Student Conduct Policy

If a student has an informal complaint, please contact Interim Complaints Officer, Megan Valerio, at megan.valerio@seattlecolleges.edu.

The Student Complaints Policy (WAC 132F-121-060) describes the process students follow to complain about District or College policies and/or procedures that allegedly have not been followed by college personnel.

A student complaint/issue against an instructor or staff member should be referred to the appropriate division Dean or Administrator. District policy and procedures encourages student complaints to be processed on an informal basis first. This usually entails involvement of the instructor and the Dean/Administrator to resolve the complaint at the informal level. Contact information for Division Administrators is available on program pages.

If the student feels the complaint was not resolved, the student has the option of filing a formal complaint online.

Notification of Title IV Student Complaint Process

The Higher Education Act (HEA) prohibits an institution of higher education from engaging in a “substantial misrepresentation of the nature of its educational program, its financial charges, or the employability of its graduates.” 20 U.S.C. §1094(c)(3)(A). Further, each state must have “a process to review and appropriately act on complaints concerning the institution including enforcing applicable state laws.” 34 C.F.R. § 600.9. The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) maintains a process to investigate complaints of this nature brought by community and technical college students in the state of Washington. For information, contact SBCTC Student Services, PO Box 42495, Olympia, WA 98504-2495, studentservices@sbctc.edu, 360-704-4315 or visit sbctc.edu.

Student Formal Grade Complaints

The Formal Grade Student Complaints (WAC 132F-121-090) regarding grades received for course work can be filed using the informal or formal complaint procedure. A student may formally grieve only the final grade received in a course, but that complaint may include any or all of the components of that final grade. For a grade complaint, the respondent(s) shall be, or include, the instructor who issued the grade.

A formal complaint regarding a grade must be filed not later than the last day of the quarter which follows the quarter for which the disputed grade was received, except that a complaint regarding a spring quarter grade may be filed through the last day of the following fall quarter.