Grievance and Appeals

A grievance is a complaint about university services. A student may file a complaint if he or she believes that he or she has been improperly served and differs from an appeal of an academic decision.

As outlined in the policies and procedures of Empire State University, there are three stages to filing a grievance:

1. Informal resolution.
   

   The student is strongly encouraged to seek informal resolution of a grievance by bringing it to the attention of the Office of Accessibility Resources and Services in a timely fashion. This process must begin within 30 calendar days of the concern arising.

2. Written grievance.
   

   If the student is unsatisfied with the response, the student may make a formal, written complaint to the Office of Student Support and Outreach. Please e-mail StudentSuccess@sunyempire.edu.

   1. Any formal complaint must be submitted within 40 days of the concern arising. The student must state the nature of the grievance and the remedy they are seeking and describe any previous attempts to resolve the issue.
   2. The administrator reviews the situation and should provide a written response within 15 days of receiving the complaint.
3. Appeal
   

   If the student is unsatisfied with the first level of administrative response, the student may appeal in writing to the appropriate vice president.

   1. Appeals regarding academic services are to be submitted to the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Appeals regarding financial issues are to be submitted to the Sr. Vice President for Administration and Finance.
   2. Any appeal must be submitted within 30 days of the transmission of the first-level administrative response. The student must state the nature of the justification for the appeal and describe any previous attempts to resolve the issue.
   3. The Vice President reviews the situation and should provide a written response within 15 days of receiving the appeal. The Vice President’s decision is final. The student may seek further redress by registering a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights or the New York State Division of Human Rights.

      Contact Information:

      U.S. Department of Education
      Office for Civil Rights
      Customer Service Team
      400 Maryland Avenue, SW
      Washington, D.C. 20202-1100
      Email: OCR@ed.gov(link sends e-mail) 
      1-800-421-3481, TDD: 877-521-2172
      FAX: 202-245-6840

 

Return to the Student Handbook.