File a Confidential Complaint

What is a Confidential Complaint?

The official, confidential communication of concern and/or dissatisfaction of grievance resolution with faculty. The assessment of the complaint will be conducted in a confidential manner to preserve the anonymity of the complainant and, if different, the purported individual(s) of the grievance, to the greatest extent possible. The identity of the complainant and purported individual(s) of the grievance shall be kept confidential except as may be permitted by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) or as required by law including Title IX or professional licensure. Confidential complaints will be reviewed to determine legitimacy and may subsequently be moved forward as a Confidential Incident Report or a Grievance, based on the student’s preference, the nature of the concern, and/or prior complaints.

Why does the College of Allied Health Professions provide students with a confidential complaint process?

There are a variety of reasons for CAHP to provide a confidential complaint process. These include but are not limited to:

1. documenting problems/conflicts for CAHP to identify patterns of inappropriate behavior while maintaining confidentiality of the complainant,
2. documenting problems/conflicts so that necessary education or training can be provided to the faculty member and/or the academic department/unit regarding policies, guidelines, and/or mentoring expectations,
3. providing awareness of a conflict between a student and a faculty member that cannot be resolved satisfactorily using the informal resolution process.

Filing a Confidential Complaint

The complaint may be submitted electronically using this link where it will be automatically submitted to the CAHP Dean for Academic Affairs and the Dean for Student Affairs.

Content of the Complaint

In general, the content of the complaint should attempt to identify the following information:

• The name of student complainant (recommended but not required) and the student affected (if different than the complainant). If the student chooses to provide their name and the names of students affected, then only the CAHP Dean for Academic Affairs and the Dean for Student Affairs will be privy to their name(s) and the content of the complaint. If the student chooses to provide their name, this will be used for internal, follow up purposes only (name will not be shared with the involved faculty member).
  
  An anonymous complaint is one in which the complainant does not reveal their identity to anyone. Anonymous complaints serve to provide data to identify trends that can be addressed within the College without identification of students or faculty but cannot proceed past the initial inquiry unless independently verified.
• The name of the faculty member involved.
• Any other person involved (including those who may have observed any relevant incidents).
• A summary of the incident(s) or inappropriate behavior(s), including approximate date(s) (and time(s) if appropriate), and whether the behavior is ongoing.
• A summary of the previous steps taken to address the issue including a brief statement of the remedy sought, if any.
• Any additional information or documentation deemed relevant by the complainant may also be submitted.

Response to a Confidential Complaint

Every non-anonymous confidential complaint will be acknowledged through email correspondence from the CAHP Dean for Academic Affairs and the Dean for Student Affairs within ten (10) University Days. If the confidential complaints do not fall under these guidelines, the complaint will be forwarded to the relevant office.

Assessment of a Confidential Complaint

To assess the complaint, the CAHP Dean for Academic Affairs and the Dean for Student Affairs may meet individually with the affected student(s) and possibly, the faculty member involved. Affected students could include someone mentioned in an anonymous complaint, filing a complaint, or mentioned in the initial assessment of the complaint. The purpose of this initial assessment is to determine if the alleged behaviors identified in the complaint constitute inappropriate conduct.