There are policies, grievance procedures, and appeal procedures established by Coastal Georgia that govern certain rights and obligations of students. These are all set forth in the College of Coastal Georgia Catalog and College of Coastal Georgia Student Code of Conduct Manual. There are three student concern categories at the College of Coastal Georgia:
Student complaints can range from an experience with a College of Coastal Georgia employee to a matter relating to College facilities (e.g., parking lot), academics (e.g., classroom issue), student services (e.g., advising), or auxiliary services (e.g., campus dining).
To resolve a complaint promptly, efficiently, and effectively, the College offers students the Alternative Dispute Resolution Program (ADR), which is located in the Student Handbook. The program involves using one or more dispute resolution processes as an alternative to the traditional appeals and grievance processes. Alternative methods of dispute resolution may include one or more of the following: frank and open discussion between the parties to dispel any miscommunication which may have occurred; determining the issues to be resolved and negotiating with each other to reach an acceptable conclusion; or participating in a mediation session with an objective third party. (The third option, mediation, has been highly successful in the corporate world and is becoming much more widely used in educational settings.) ADR is an appropriate process to use regarding issues of intellectual diversity (when someone feels they have been treated unfairly by an instructor because of their ideas or opinions on a specific issue). Mediation is a voluntary process in which an impartial third party facilitates communication and negotiation between the disputing parties to reach a mutually acceptable agreement. The mediator has no firsthand knowledge of the problem nor any preconceived ideas of how the dispute should be settled. The mediator does not maintain a record of the session – the only written document is the negotiated agreement given to both parties.
Academic Appeals
Students have the right to appeal grades assigned by faculty if they believe that the grade has been assigned in a capricious, arbitrary, or discriminatory manner by a faculty member. Students may appeal decisions made by faculty and administrators on the interpretation or application of an academic policy or procedure. The process for such appeals can be found in the College of Coastal College Catalog and the College of Coastal Georgia Student Code of Conduct Manual. It should be noted that in dealing with the outcomes of student academic appeals, faculty members and administrators have the same right to appeal the decisions of the supervisor or the Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs, as do the students. The same appeal process and timetable are followed as outlined in the Student Appeals section of the College Catalog.
The process for appealing grades and academic policies is located toward the bottom of the “Policies and Procedures” section of the College Catalog, available here.
There are times in which students have a grievance or issue with another student, a faculty member, or a College staff member, which is of a non-grade/non-harassment related nature College of Coastal Georgia Student Handbook. These grievances could include issues of intellectual diversity (when someone feels they have been treated unfairly by the institution because of their ideas or opinions on a specific issue). It is recommended in these situations that student follow these informal procedures:
Harassment/Discrimination Grievances
The College of Coastal Georgia attempts to provide equal opportunity to all students and applicants for admission without regard to race, creed, color, gender, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, veteran status, or handicap. The College does not discriminate against any student or applicant in regard to any position for which the student is qualified. Any student who believes that he or she has been discriminated against because of race, creed, color, gender, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, veteran, or handicapped status is encouraged to let appropriate authorities at the College know of this treatment.
The College is committed to being a safe and respectful environment to live and study and complies with the mandates that govern the handling of gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and sexual assault. The Offices of Student Conduct and Title IX jointly collaborate with the Campus Police Department to effectively implement community policies and build rapport with students. The Offices assign officers to specific locations and hosts programs and events to engage residents. Additionally, the Offices ensure an impartial and timely student conduct process for all students involved in any possible policy violations by implementing a student conduct process encompassing properly trained investigators and conduct officers providing transparency and due process. Furthermore, the Offices diligently track all student conduct cases and using the data to target programming initiatives on campus. In doing so, the Offices are able to accurately provide detailed reports of student conduct violations and sanctions. In 2016, the College added two employees in the Office of Residence Life and Housing as Residence Hall Directors. They serve as investigators and conduct officers for the majority of all cases within the residence halls. Also, the department added a Deputy Title IX Coordinator to the Office of Student Conduct Staff that serves and supports the College’s Title IX Coordinator.
There are three ways to file a report:
In accordance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”), the USG does not discriminate on the basis of sex in any of its education programs or activities or in employment. The USG is committed to ensuring a safe learning and working environment for all members of the USG community (USG BoR – 6.7 Sexual Misconduct Policy). To that end, the College has created an institutional policy that prohibits sexual misconduct, as defined in the Student Code of Conduct Manual.
If the student chooses, he or she may file a grievance through the channels outlined in the College’s Non-Discrimination and Harassment Policy.
In compliance with the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, institutions offering distance education must provide students with contact information for filing complaints with accrediting agencies and with the appropriate state agencies for handling complaints. The College wants to resolve student grievances, complaints and concerns involving e-learning in an expeditious and fair manner. Complaints regarding any aspect of Coastal Georgia operations should be filed initially with Academic Affairs and then, if needed, to external authorities, such as NC-SARA, which utilizes a flowchart presentation depicting the complaint process. If the complaint cannot be resolved at the college level, the student can appeal to the NC-SARA Georgia Portal, the Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission (GNPEC) unless the student is in Massachusetts or California.
The College of Coastal Georgia recognizes that each member of the academic community attempts to live by his or her own values, beliefs, and ethical decision-making processes. The Ethics Hotline & Reporting Wrongdoing Policy guides students and other members of the College’s community and sets forth a reporting mechanism for Hotline complaints; however, depending on the nature of the complaint, additional College of Coastal Georgia policies may detail the exact process to follow for investigation and resolution of a specific Hotline complaint. For example, Hotline complaints alleging sexual harassment, academic misconduct, poor work performance, and conflicts with other employees will be investigated according to the applicable procedures set forth in the corresponding College policy.
The USG has Procedures for Handling Complaints, including a Student Complaint Form that the College makes available to students and the public. In the unlikely event that a complaint cannot be resolved through either the College or USG protocol, students may file a complaint with their resident state licensing authority. Georgia residents may complete the Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission Authorized School Complaint Form.
Although no complaints involving SACSCOC have been received to date, they would be routed through the Office of the President. For complaints regarding College of Coastal Georgia accreditation, the SACSCOC contact information is published on the Accreditation web page. All student complaints are investigated to the extent allowed by the College, the USG Board of Regents, the Georgia Open Records Act, and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (Georgia Open Records Act, College of Coastal Georgia Student Handbook – Family Educational Rights Act).