Student Grievance Policy

A person who is aggrieved by actions of the school, or school staff members, or another student have options to dealing with their grievance. Of these options, a person may choose to utilize our informal grievance policy or may choose to utilize our formal grievance policy. Each policy is discussed in greater detail below.

Informal Grievance Policy

For students, faculty and community members who believe that a professional working or educational environment can be maintained, the informal grievance policy is an effective and efficient way to resolve a issue.

For students, faculty, and community members who wish to grieve informally it is recommended that they first document the situation in writing and then contact the disputant, should they chose to do so.  The individual holds a greater amount of control and ability to solve the problem on their own.

Individuals who pursue the informal grievance policy reserve the right to still pursue the formal grievance policy.  The grievant should note that there are no time lines on the informal grievance policy but there are time lines in the formal grievance policy as listed below. 

Some individuals chose to not follow the informal grievance policy for what ever reason.  The informal process allows for greater control of the process and simple resolutions.  The formal grievance policy has the grievance go to review by the Grievance Committee and judgments are made.  The Formal grievance policy can result in formal discipline of the respondent, which is unlikely to occur in the informal grievance process.  

If the individual does not chose to approach the disputant in an informal grievance they are recommended to contact the administrator of the respective field.  If the issue is with the administrator they are recommended to speak with the Director, if the grievance is with the Director they are directed to go directly to the Grievance Committee.

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Formal Grievance Policy

Grievance Form

Any grievance should be filed within sixty (60) days of when the grievant knew or should have reasonably known of the alleged conduct.   Formal complaints of discrimination must be filled within one hundred eighty (180) days from when the grievant knew or should have known of the alleged discrimination action.  Formal complaints of discriminatory harassment including racial and sexual harassment must be filed within three hundred sixty five (365) days from when the grievant knew or should have known of the alleged harassment action.

Students who want to file a grievance with an outside agency other than Valley Medical College should be aware that outside agencies may have different time frames and different forms to be filed.

The Grievance Committee is compiled of three (3) employees of the college.  These employees shall represent all the respective areas: Allied Health, Practical Nursing, and Administration.  The Members are appointed by the Directors; no member of the grievance committee shall be a Director.  If a committee member is unable to uphold their obligation to be neutral and impartial to the grievance process or is involved in the grievance they will be asked to step down.  A member from their respective functional area will be elected to stand in on the Grievance Committee.       

Within thirty days (30) days after receipt of the complaint, the Grievance Committee shall complete such investigation of the matter as it deems necessary, order the correction of any noncompliance found to exist or to have occurred and transmit a report of the findings of its investigation and corrective action to the Director and complainant. The report will be considered filed when it is postmarked and sent to the last known address of the student, or when it is hand delivered to the student in person. The thirty (30) day time frame may be extended for not more than thirty (30) days upon application by the Grievance Committee and approval of the Director.

The Grievance Committee may require the grievant to appear in front of the Grievance Committee.  Written notice of the time date and place of the hearing will be presented to the disputants at least ten (10) days prior to the hearing.  No disputant or grievance Committee Member shall intentionally try to stall, prolong, or delay the proceedings of the Grievance Committee.  Each individual who appears may have one advocate join them at the Grievance Committee meeting.  The advocate must be an attending student of Valley Medical College in the respective program where the grievance occurred.  Outside organizations are allowed to have multiple representatives present at the Grievance Committee meeting.          

Disputants in the grievance process are asked to submit all written documentation and evidence to the Grievance Committee no later than five (5) days before the hearing. 

The complainant shall have the responsibility of producing satisfactory evidence of respondent's noncompliance with OAR 580-015-0015. Both the complainant and the respondent shall have the right to appear and to participate in the Grievance Committee hearing, to present relevant evidence to the Grievance Committee, to cross-examine witnesses and to submit rebuttal evidence.

At the conclusion of the testimony, the Grievance Committee may permit each party to make a summation; if this privilege is extended to one side, it must be extended to the other side. The Grievance Committee may request the timely submission of written summations.

The Grievance Committee compiles a fact based report and makes recommendations to the Directors.  The Directors make the final decision.  All parties are presented in writing, by mail or in person, of the outcome of the grievance and the actions taken. 

The specifics of the corrective action taken, if any, are made by the Directors with the advice of the Grievance Committee.  Because of state privacy laws, the nature of personnel actions taken against employees is confidential and the grievant is not informed of the exact nature of any action taken.