Wallace State promotes the open exchange of ideas among all members of the WSCC community, including students, faculty, staff, and administration. An environment conducive to the open exchange of ideas is essential to intellectual growth and positive change. However, WSCC recognizes that, at times, people may have differences, which they are unable or unwilling to resolve themselves. The procedures described below shall be available to a WSCC student only after the student has made every reasonable attempt to resolve his/her problem with the appropriate College official or representative. In the case of a student who has made a good faith effort to resolve a problem and who has been unable to resolve the matter informally, WSCC offers the following grievance procedure as the appropriate course of action for settling disputes and resolving problems. The name and institutional address and phone number of any College officials referred to herein may be obtained from the Office of the Vice President for Students.
This grievance procedure is not intended to be used by a student with a complaint about a strictly academic matter such as grades, work assignments, quality of instruction, fairness of examinations, etc. Any student of WSCC who wishes to make a complaint about a strictly academic matter shall do so by virtue of the grade appeal procedure. A complaint by a student relating to a disability shall be reported to the College Special Populations Coordinator. Other types of complaints shall be reported to the Vice President for Students. If the complaint is about a specific occurrence, the complaint must be made within 10 business days after the occurrence or after the student becomes aware of the occurrence.
A student with a complaint shall begin his/her attempt to resolve the situation by bringing it to the attention of the appropriate College official or representative as stated above. If, after a discussion between the student and the respective College official or representative, it is determined that the complaint is valid and can be resolved immediately, the College official or representative will take appropriate action to resolve the complaint. If the matter at issue involves an allegation of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking, please consult the Title IX policy and procedure manual. If the matter at issue involves an allegation of physical abuse or racial, or other discrimination or harassment, or if the complaint relates to a disability, or if the complaint relates to a matter involving theft or any other act of dishonesty, the respective College official shall submit a written report within 10 working days of the filing of the complaint to the Vice President for Students, Division Dean, and Title IX Officer describing both the complaint and how it was resolved, or how it will be resolved through a “plan of resolution.”