Complaints and Grievances
Any student who believes he or she has been treated unfairly by a member of the faculty or an employee of the university is encouraged to file a written complaint, email is an acceptable form of filing a written complaint. There are several avenues for filing a complaint depending upon the issue at hand. The following is a list of common areas of complaints and the appropriate office to contact.
Complaints regarding academic matters should be made to the faculty member involved or to the appropriate department chair or academic Dean.
If a student believes he or she has been harassed or otherwise discriminated against because of the student's race, sex, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability or military service, the student should report the matter immediately to the Office of the Dean of Students.
Complaints regarding treatment by non-academic employees of the university should be made to the supervisor of the employee or to the Office of the Dean of Students.
Any other complaint regarding unfair treatment by the student should be reported to the Office of the Dean of Students. If a student is not sure how to file a complaint, the Office of the Dean of Students will assist the student.
If a student follows this complaint system and remains dissatisfied with the response to the complaint, the student may contact the Office of the Provost by email or phone at 615-460-6400 and will receive direction on submitting a written complaint. The Provost may choose to review the complaint or if s/he chooses, refer the complaint to the Appeals/Grievance Committee. Upon receipt of the complaint, this committee reviews the complaint and reports its conclusions and recommendations to the Provost. Whether the Provost refers the matter to the committee or not, the Provost's conclusions regarding the complaint are final.
