Grievances
GRADUATE STUDENT GRIEVANCE POLICY
It is the intention of the Seminary to encourage the promotion and informal resolution of grievances as they arise and to provide recourse to orderly procedures for the satisfactory resolution of complaints. A grievance can include, but is not limited to, a complaint, misinterpretation, or inequitable application of stated or implied policies, regulations, or expectations.
Northeastern Seminary policy states that proceedings should be as follows: If a student has a grievance against another person, she or he should first speak directly to that person and then, if the matter is not resolved, to that person’s immediate superior and, if necessary, through the chain of responsibility to the vice president and dean’s office.
If it is necessary to file a written complaint and to process a grievance through the formal chain of responsibility, the process is as follows:
- The student prepares and submits a formal grievance to the vice president and dean of Northeastern Seminary. The vice president and dean meets with the individual(s) involved and makes a ruling on the complaint. The ruling is given to the student orally and later in written form.
- If the student evaluates that satisfactory resolution was not made in step one, the vice president and dean’s office is responsible for appointing and convening an ad hoc committee composed of: three Seminary faculty members; one first-year student; and one second-year student. (It is understood that the faculty members included in the informal process to resolve the complaint, or close friends of the student submitting the complaint, will not be appointed to the ad hoc committee.) This committee shall conduct its hearings and report its actions within 60 days of the initial report of grievance.
- Once the committee is appointed, the members are given a copy of the student’s written complaint and a summary of the meeting(s) convened by the vice president and dean in order to resolve the complaint satisfactorily
- Once the committee members have had an opportunity to review the materials provided in step three, a meeting is arranged with the individual(s) involved. One of the faculty members is given the responsibility to arrange and chair the meeting(s). At the meeting, the student presents data supporting his or her grievance. It is the responsibility of the committee members to ask questions of the student or the faculty member involved in the complaint, in order to clarify the information provided in the written complaint or the summary of the previous meeting(s).
- Once all the data have been collected, a ruling on the complaint will be made by the committee, using simple majority vote. (The committee cannot rule on a grade change without agreement by the faculty member involved.) This ruling is given to the student orally and later in written form.
- If the student evaluates that satisfactory resolution of the complaint was not made in steps two to five, a complaint may be filed with the president of Northeastern Seminary. The president can involve any appropriate Seminary personnel in the process in order to resolve the complaint.
- Once the complaint is resolved, proceedings of the meetings involved are filed in the Northeastern Seminary vice president and dean’s office
Northeastern Seminary encourages students to seek resolution to their grievances under the umbrella of a biblical society whose integrity merits that no action would be taken against the student for filing a complaint. The rights of both the accused and accuser are upheld during the complaint process and a student will be free from action being taken against him/her for filing a grievance in good faith.