WUST faculty and staff attempt to create, in all areas, an atmosphere that is conducive to learning. For this reason, we have established a procedure that we hope will address any school-related problem, concern, or complaint. Students may express concerns to any administrator. Complaints, however, are best handled by following the below procedure.
01. Step - 1
- Most academic concerns will be handled by the instructors. Students should first discuss the problem with the instructor.
02. Step - 2
- If the problem is not resolved at that level, the student should contact the Director of Education or the VP of Academic Affairs. The VP of Academic Affairs and all other administrative staff maintain an open-door policy.
At the written request of the student, an ad hoc Grievance Committee (GC) comprised of the VP of Academic Affairs, Director of Education, Director of Admissions, a faculty member (if applicable), and Title IX Coordinator (if applicable) will be convened to address concerns which remain unresolved. The ad hoc Grievance Committee will convene within 10 days of a written request. The student will be notified of the committee’s decision within three days of the meeting.
If there is a finding of inappropriate behavior, prompt disciplinary action, including possible termination or expulsion, will be taken.
- Withdrawal of a complaint will not necessarily result in the termination of the University’s investigation into the allegations.
- False and malicious charges may result in sanctions being imposed against the complainant by the University and may lead to charges being filed against the complainant by the accused.
After a judgment has been rendered, either party may choose to avail himself/herself of the established grievance procedures:
When any investigation of a complaint of sexual harassment is completed, the file containing all documentation relating to the complaint will be maintained in the Human Resources Department in a separate confidential file.
Documentation on any disciplinary action will be maintained in accordance with the following guidelines:
- Documentation will be maintained in the Student’s file, which resides with the Admission Department
- Documentation will be maintained in the Professional and Support Staff’s personnel file, which is maintained in the Human Resources Department.
- Documentation will be maintained in the Faculty’s personnel file in the Human Resources
If the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of the institution’s complaint process, the resolution of the complaint (except for complaints about grades or student conduct violations) may be appealed, within two years of the incident about which the complaint is made, to the SARA State Portal Entity of the home state of the institution or to the SARA State Portal Entity of the state in which the student is located.
State Portal Entity Contacts - https://nc-sara.org/state-portal-entity-contacts/
WUST ensures that a student will not be subject to unfair action as a result of initiating a complaint proceeding.