Grievance Procedures

The grievance procedures listed below allow for the resolution of student grievances at College of Western Idaho (CWI) alleging accommodation violations of anti-discrimination laws, specifically Section 504 and The Americans with Disabilities Act.

File a Complaint

CWI is committed to maintaining a respectful community by providing equal educational opportunities, services and benefits to any individual without regard to disability status. Accordingly, CWI is committed to providing equal access and reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities and prohibits discrimination or harassment based on disability status. Complaints or grievances may include situations where the student feels that an accommodation is not adequately meeting their academic needs, student feels their accommodation is not being met, or the student feels that they are being discriminated against because of their disability status.

In order for the College to respond effectively to complaints or grievances reports should be made as quickly as possible.

File a General Complaint Report a Care or Concern

Inadequate or Inappropriate Accommodations

A student may choose to resolve the problem of inappropriate or inadequate accommodations in the classroom informally by speaking directly with the faculty member and requesting appropriate accommodations. A student may request advice, assistance, and/or advocacy from the Senior Coordinator of Student Disability Services or designee. Requests for appropriate accommodations must be made during the semester that the course is being taken. As indicated in the Policies and Procedures for Requesting Disability Services, documentation of a student’s disability must be on file if academic accommodations are being requested.

If an agreement between a faculty member and the student cannot be reached, then the student or faculty member may request that the CWI Disability Services staff formally review the request and offer appropriate and reasonable accommodations based on the student’s individual needs. The SDS staff will make a recommendation for accommodations and if this recommendation is not agreeable to both parties a formal appeal may be made to the Dean Enrollment & Student Services.
Discrimination or Harassment

Upon receiving a report of alleged or possible discrimination or harassment, related to disability status, CWI will evaluate the information received and determine what further actions should be taken. CWI will follow the procedures described in the CWI Investigation and Resolution Procedure. CWI will seek to resolve complaints received as expeditiously as possible and may implement interim measures to enable the student to continue in the course throughout the formal proceeding.
Retaliation

Retaliation for filing a complaint, for assisting someone with such a complaint, for attempting to stop discrimination or harassment, or for participating in any manner in an investigation or resolution of a complaint is prohibited. It is central to the values of CWI that any individual who believes they may have been the target of unlawful discrimination or harassment feel free to report their concerns for appropriate investigation and response, without fear of retaliation or retribution.
Resolution Timeline
CWI will seek to resolve complaints received as expeditiously as possible and may implement interim measures to enable the student to continue in the course throughout the process. In general, each phase of the accommodation review process should occur within 10 working days including:

informal resolution by the faculty and/or Student Disability Services

formal review by Student Disability Services, Department Chair, or Academic Vice President

and final determination by the Executive Vice President of Instruction.

In consultation with Student Disability Services, every effort should be made by the academic department to try to enable the student to continue in class throughout the grievance proceeding.
External Complaints

If you are a student who has filed a complaint and believe the response was inadequate or otherwise believe you have been discriminated or retaliated against by CWI, you may file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education, the Idaho Human Rights Commission, or the Educational Opportunities Section (EOS) of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department of Justice.

U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights
810 3rd Avenue #750
Seattle, WA 98104
206.607.1600
OCR.Seattle@ed.gov

For more information on CWI policies or procedures related to discrimination or harassment, please see the Respectful Community and ADA and Reasonable Accommodation policies.