Introduction:

Occasionally efforts to solve a problem may require a more formal resolution. Some examples of issues the grievance process can address are:

• The student is unsatisfied with efforts to improve an accommodation;
  
• The student does not agree with a disability related decision and wants to appeal it;
  
• The student feels she or he is experiencing discrimination and wants to file a grievance.

The student is encouraged to activate and complete the following process in a timely way to prevent an appearance that she or he is willing to accept or tolerate the issue. Any delays on the student’s part can make it increasingly difficult to address the issue, because the passage of time can prevent an adequate ability on the part of other people to accurately understand the issue. The process is intended to develop timely resolution through increasing levels of attention to the issue, under elements of due process. Three types of outcomes are possible:

1. A quick solution arranged by the initial representative(s) of UWRF and agreeable to the student;
2. A solution facilitated by an office or department and agreeable to the student; or,
3. The university’s firm decision on the matter as facilitated by the institution’s ADA Compliance Officer.
   

In all of the following steps, people who represent UWRF should give timely and appropriate consideration to how a disability may be limiting the student, and whether a related accommodation should be arranged for “equal access and opportunity” under the Americans with Disabilities Act. During each step, the student should be available to sufficiently discuss the issue with the people who are attempting to resolve it. The student may also contact the federal Office of Civil Rights to address the issue.

The Process:

I. Step One, Communicating a Problem.

The student should express dissatisfaction to the person that works for UWRF who seems most closely connected to the issue. If that action doesn’t lead to a satisfactory outcome, the student should find out if the office or department where that person works has its own “internal” issue resolving process. When such an internal process exists the student should start there (it could be a process that’s designed to serve any type of issue, or one that’s designed specifically for a disability issue).

II. Step Two, Making a Report.

If completion of Step One hasn’t resolved the issue, or Step One seems to be moving too slowly, the student should fill out an Issue Report Form. The student should keep a copy of the completed form and submit the original to the appropriate person who is identified at the bottom of the form. That person will then start an effort to facilitate an appropriate solution to the issue.

III. Step Three, Making an Appeal

If the student is unsatisfied with the solution that resulted from Step Two, or it seems that Step Two is moving too slowly, the student should submit a copy of the completed Issue Report Form to the university’s ADA Compliance Officer. The student should also submit a written statement about any new details are pertinent to the issue. The Compliance Officer will review the situation, and has the option of incorporating additional people into the consideration as appropriate. Whatever decision results from Step Three should be considered the university’s firm decision on the matter.