Regulations & Policies
Academic Affairs
Student Complaints & Appeals |
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| Number: | 2.0990P |
Policy Status:
Major Revision Responsible Division/Department: Academic Affairs |
| Effective Date: | 08/14/17 | |
| Revised Date: | 02/25/25 | |
I. OBJECTIVE & PURPOSE
The University has established this policy to ensure that (a) adequate procedures for addressing written student complaints are in place, (b) students are informed of these procedures, and (c) procedures are followed when resolving student complaints.
II. DEFINITION
Written Student Complaint - A written student complaint is defined as an assertion made by a student submitted in writing to either the President's Office, the Provost's Office, or the Dean of Students Office that one or more individuals affiliated with UNF has violated any of the following: UNF regulations or policies, Florida Board of Governors of the State University System regulations, Florida state laws, or federal laws.
III. STATEMENT OF POLICY
Student Complaints are directed to the President’s Office, Provost's Office and/or Dean of Students Office to ensure appropriate documentation and allow these units to gather additional information and work towards a response or appropriate resolution.
IV. STATEMENT OF PROCEDURES
A. Written Student Complaints
Student complaints shall be directed to either the President's Office, Provost's Office and/or Dean of Students Office to facilitate analyses of patterns and trends. Individual departments will familiarize themselves with this policy and establish internal procedures to ensure students are directed to one of the formal reporting units and/or the Report UNF webpage.
B. Report UNF/Student Complaint Form
Students shall be directed to the Report UNF website, located through the Dean of Students webpage, linked as a resource available to students through their CANVAS account, and available to be linked on any UNF website. Report UNF, a webpage dedicated to informing the campus community about the appropriate reporting resources, including student complaints includes information on where to report specific concerns, including student complaints to the University.
The President's Office and Provost's Office may accept written complaints in additional formats and shall document and track these complaints using internal controls.
C. Complaint Review and Resolution
The student complaint form is routed to the Dean of Students Office, where reports are reviewed and processed. Written complaints are also received by the President's Office and Provost's Office through their shared email addresses.
Once received, concerns are processed and acknowledged, and information is shared with any specific unit mentioned within the complaint. The receiving office will work to properly document the situation, suggest resolution options and/or provide support to the student based on the situation reported. Any final resolution or updates will be shared with the complainant, where possible. Anonymous complaints are accepted, but it does impact the University's ability to review and gain resolution.
All written complaints will be maintained by the President’s Office, Provost's Office and/or Dean of Students Office and include the following information:
- Unit name
- Date student filed complaint/appeal
- Student identification, or N-number, if available
- Nature of complaint
- Process used to resolve complain
- Outcome of complaint
- Date of resolution