Skip to main content
Close
A-Z
Quick Links

Record of Student Complaints

 PDF
  1. POLICY

    At Salt Lake Community College (SLCC), student concerns are addressed promptly and appropriately through established policies and procedures. This policy addresses general complaints made by students. Students may initiate a complaint if they feel their specific issues cannot be resolved through other existing channels that address harassment, discrimination, misconduct, grades, and other academic matters.

  2. REFERENCES
    1. Accreditation and Preaccreditation Standards, 34 C.F.R. § 602.16.
    2. Record of Student Complaints Policy, The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.
  3. DEFINITIONS
    1. Discrimination: treating someone differently based on a person’s protected class when such conduct adversely affects the term, condition, or privilege of an individual’s employment or participation in a college program or activity.
    2. Harassment: any repeated acts of unwanted verbal, written, electronic, or nonverbal conduct, whether directly, indirectly, or through a third party, that are objectively offensive or severely pervasive. Such conduct limits, interferes with, or denies a student’s educational benefits or opportunities.
    3. Retaliation: any action or treatment intended to restrain, or does restrain, a person from making a complaint or participating in an investigation.
    4. Sexual Harassment: making the provision of aid, benefit, or service of the college conditional on an individual's participation in unwanted sexual conduct or unwanted sexual conduct that is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it interferes with someone's access to a college program or activity. Sexual harassment includes sexual violence, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking, as defined in the Violence Against Women Act.
  4. PROCEDURES
    1. Specific SLCC complaint procedures are available for different types of issues:
      1. Discrimination, harassment, or retaliation: File a complaint with the Equal Opportunity (EO) and Title IX Office.
      2. Sex or gender-based harassment or discrimination: Submit a complaint to the EO Office and Title IX Coordinator.
      3. Complaints about a faculty member: Refer the issue to the academic department’s chair, associate dean, or dean.
      4. Academic grievances: Follow the procedures outlined in section VII.B. of the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities.
      5. Fraud, corruption, conflict of interest, or other improper or unethical activities: Report the issue to the Ethics and Compliance Reporting Hotline.
      6. Complaints about a college policy directly affecting a student's civil liberties: Follow the procedure outlined in Complaint Process–Reporting Utah Code Ann. § 53H-7-303
    2. Students have several external (non-college) options to file complaints:
      1. Students can file complaints about fraud, false advertising, or other deceptive practices by the college with the Utah Commerce Division of Consumer Protection.
      2. For complaints regarding the college’s application of Title IX, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), and the Clery Act, students can file a complaint with clery@ed.gov, info@eeoc.gov, or ocrcas.ed.gov.
      3. Online students living outside of Utah can file a complaint with the Utah System of Higher Education or through their home state’s higher education authority.
      4. Students can file complaints regarding the college’s quality of education or accreditation issues with the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.
      5. Students can file a discrimination complaint with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) using their reporting form.
    3. A student with a complaint not covered under another SLCC policy and procedure may submit a general complaint through the dean of students office. The dean of students office will transfer a complaint to the appropriate college department if another college policy governs the complaint.
      1. Students should discuss the matter in question with the appropriate SLCC department or employee most directly involved as a first step.
      2. A student with a complaint against a college department, employee, contractual employee, or a third party must complete the Student Complaint Form within 10 business days of the action or inaction.
        1. A student may request assistance in preparing the student complaint form by contacting the dean of students office.
        2. The time frame for filing a complaint may be extended for a good cause, which the dean of students will determine.
      3. The dean of students office shall:
        1. contact the student within 10 business days following receipt of the student complaint form;
        2. investigate the issues raised by the student, if appropriate;
        3. work with other college offices to ensure the student complaint is addressed;
        4. the outcome will shared with the student within 30 business days of receiving the complaint.
      4. A student may have an advisor attend any meeting with the dean of students or other college officials to support their case.
      5. If the complaint alleges misconduct on the part of any college employee, the dean of students shall provide a copy of the complaint record to the appropriate supervisor for investigation in consultation with People and Workplace Culture.
      6. Departments must report the outcome of all complaints referred to the department to the dean of students office within 30 business days.
    4. Record Keeping
      1. The dean of students office will maintain a record of all general complaints and outcomes.
      2. Complaint records shall be maintained following the Utah State Archives records retention guidelines and the college’s Records Management Policy.
      3. At the end of each academic year, the dean of students will submit an electronic copy of a log of student complaints made under this policy to the vice president for Student Affairs.

Date of last executive cabinet review: May 6, 2025

The originator of this policy & procedure is the dean of students. Questions regarding this policy may be directed to the originator by calling 801-957-5027.