Waukesha County Technical College | Student Services | Student Life

Student Life

Student Complaint Procedure

The procedure described below is established to facilitate resolving student concerns regarding non-academic policies, personnel or facilities. For discrimination and/or harassment complaints please refer to our discrimination and/or harassment section.

Student Complaint Procedures

Whenever possible, the student should attempt to resolve the issue directly with the staff member involved, as described in Step 1. However, if a student is not comfortable doing so, they should discuss the matter with the staff member's supervisor, thereby proceeding directly to Step 2. If you are uncertain who to direct your complaint to, please contact the Director of Student Development at 262.691.5295 or by stopping by the Student Life Office, C-121.

Step 1

The student should attempt to resolve the issue through an informal discussion with the appropriate staff member within 30 calendar days of the alleged incident, or most recent occurrence. However, as noted above, if a student is not comfortable doing so, they should discuss the matter with the staff member's supervisor, thereby proceeding directly to Step 2.

Step 2

If the complaint remains unresolved, within ten (10) college days the student should submit, in writing, the nature and cause of the complaint and desired outcome(s) to the immediate supervisor of the staff in an attempt to mediate the problem. A complaint form is available from the Director of Student Development.

Step 3

The department/unit supervisor or other appropriate staff person will meet with the student and the staff member and respond to both in writing within seven (7) college days of reaching a decision on the matter. A copy will be forwarded to the Director of Student Development, or designee.

Step 4

If the issue remains unresolved after such meeting, the student can elect to, within ten (10) college days after receiving the department/unit supervisor or other staff member's written response, request in writing, to the Director of Student Development, or designee, a hearing with the Board of Review.

The Board of Review consists of three (3) members. These members will come from a trained pool of students, administrators, and instructors (from a department not involved in the matter being appealed), and there will be one Board member from each of these categories. The Associate Vice President of Student Services will select three members from this pool for each Board of Review hearing, making efforts to ensure representation of each constituency. The college's attorney may be present to act as an adviser to the Board, but will not be a voting member. In order for student peers to sit as members of the Board of Review, all involved students must sign a release and authorization to have students sit on the Board. If appropriate authorization is not obtained, the Board of Review will proceed without student representatives and that spot will be filled by another instructor or administrator from the pool.

The Director of Student Development will serve as the Chair of this Board. The Board of Review is advised by this person and the Chair does not participate in the hearing but serves as a resource during the deliberation and sanctioning phases of the hearing.

Board of Review Procedures

If a student, with notice, does not appear before the hearing board, the information will be presented and considered in the student's absence. If no complaint is offered, it is reasonable for the hearing officers to infer that no complaint is available.
The complainant and their advisers, if any, will be allowed to attend the entire portion of the hearing at which information is received, excluding deliberations of responsibility and sanctioning. Admission of any other person to the hearing will be at the discretion of the hearing board chair and/or the Director of Student Development.
In hearings involving more than one student in the same situation, the Director of Student Development may permit the hearings concerning each student to be conducted jointly.
The complainant has the right to be assisted by an adviser if they choose. The adviser must be affiliated with WCTC, unless a special waiver is granted in advance by the Director of Student Development. The complainant is responsible for presenting his or her own information at the hearing, and therefore, advisers are not permitted to speak or to participate directly in any hearing. Advisers who do not observe this restriction can be removed from the hearing by the Chair or the Director of Student Development. No replacement adviser will be permitted.
The complainant and the hearing board may arrange for witnesses to present pertinent information to the board. Witnesses will provide information to and answer questions from the hearing board. This will be facilitated by the board with such questions directed to the chair rather than to the witness directly. Questions of whether potential information will be received will be resolved at the discretion of the chair of the board.
Pertinent records, exhibits, and written statements may be accepted as information for consideration by a board at the discretion of the chairperson.
All procedural questions are subject to the final decision of the Chair of the board.
The hearing board will determine, by a majority vote, the recommendation that will be forwarded to the appropriate Vice President.
Formal rules of process, procedure and/or technical rules of evidence, such as are applied in civil or criminal court, are not used in these proceedings.
Hearings (excluding deliberations) will be audio tape-recorded for the purpose of appeals.
The Chair will prepare a written deliberation report to the Vice President, detailing the finding, how each Board of Review member voted, the information cited by the Board of Review in support of its finding, and any information that the Board of Review excluded from its consideration, and why. This report should conclude with any recommendations. The Vice President may make appropriate modifications and then will implement the final determination and inform the parties.

In this instance the appropriate Vice President's decision will stand, no further appeal is allowed. If the student fails to pursue resolution at this level of the process within 10 college days the matter will be considered closed.

Step 1

The student should attempt to resolve the issue through an informal discussion with the appropriate staff member within 30 days of the alleged incident, or most recent occurrence. However, as noted above, if a student is not comfortable doing so, they should discuss the matter with the staff member’s supervisor, thereby proceeding directly to Step 2.

Step 2

If the complaint remains unresolved, the student should meet with the immediate supervisor of the staff in an attempt to mediate the problem.

Step 3

If the complaint remains unresolved, the student should submit, in writing, the nature and cause of the complaint and desired outcome(s) to the department/unit supervisor. A form is available from the Director of Student Development, or designee. The department/unit supervisor or other appropriate staff person will meet with the student and the staff member and respond to both in writing within seven (7) college days. A copy will be forwarded to the Director of Student Development, or designee.

Step 4

If the issue remains unresolved after such meeting, the student may, within ten (10) college days after receiving the department/unit supervisor or other staff member’s written response, request in writing, to the Director of Student Development, or designee, a hearing with the Board of Review (the process will follow the Student Code of Conduct Board of Review Process found in the Student Handbook). In this instance the Vice President of Learning & Student Services decision will stand, no further appeal is allowed.