Harding University is committed to fair treatment of its constituents in their relationships with the administration, faculty, staff and students. The purpose of this policy is to establish, implement and operate a complaint procedure. This policy and the formal complaint form are also accessible on the Harding University Consumer Information website (www.harding.edu/consumerinfo).
Exceptions
- This policy does not govern sexual-harassment complaints. Kevin Davis, assistant director of Public Safety, and Amie Carter, assistant director of Human Resources, serve as Title IX Coordinators of the University. Claims of student-to-student sexual harassment may be filed in the Office of Student Life in Student Center 218 or in the Office of Public Safety in Kendall Hall 107 (entrance on north side of building), and claims of employee-to-student sexual harassment may be filed in Human Resources in Ezell 130. Make complaints of employee-to-employee sexual harassment to Mr. David Ross, Assistant Vice President of Human Resources, Ezell Building, Room 131, 501-279-4380.
- The employee and student handbooks have processes for addressing certain complaints and grievances. This policy does not replace those processes.
I. Informal Complaints
Many matters can and should be handled informally by communication with those directly involved and/or responsible. In most cases, matters can be resolved at such a level without a formal complaint. Informal attempts seeking resolution MUST occur before filing a formal complaint. If a person has an informal complaint and does not know which office would best address it, a message with a brief description of the matter can be sent to consumerinfo@harding.edu.
II. Formal Complaints
An individual may initiate a formal complaint only when a matter cannot be resolved informally. There are two categories of complaints: Student and Constituent.
A. Student Complaints
The only persons eligible to file a student complaint are (1) a student enrolled at Harding University full-time or part-time at the time they file the formal complaint, and (2) those enrolled at Harding University in the previous semester.
The two types of complaints that may only be filed by students are (1) Academic Grievances (complaints regarding such issues as grades, academic progression or academic standing), and (2) Academic Integrity Appeals (faculty, staff and administrators can file a report for suspected violations of academic integrity and misconduct).
In either of these two cases, do not use the formal complaint form. Please refer to the catalog for filing such complaints.
B. Constituent Complaints
Both students and non-students may file constituent complaints, including but not limited to issues regarding facilities, events, programs and campus activities, using the formal complaint form.
III. Process
Formal complaints must be submitted in writing using the formal complaint form (also accessible at www.harding.edu/consumerinfo). Each submitted report will receive an email response to verify that the complaint has been received. If a matter submitted via the complaint form has not been attempted to be resolved informally, the complainant will be notified to follow the informal process first. Policies stated in the student and employee handbooks will apply.
Based on the complaint and information obtained through investigation, the responsible individual(s) will decide the facts surrounding the issue, determine the complaint’s validity, and attempt to resolve the matter. The complainant will receive written notification of the final decision.
All formal complaints and the correspondence related to them shall be kept on file for a minimum of ten years, and will be made available to regional accrediting bodies upon request.
All aspects of student complaints shall be treated as confidential in accordance with Harding University policies regarding the confidentiality of student records.
