Complaints

Eastern Washington University is committed to providing students, faculty, and staff with a safe environment in which to pursue their studies, research and/or career. To ensure that all members of the University community feel safe and are afforded appropriate due process, EWU has a number of different avenues by which students, faculty, and staff may pursue complaints about violations of policy or practices that infringe on their ability to successfully pursue their goals.

For general questions or minor concerns, please contact your SASS Case Manager or the general SASS contact line.

Below is information for different types of situations.

For students experiencing situations where ADA/medical accommodations are not provided or are provided incorrectly:

ADA/Medical Accommodation Complaint

For more information about ADA/medical grievances at EWU, please visit: https://inside.ewu.edu/sass/ada-grievance-procedure/

For students who have requested religious accommodations and received a denial, please file a written appeal within 14 days of the director’s decision by contacting the Associate Vice President for Civil Rights at ascharosch@ewu.edu or at Tawanka 211. The Associate Vice President or designee will coordinate with the appropriate reviewing official. Academic issues will be reviewed by the dean of the applicable academic college. The reviewing official’s decision is final and will be communicated to the student or employee in writing within 30 days of receipt of the appeal.

More information is available in EWU Policy 403-01

Any concerns of bias and/or discrimination should be reported to the EWU Civil Rights Office. Please use this button for more information and reporting form.

EWU Civil Rights Page

For faculty who have received accommodation notices, but are unable to provide accommodations due to an undue hardship and/or an alteration to the educational program if implemented. Accommodations should still be provided while review is in place.

Accommodation Review Request

Any concerns of bias and/or discrimination should be reported to the EWU Civil Rights Office. Please use this button for more information and reporting form.

There are two primary means of pursuing a complaint: Informal and Formal Resolution Procedures.

Informal Resolution Procedure

For cases that do not involve harassment or discrimination, the student arranges a meeting with the person involved with the complaint and/or with the direct supervisor of the person involved. For example, a student who perceives that he or she has been graded unfairly on an assignment should meet with the faculty member who assigned the grade. In this example, the meeting with the faculty member may be followed up with a meeting with the department chair or the original meeting might be with the department chair. Another example would be a complaint regarding Student Financial Aid. The student would meet with the Director of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships or the Associate Vice President for Enrollment Services. As appropriate, if the informal process does not resolve the complaint, the student may use one of the university’s formal complaint procedures.

Formal Resolution Procedure

A formal complaint is documented in writing. The complaint should outline the issue and, wherever possible, the specific University policy or procedure violated. The university has specific policies and protocols for responding to the following complaints:

Academic Integrity Complaints

Bullying Complaints

Sexual Harassment or Discrimination Complaints*

Student Conduct Complaints (violations of the Student Conduct Code)

Unless otherwise indicated above, formal complaints may be documented in writing (as outlined above) and submitted to the following individuals:

· Academic complaints to the academic dean of the appropriate college

· Student Affairs complaints to the Dean of Students or the Vice President for Student Affairs

· Business and Strategy department complaints to the appropriate department head or the VP for Business and Strategy

· Financial Aid complaints to the Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships

· Admission complaints to the Director of Admissions

· Registrar Office complaints to the Registrar

· Unlawful discrimination and harassment complaints to the Title IX Coordinator