File a Confidential Complaint

Process for Filing a Confidential Complaint:

Have a concern about unfair treatment, harassment, bullying, or other forms of inappropriate conduct affecting a graduate student, including yourself?  If so, we want to know about it. We can help.

An initial inquiry will be conducted to assess all confidential complaints filed as described below. The initial assessment of the confidential complaint will be conducted in a confidential manner to preserve anonymity of the complainant and, if different, the purported target(s) of the harassment or unprofessional behavior, to the greatest extent possible. The identity of the complainant and purported target(s) of the harassment or unprofessional behavior will be kept confidential except as may be required by law, including Title IX. If the complaint involves behaviors or conduct that could potentially be considered bullying or similar types of inappropriate mentoring behaviors, then at a minimum, a confidential incident report may be filed to document the concerns/allegations.  If the student requests further action beyond the confidential incident report or if incident reports of a similar nature have been filed previously, then corrective action may be taken appropriate to the nature of the incident/inappropriate behavior as outlined in the guidelines for conflict resolution, complaint reporting and addressing inappropriate conduct (including grievance procedure). 

Filing a Confidential Complaint

The complaint may be submitted electronically and will be automatically submitted to the Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Success.  Alternatively, the complaint may be placed in one of the Graduate Studies suggestion boxes located in the Graduate Student Wellness Hub (Durham Research Center 1, Room 1007 ) and outside of the Graduate Studies Office (Williams Science Hall Suite 3.0.037 ).  Complaints placed in the suggestion box should be placed in a campus mail envelope and labeled as “Confidential Complaint” so that they can be delivered to the Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Success. Graduate students are encouraged to file the complaint promptly after an incident occurred or after the preliminary resolution procedures have failed.  Students are welcome to file complaints after changing advisors or after leaving the institution.

If the Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Success has a conflict of interest, then the confidential complaint can be submitted to the Graduate Studies suggestion box as described above with the additional phrase “For Executive Associate Dean for Graduate Studies” and it will be delivered to that individual instead.  In such cases, the Executive Associate Dean for Graduate Studies will replace the Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Success for all roles described below.

Content of the Complaint

The student can provide the content of the complaint electronically, via anonymous drop box, or via an in-person meeting. 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 his/her/their name and the students affected, then only the Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Success will be privy to their name and the content of the complaint.
• If the student chooses to provide his/her/their name, this will be used for internal, follow up purposes only (name will not he 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 at the department level without identification of students or faculty but cannot proceed past the initial inquiry unless independently verified. Anonymous complaints may be helpful in identifying trends that can be addressed at the program, department, college, and /or institutional level.

• 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 problems are ongoing.
• A summary of the previous steps taken to address the issue.
• A brief statement of the remedy sought, if any.
• Any additional information or documentation deemed relevant by the complainant may also be submitted.

See the full guideline here.

Response to a Confidential Complaint

Every non-anonymous confidential complaint will be acknowledged by via email correspondence from the Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Success within 5 business days. Complaints submitted electronically and designated by the submitting party as “Urgent” will be reviewed and acknowledged within 72 hours. The response to complaints submitted via a drop box and designated by the submitting party as “Urgent” cannot be guaranteed a response within 72 hours. If the confidential complaint is regarding an issue that does not involve the type of harassment or inappropriate conduct handled by Graduate Studies, then the complaint will be forwarded to the relevant office.

The Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Success will conduct the initial assessment of the complaint by meeting individually with the affected student(s) and, with the student’s permission, possibly also, 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 concern involves alleged behaviors that constitute inappropriate conduct or if, instead, it represents a misunderstanding or misperception on the part of either the graduate student or the faculty.