Policies

Effective Date Jan 8, 2019

Purpose

1. To promote prompt resolution of perceived wrongs and/or injustices which may arise between students and faculty/staff members.
2. To promote prompt resolution of other grievances, whether academic or non-academic in nature.
3. To assure the rights of privacy of all parties are maintained.
4. To develop a higher sense of community among all persons at Florida Tech.

Informal Complaint Resolution Process

Occasions may arise in which a student feels that he or she has a legitimate basis for complaint. It is the policy of the university to promptly resolve these complaints. Those involved should initially attempt to resolve the matter informally and without the need to establish a record. The informal process for resolution of a complaint is as follows:

1. When a student feels that he or she has a complaint, it should be taken by the student directly to the other party(s) involved.
2. If the student and the other party are unable to resolve the matter or if for any reason the student does not feel at ease in going to the other party, he or she should contact the academic unit head or appropriate director for assistance. Unit heads and directors are able to achieve a fair and equitable solution to most problems. If the student would rather not discuss the matter with the unit head or director, he or she may choose to go to the college dean, dean of students, vice president for online learning and/or, if deemed necessary, to the vice president of student affairs.
   1. Students in Education Centers may telephone the vice president of online learning at the Melbourne campus in Melbourne, Florida.
   2. Students in Florida Tech Online programs may contact the office of the vice president for online learning in Melbourne, Florida.
   3. Students in the Florida Tech Continuing Education/Professional Development courses may contract the senior director of continuing education at the Melbourne campus in Melbourne, Florida.
3. Complaints involving sex discrimination or equal opportunity can be resolved by using the procedures outlined above. However, if the student is not at ease with these procedures or feels they to be ineffective, he or she may seek the aid of the Title IX Coordinator at (321) 674-7277. The Title IX coordinator is a person designated by the university to ensure it is in compliance with federal laws regarding the resolution of sex discrimination allegations. This individual has the added responsibility of ensuring compliance with all federal laws regarding equal opportunity.

Formal Complaint Resolution Process

Students have the right to submit a formal written complaint for any grievance. Melbourne campus students and extended studies students should submit the complaint to the dean of students by email to fithelp@fit.edu. Florida Tech Online students should contact the office of the vice president for online learning by email to ol-help@fit.edu. 

The associate provost or vice president for online learning will determine the appropriate person in the university to handle the problem and forward the complaint to that person. All written student complaints, with their resolutions, will be documented and the records maintained by either the dean of students or the office of the associate vice president for online learning.

The Ombudsman

The ombudsman is a university employee appointed by the president to investigate reported complaints, to report findings and to help achieve equitable settlements. Students may seek the help of the ombudsman assigned to handle student-based complaints if the student feels that either the informal or formal complaint process has been ineffective. The ombudsman should only be contacted after the student has followed the established procedures described above. The ombudsman can be found in the president’s office or can be contacted by email to ombudsman@fit.edu.

Additional information

1. Students can choose to drop any complaint process at any time.
2. To promote prompt and equitable resolutions of student complaints, complaints should be made as soon after the incident as possible. Complaints should be filed during the term of occurrence but no later than 30 days after the date of the incident. 
3. Every effort will be made by all parties concerned to resolve the grievance within 90 days.
4. All complaints and written resolutions will be maintained for five years from date of resolution.

State Agency Contact Information for Student Complaints

Should a student wish to contact an outside agency away from Florida Institute of Technology the following list of state contacts may be used based on the geographic location of the student.

Florida Tech is a member of NC-SARA, the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements, through the Florida Postsecondary Reciprocal Distance Education Coordinating Council. Online and distance education students who have completed the internal institutional grievance process and the applicable state grievance process, may appeal non-instructional complaints to the FL-SARA PRDEC Council. For additional information on the complaint process, visit FL-SARA Complaint Process.

Alabama

 Alaska

http://www.law.state.ak.us/pdf/consumer/FORM_complaint.pdf

Arizona

Arkansas

http://www.sbpce.org/complaint_process.html

California

http://www.bppe.ca.gov/forms_pubs/complaint.pdf

Colorado

http://highered.colorado.gov/Academics/Complaints/default.html

Connecticut

http://www.ct.gov/dcp/lib/dcp/pdf/forms/consumer_statementcpfr-2_rev_8-06_edited1106.pdf

Consumer Complaint Hotline: (800) 842-2649

Delaware

District of Columbia

https://osse.dc.gov/publication/specialized-education-state-complaints-form

Florida

http://www.fldoe.org/about-us/office-of-the-inspector-general/file-a-complaint.stml

Georgia

https://gnpec.georgia.gov/student-resources/student-complaints

Hawaii

https://cca.hawaii.gov/ocp/files/2018/02/Complaint-Form-and-Instruction-2018-WEB.pdf

Idaho

Illinois

Institutional Complaint Hotline: (217) 557-7359

http://webprod1.isbe.net/contactisbe/ (email)

http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/about/email_ag.jsp

http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/consumers/conscomp.pdf

Consumer Fraud Hotline: (800) 243-0618

Indiana

Iowa

https://www.swcciowa.edu/academics/distance-education/complaint-grievance-process

Kansas

http://www.kansasregents.org/academic_affairs/private_out_of_state/complaint_process

Kentucky

consumer.protection@ag.ky.gov

https://secure.kentucky.gov/formservices/AttorneyGeneral/ConsumerComplaintForm

Louisiana

https://regents.la.gov/students-parents/student-complaint-process/

Maine

http://www.maine.gov/ag/consumer/complaints/complaint_form.shtml

Maryland

consumer@oag.state.md.us

https://web.oag.state.md.us/editor/customer/onlineformhelpers/formviewer.aspx?filename=MUGeneral.htm

Consumer Protection Hotline: (410) 528-8662

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Complaint.asp

Mississippi

http://www.ago.state.ms.us/index.php/contact (email)

http://www.mississippi.edu/mcca/downloads/mccastudentcomplaintform.pdf

Missouri

Montana

https://dojmt.gov/consumer/consumer-complaints/

Nebraska

https://ccpe.nebraska.gov/student-complaint-form

Consumer Protection Hotline: (800) 727-6432

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/forms_pdfs/edtrain/Conflict%20Resolution%20Questionnaire.pdf

New Mexico

https://hed.state.nm.us/uploads/documents/Complaint_Form_2019.pdf

New York

http://www.highered.nysed.gov/ocue/spr/COMPLAINTFORMINFO.html

North Carolina

North Dakota

https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/consumer-resources/consumer-complaints

Ohio

https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Individuals-and-Families/Consumers/File-a-Complaint

Oklahoma

http://www.oag.ok.gov/Websites/oag/images/2019%20Consumer%20Complaint%20Form%201.pdf

Oregon

https://justice.oregon.gov/forms/consumer_complaint.asp

Pennsylvania

https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/BCP_Complaint_Form.pdf

Puerto Rico

Rhode Island

http://www.riag.ri.gov/ConsumerProtection/About.php

South Carolina

https://www.che.sc.gov/CHE_Docs/AcademicAffairs/License/Complaint_procedures_and_form.pdf

South Dakota

https://consumer.sd.gov/complaintform.aspx

Tennessee

https://www.tn.gov/thec/bureaus/student-aid-and-compliance/postsecondary-state-authorization/request-for-complaint-review.html

Texas

http://txoag.force.com/CPDOnlineForm

Utah

consumerprotection@utah.gov

https://dcp.utah.gov/complaints.html

Vermont

Virginia

https://www.schev.edu/index/students-and-parents/resources/student-complaints

Washington

https://wsac.wa.gov/student-complaints

https://www.wvhepc.org/resources/Complaint_Process.pdf (instructions)

https://fortress.wa.gov/atg/formhandler/ago/ContactForm.aspx?subject=Consumer%20Protection (email)

https://fortress.wa.gov/atg/formhandler/ago/ComplaintForm.aspx (complaint form)

West Virginia

https://www.wvhepc.org/resources/Complaint_Process.pdf

Wisconsin

http://www.heab.state.wi.us/dlab/docs/SARAComplaintForm2018.pdf

Wyoming