A grievance is a formal claim, complaint, or expression of concern made by a student regarding any aspect of their educational experience. This includes issues such as the misapplication of school policies or procedures, or instances of unfair treatment, such as coercion, reprisal, or intimidation by a faculty member or another employee. Initially, a student should discuss their concern with the instructor, or the individual involved.
An appeal is the next step within the escalation process and as such, is made to an administrative authority figure. Please see the academic appeal process if it concerns any academic decision.
Examples of situations a student has a right to appeal are:
- Admission decisions
- Tuition and fee matters
- Financial award or policy matters, including satisfactory academic progress
- Education policies, procedures, and grading concerns • Disciplinary action due to a violation of student conduct.
A student who fails to meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards is not entitled to appeal unless there is a documented mitigating circumstance that affected their ability to achieve SAP.
After trying to resolve the matter with the person involved, any student with a grievance should schedule an appointment with the Director of Nursing to verbally resolve the issue(s). If the student needs further assistance, a written grievance should be submitted to the Campus President to request a formal process hearing with the Appeals Committee or Honor Court.
- The first step is to address and resolve the dispute or complaint with the person involved in the grievance.
- If a dispute or concern cannot be resolved, the student needs to schedule an appointment with the Director of Nursing to verbally raise his/her dispute or concern.
- If the dispute cannot be resolved with the Director of Nursing, then the student must appeal in writing to the Campus President. The Campus President will oversee the gathering of additional data about the issue or incident, as necessary. Then the Campus President will convene the Appeals Committee, which will consist of the Campus President and heads of other departments, to meet with the student if requested or otherwise assess and develop a resolution to the complaint.
- The written appeal should be submitted within five (5) business days of the incident or the decision. The written appeal document must include a description of the issue, the date, or dates when the issue arose, the reason the student is appealing the decision, and steps taken to resolve the dispute to date.
- A response from the Appeals Committee will be provided in writing to the student within ten (10) business days. A decision will be made and delivered to the student in person or by email.
- If the dispute has not been resolved and the student is unsatisfied with the response from the School’s Appeal Committee, then the student may file an appeal to the CEO of ACI. The request must be in writing and must be received within five (5) business days of being notified of the Appeal Committee’s decision.
- The CEO will investigate the issue and respond to the student within ten (10) business days of receiving the escalated complaint. A decision will be made and delivered to the student via the student’s email address.
If the dispute remains unresolved after the evaluation by the CEO, then the student should address their concern to the state licensing authority (Commission of Independent Education) and the school’s institutional accrediting body (Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools).
To voice a concern against a nonpublic postsecondary institution in Florida, please write a letter or send an e-mail containing the following information:
- Name of Student (or individual wishing to voice their concern)
- Address of Student (or individual wishing to voice their concern)
- Phone Number
- Name of Institution
- Location of the Institution (City)
- Dates of Attendance
- A full description of the problem and any other documentation that will support the student’s claim such as enrollment agreements, correspondence, etc.
- The process of the Commission involves contacting the institution to obtain their response to the student concern. If the student does not want the Commission to contact the institution, he/she is attending, they must state so in their documentation; however, doing so will greatly hinder the Commission’s ability to assist them with their concern.
Send Letter To:
Commission for Independent Education 325 W. Gaines Street, Suite 1414
Tallahassee, FL. 32399-0400
Or E-mail: CIEINFO@fldoe.org
Or Fax: 850-245-3233
Note: Documents received in this office are considered public records. Confidentiality cannot be guaranteed. This office cannot give legal advice to any individual or take any legal action on behalf of any individual. We will investigate the concern to see what assistance, if any, we may be able to offer.
