Adaptive Educational Services
Complaints & Grievances
Practically every university or college like IUPUI has a person, or office that deals with "compliance" with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitiation Act of 1990, or student/faculty conduct. At IUPUI there are 4 main resources you can turn to if you have a grievance. You may contact any of these offices for information about how to address your concerns:
- AES and its Faculty Student Liaison
- The IUPUI Student Advocate
- The IUPUI Dean of Students Office
- The IUPUI Affirmative Action Office
Remember: Each school also has its own grievance procedures. These procedures are not the same across campus as each school or degree program has different essential aspects or requirements. But, to be clear about this...the due process procedures with which you may be familiar from high school will not apply when you begin college.
However, the postsecondary school's grievance procedures must include steps to ensure that you may raise your concerns fully and fairly and must provide for the prompt and equitable resolution of complaints.
IUPUI publications, such as specific student handbooks and catalogs, may describe the steps you must take to start the grievance process. Often, IUPUI schools have both formal and informal processes. If you decide to use a grievance process, you should be prepared to present all the reasons that support your request.
Continuting the Process
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome from using the school's grievance procedures or you wish to pursue an alternative to using the grievance procedures, you may file a complaint against the school with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
You can learn more about the OCR complaint process from the brochure How to File a Discrimination Complaint with the Office for Civil Rights, which you can obtain by contacting the U.S. Department of Education at: http://www.ed.gov/ocr/docs/howto.html.
If you would like more information about the responsibilities of postsecondary schools to students with disabilities, read the OCR brochure Auxiliary Aids and Services for Postsecondary Students with Disabilities: Higher Education's Obligations Under Section 504 and Title II of the ADA. You can also obtain a copy of this document by contacting the U.S. Department of Education at: http://www.ed.gov/ocr/docs/auxaids.html.
Information adapted from: U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Students with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities, Washington, D.C., 2002.
