeals Committee and rests with the Head Coach and/or Athletic Director. The Athletic Scholarship Appeals Committee may only render a decision about the non-renewal, removal, or reduction of the athletic scholarship.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the Athletic Scholarship Appeals Committee shall have up to 5 business days to render a final decision as to the status of athletics aid. With written agreement from both the student-athlete and the Athletic Department, an extension to the 5 business days may be granted, if requested by the Appeals Committee.

The Director of Financial Aid will notify the Athletic Director, Compliance Committee and the student-athlete of the committee’s decision in writing. This decision shall be final and not subject to appeal.

The appeal process, related emails, documentation presented, and decision of the Appeals Committee should be considered confidential. The student-athlete, their family members or friends, Emmanuel College coaching and athletic department staff, and Student-Athlete Scholarship Appeals Committee members may not disclose the outcome or opinions of the appeal through personal or institutional social media (including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.) or media outlets (including but not limited to newspapers, magazines, television, media websites, etc.) A violation of the confidentiality of information as noted above by the student-athlete or their family members or friends may result in the reversal of the Appeals Committee decision and/or loss of athletic scholarship. A violation of the confidentiality of information as noted above by any member of the staff representing Emmanuel College may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination.