A grievance is a complaint by a student involving the interpretation, application, or alleged violation of University policies and procedures. A grievance procedure is used for issues other than student conduct code or Title IX policy violations. Please refer to the Conduct Code and Title IX Policy for those concerns. If a student believes a University official, faculty member, administrator, or student has acted improperly or inconsistently with WCU policies and/or procedures, the student may file a grievance. This may include, but is not limited to, misapplication or misinterpretation of policy, procedures, practices, unfair treatment or conduct, etc. All grievances must be filed within 30 days of the incident.

The Complaint/Grievance Procedure is designed to support and foster a fair, objective, respectful and ethical set of policies and procedures for resolution of disputes. The policies and procedures are designed to provide students with a process in which to protect the University and its students. Students, faculty or administrators who submit or support a grievance may not be subjected to retaliation. Incidents of retaliation should be immediately reported to the Campus Director of Student Affairs or Executive Director.

Matters that have been or are in litigation are not eligible for review or consideration using the grievance procedure.

Prior to submitting a formal grievance, student/grievant is encouraged to attempt a good faith resolution with the individual(s) at whom the grievance is directed using the following informal resolution process.

Step 1: Discuss the issue with the individual(s). Every attempt should be made by both the student and individual(s) to resolve the matter at this level.

Step 2: If not resolved through Step 1, discuss the matter with the appropriate Dean or Department Head.

If not resolved through Step 2, a student may submit a formal written grievance, including all relevant and supporting documents, to the Director of Student Affairs at your assigned campus location.

To submit a Grievance, the student may submit a Student Grievance Form, and provide a description of the grievance in the comment section. If necessary, a representative from the Office of Student Affairs will meet with the student to gather additional information regarding the concern. Following a review, the Office of Student Affairs will notify the student of the outcome in writing via email and if necessary, next steps and actions.

This policy and procedure is internal to WCU. If, after using the WCU procedure, a student does not feel that the University has adequately addressed a complaint or concern, the student may consider contacting an external agency. A list of external agencies is provided below.

NC SARA – Distance Education Student Complaint Process

This process is applicable to students enrolled in Distance Education programs who participate in their education program outside of the State of Texas and are covered by NC SARA.

Complaints against a SARA participating institution must first go through the institution’s own grievance procedures. The grievance procedure is published in the WCU catalog and on the WCU Website. For guidance on West Cost University’s grievance procedure, please contact student affairs.

All complaints regarding student grades or conduct violations are governed by the institution and the laws of the institution’s home state. Texas is the home state of West Coast University. The State Portal Entity (SPE) contact for Texas is:

Cathie A. Maeyaert, J.D.
Director – Private Postsecondary Institutions
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
PO Box 12788
Austin, TX 78711
cathie.maeyaert@highered.texas.gov
(512) 427-6527

If a student is not satisfied with the outcome of the institutional grievance process, the student may appeal, within two years of the incident, to SARA through the state portal entity by completing the Student Complaint Form and emailing the form to Complaints@highered.texas.gov.

The state portal entity requests that the following information is included within the description of the complaint:

Did the complaint result from distance education courses, activities, and operations provided by a Texas SARA-participating institution?
Was the student a resident of a state other than Texas at the time of the complaint?

External Agencies

Institutional Accrediting Agency

WASC Senior College and University Commission
1080 Marina Village Parkway, Suite 500, Alameda, CA 94501
(510) 748-9001 | www.wscuc.org

State Regulatory Agencies

California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE)
P.O. BOX 980818
West Sacramento, CA 95798
(916) 431-6959
http://www.bppe.ca.gov/

Florida Department of Education Commission for Independent Education (CIE)
325 West Gaines Street, Suite 1414
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400
(888) 224-6684
https://www.fldoe.org/

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB)
1801 North Congress Avenue, Suite 12.200
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 427-6101
https://www.highered.texas.gov/

Distance Education – NC SARA Enrollments
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
PO Box 12788
Austin, TX 78711
(512) 427-6527
Student Complaint Form. Email form to Complaints@highered.texas.gov.

Programmatic Accreditors and Approvals:

Nursing

California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN)
1747 North Market Boulevard, Suite 150
Sacramento, CA 95834
(916) 322-3350
www.rn.ca.gov

Florida Board of Nursing
Florida Department of Health
4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin C-10
Tallahassee, FL 32399-3252
(850) 245-4125, Nurse Consultant Ext. 3612
https://floridasnursing.gov/

Texas Board of Nursing (TBON)
333 Guadalupe Road, Suite 3-460
Austin, TX 78701-3942
(512) 305-7400
https://www.bon.texas.gov/

Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
655 K Street, NW, Suite 750
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 887-6791
https://www.aacnnursing.org/ccne-accreditation

NLN Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (CNEA)
2600 Virginia Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 877-6791
https://cnea.nln.org/

Dental Hygiene

Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA)
211 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611-2678
(312) 440-2500
https://www.ada.org/

Dental Hygiene Board of California (DHBC)
2005 Evergreen Street, Suite 2050
Sacramento, CA 95815
(916) 263-1978
https://www.dhbc.ca.gov/

Occupational Therapy

Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE)
7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite
510E, Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 652-6611 x2914
http://www.aota.org/en/AboutAOTA/Contact-Us.aspx

Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC)
PO Box 276567
Sacramento, CA 95827-6567
(916) 567-7000
(888)-686-3225
https://www.otaconline.org/

Physical Therapy

Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE)
1111 North Fairfax Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 706-3245
http://www.capteonline.org/Complaints/

Pharmacy

Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE)
135 South LaSalle Street, Suite 4100
Chicago, IL 60503
(312) 644-3575
https://www.acpe-accredit.org/students/complaints.asp

Physician Assistant

Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA)
3325 Paddocks Parkway, Suite 345
Suwanee, GA 30024
(770) 476-1224
https://www.arc-pa.org/

Speech Language Pathology

The Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech Language Pathology (CAA)
2200 Research Boulevard, #310
Rockville, MD 20850
(800) 498-2071
https://caa.asha.org/programs/complaints/