Pueblo Community College provides a grievance procedure for students, clients, or volunteers who are providing a service to benefit the College under the supervision and control of a college employee (hereafter noted as grievant). A client or volunteer may only grieve a decision which bans him or her from the campus. A grievable matter is any alleged action which violates or inequitably applies written college policies or procedures. The grievant must be personally affected by such violation or inequitable action. Matters that are not grievable include those matters which the College is without authority to act, academic decisions unless there is an allegation that the decision was motivated by illegal discrimination and disciplinary actions.

A grievant is encouraged to resolve the issue at an informal level by discussing the concern with the Respondent (another student, volunteer, client, faculty member and/or administrator identified by the Grievant as causing or contributing to the grievance) or their supervisor. In the case of a grievance that is based upon one's race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, or disability, the grievant may first contact the Director of Human Resources to seek informal resolution of the issues. If the grievant alleges facts that might constitute sexual harassment, the Director of Human Resources shall investigate and process the complaint under that procedure.

If the grievant is unable to resolve the concern at the informal level, then he/she may proceed to the formal level. The grievant should file, no later than twenty (20) days after the alleged incident, a written statement of the actions complained of and describe the remedy he/she is seeking. This written complaint should be filed with the Vice President of Student Services. Once a written grievance is filed or referred, the Vice President of Student Services will determine whether or not the situation states a grievable offense. The matter will be closed if the situation is determined not grievable and the grievant will be notified of the reasons.

If the matter is determined to be grievable, the Vice President of Student Services or designee (which may be an individual or a committee) shall hear the grievance and establish reasonable rules for the grievance procedure. A hearing will be held which will give the grievant and College personnel, who were named in the grievance, an opportunity to explain what they know about the issues surrounding the grievance and to review any related information/materials. The Vice President of Student Services may choose to hear the information in separate/individual hearings. In the event that the student is under the age of eighteen or incapacitated, he/she may have an advisor present to assist him/her in presenting his/her case. Students do not have the right to be represented by an attorney during these proceedings except in the case where civil or criminal actions concerning the student are pending, and in that case the attorney’s role shall be advisory only. The student is responsible for presenting his/her own case and, therefore, advisors are not permitted to speak or to participate directly in any hearing except when the student is under 18 or incapacitated.

Considering the oral and written statements and comments, the Vice President of Student Services shall issue a decision within ten (10) calendar days of the close of the hearing. The decision shall reject the grievance or grant the grievance and make recommendation(s) to resolve the issue(s). Copies of the decision shall be served to the Grievant and the Respondent either personally or by certified mail to the addresses on file in the Admissions and Records Office.

The decision of the Vice President of Student Services' is final unless a Petition for Review is filed with the College President by either party within five (5) calendars days of notification of the decision. The Petition for Review may be filed only on the following basis: 1) the process outlined in this procedure was not followed, 2) the decision was arbitrary and was not based on the facts of the grievance, and/or 3) the Grievant or Respondent can provide new information that was not available during the meetings/hearings. (Information that was deliberately withheld will not be considered during the Petition for Review).

Upon receipt of a petition, the College President will review the record and issue a written decision within ten (10) calendar days of the receipt of the petition. The College President's decision is final. The Vice President of Student Services, or the College President, may, for good cause, extend the scheduling timelines described above.