Student Grievance Procedure for the California Institute of Technology

It is the policy of the Institute to establish and maintain the necessary atmosphere for a sound relationship with its students. As a vital part of this program, students must have the opportunity to submit grievances arising from this relationship. The Institute provides a Grievance Procedure designed to give matters that the student cannot informally resolve careful consideration and bring them to a fair and speedy resolution.

Note: The following rules have not been revised since 1979. You are advised to check with either the Human Relations Advisor or the Vice-President for Student Affairs for an updated Procedure if your case goes to a formal hearing.

1. General

   a. The Grievance Committee shall consist of two members from each of the following four categories: undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, and administration. They are to be appointed (together with at least two alternates from each category) respectively by the ASCIT Board of Directors, the Graduate Student Council, the Chairman of the Faculty, and the President of the Institute.

   b. The President of the Institute shall also appoint a chairperson, who shall be non-voting except in the case of a tie, from among persons recommended by the Committee.

   c. No member shall sit in judgement on a case in which the member was in any way personally involved.

   d. The grievant is entitled to challenge one or more members of the Committee with respect to impartiality. The Chairperson will rule on such challenges. In addition, the grievant shall be entitled to challenge any one member peremptorily.

   e. Members who are removed or disqualified, or are unable to serve, will be replaced by the next alternate in the same category. No member of the Committee shall be removed or replaced once Committee proceedings have begun.

   f. The Chairperson of the Board of Control, the Chairperson of the Graduate Review Board, the Deans of Students and Graduate Studies, and the Institute General Counsel shall be available for consultation by the Committee unless otherwise disqualified.

   g. All proceedings of the Committee shall be conducted in private and kept confidential, unless the grievant chooses to make any portion of the case public. In this event, the Chairperson of the Committee is entitled, upon consultation with the members of the Committee and, if a final decision has been made, with the President, to respond to statements made by the grievant. Such a reply would come only from the entire official body; Committee members, witnesses, consultants and all others involved in the proceedings would still be expected to respect the confidentiality of the proceedings.

   h. A quorum for a meeting and for voting shall consist of six voting members, including at least one member from each category. All votes shall be determined by a majority of those present and voting.

   i. Unless the Committee decides otherwise, no tape recordings or detailed transcripts will be made of Committee meetings. However, a brief summary will be made for the record.

   j. A grievant's waiver or failure to take advantage of any important right (such as the right to be present and participate in a hearing) under the Grievance Procedure shall be recorded.

   k. The Grievance Committee will not hear cases which fall under the jurisdiction of the Honor System, unless specifically requested to do so by the President of the Institute. In other words, the grievant may not normally bring a case to the Grievance Committee which should be considered by the Board of Control or the Graduate Review Board.

2. Grievance Procedure

   a. Step One; Determining Need for the Grievance Procedure:

   i. The Vice President for Student Affairs will act as ombudsman for student grievances, except in the case when the grievance is against the Vice President. In such cases, the Chairperson of the Grievance Committee will act as ombudsman.

   ii. Grievances should be submitted to the ombudsman promptly. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, grievances shall be submitted within 14 calendar days after the student knew, or by reasonable diligence should have known, of the condition on which the grievance is based.

   iii. The ombudsman shall refer the grievant to the appropriate person within the administration. In the case of graduate students, referral can be to the Dean of Graduate Studies or the Divisional offices.

   iv. The ombudsman shall request the person to whom the case is referred to submit a written report on the grievance and its resolution, if any, to the ombudsman within 10 calendar days after the matter is referred.

   v. If the ombudsman is not satisfied with the resolution of the case, the ombudsman may refer the matter to other appropriate persons in a like manner until satisfied with the resolution of the case or until he or she determines that it can not be resolved short of referral to the Grievance Committee. When either of these situations occurs, and in any event within 30 days after the grievance is submitted, the ombudsman will notify the grievant of the results in writing.

   b. Step Two; Operations of Grievance Committee:

   i. If the grievant is dissatisfied with the results of the ombudsman's efforts to resolve the matter, the grievant may appeal the case to the Grievance Committee by filing a written notice of appeal with the ombudsman within seven calendar days after having received the ombudsman's written notice of the disposition of the grievance. The ombudsman will promptly submit the notice of appeal and all other relevant written documents to the Chairperson of the Committee.

   ii. The Chairperson of the Committee will then provide copies of the appeal and such relevant documents to each member of the Committee.

   iii. The Committee will convene at a time agreeable to the student within seven calendar days after the Committee receives the notice of appeal.

   iv. The student may request the presence of a fellow student or Institute faculty or staff member (who is not an attorney) to assist in the presentation of the appeal.

   v. The student and others directly involved in the grievance have the right to hear all information presented orally to the Committee and receive all relevant documents considered by the Committee. Before the hearing, the student and the others directly involved all shall have

   (a) the opportunity to read the documents or papers which will be submitted and to review a list of the witnesses who may be called upon to present facts and

   (b) the right to review any written statements of witnesses which may be presented concerning the evidence.

   vi. The student is permitted to present information and relevant documents subject to the control of the Chairperson as to reasonableness of the method and length of the presentation.

   vii. The student is also allowed to request the Chairperson to call other persons to present information or to call for other papers and documents that the Chairperson considers relevant as long as such requests will not unnecessarily prolong the hearing or pose an undue burden.

   viii. Both the student and the others directly involved are permitted to submit written questions to the Committee on information presented by witnesses and on documents considered by the Committee. Both the student and the others involved may also ask questions when authorized by the Chairperson. The Chairperson will not permit formal cross-examination and will control the extent and manner of the questioning.

   ix. The Committee, upon reaching a conclusion, shall present a summary of the issues, conclusions, and recommendations for action to the President of the Institute for final decision.

   x. The grievant is entitled to submit a written statement or report on the Committee proceedings for inclusion in the file of the case.

   xi. The decision of the President shall be final. The Chairperson of the Committee shall inform all parties of the action taken.