Student Grievance Policy

Noorda-COM policy strongly encourages students who believe they have a grievance to use all appropriate avenues for informal resolution before initiating the formal grievance procedure. Noorda-COM’s student grievance procedure enables students to bring concerns and problems to the attention of the College’s administrators. The College forbids any retaliatory action against students who present concerns and complaints in good faith.  

A student may wish to file a grievance, which is a complaint arising out of any alleged unauthorized or unjustified act or decision by an individual (e.g., student, faculty, staff, credentialed instructional staff, administrator) that in any way adversely affects the status, rights, or privileges of a member of the student body.  

Avenues for Student Communications to Voice Concerns 

Students at Noorda-COM have several established avenues for expressing suggestions for improvement and for filing official complaints, incident reports, or grievances. The avenues are as follows: 

  • Student Suggestion Box: A resource for students to submit their ideas, opinions, suggestions, and observations about academic learning, policies, processes, and products that can help us create a culture where all Noorda-COM students can flourish. The following apply:
    • May be submitted anonymously
    • Only student submissions are allowed
    • Intended for general suggestions about improvement across campus
    • Follow up cannot be guaranteed if submitted anonymously
    • Monitored by Student Affairs and reports delivered to appropriate parties in a timely and regular manner.
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Suggestion Box
    • May be submitted anonymously
    • Only student submissions allowed
    • Intended for general suggestions about improvement across campus in terms of DEI related concerns
    • Follow up cannot be guaranteed if submitted anonymously
    • Monitored by the Office of Inclusion and reports delivered to appropriate parties in a timely and regular manner
  • SCOPE Reports and SGA 
    • Students can provide regular feedback about coursework, curriculum, class improvement through end-of-course surveys
    • SCOPE teams review the anonymous surveys and compile data for feedback through Curriculum Committee
    • Each Class has SGA officers who are assigned to monitor, collect, and report feedback from their class
  • Incident Report: A resource that students and employees can use to report a specific event or circumstance where a member of the Noorda-COM community experiences a negative impact on their health, safety, or wellbeing. This resource can be used if students/employees experience an incident or witness an incident that they believe should be reported and addressed by Noorda-COM administration, especially issues related to Code of Conduct Violations. The following apply: 
    • Must be submitted with name of reporting party and student name
    • Student or employee may submit
    • Intended for specific feedback about a particular student
    • Will be followed up on by referral to appropriate party
      • Student Affairs – concerns for wellbeing
      • PACC – professionalism, academics, clinical concerns. PACC may choose to end the incident investigation process or refer on to SPC.
      • SPC – receives referrals from PACC or straight from incident report if the academic deficiency or professionalism violation is egregious enough.
      • SAC – approves, modifies, or rejects SPC decisions. 
  • Title IX Reports: The College reserves the right to address inappropriate behavior relating to sex discrimination, sexual harassment or sexual violence which fall under the purview of Title IX and will be dealt with under separate procedures. For further details on the basis for these kinds of grievances see the Title IX and Non-Discrimination Policy. 
    • Students with a Title IX complaint should follow current posted policies and procedures.
  • COCA Accreditation Standard Complaint Policy: Any individual who believes Noorda-COM is not in compliance with a COCA accreditation standard has the right to address his/her concern. Individuals are expected to first bring the grievance to the attention of the Dean.
  • Grievance Submissions: A resource used to request the resolution of disputes arising out of any alleged unauthorized or unjustified act or decision by an individual (e.g., student, faculty, staff, credentialed instructional staff, administrator) that in any way adversely affects the status, rights, or privileges of a member of the student body. These submissions cannot be anonymous in order for the appropriate process to occur.

This policy was reviewed and revised in March 2024. For assistance with policies and procedures, please contact Alexa Levine (adlevine@noordacom.org).