Student Rights & Grievances

The purpose of MiraCosta College's Student Rights and Grievances Procedure (MCCCD Administrative Procedure 5530) is to provide a prompt and equitable means of resolving student grievances. This procedure is available to any student who reasonably believes a college decision or action has adversely affected his or her status, rights, or privileges as a student. The procedure includes but is not limited to grievances regarding the following:

• Sex discrimination, as prohibited by Title IX of the Higher Education Amendments of 1972
• Sexual harassment
• Financial aid
• Illegal discrimination
• The exercise of rights of free expression protected by state and federal constitutions and Education Code §76120 and "the freedom to express and to defend their views, to question, and to differ with the views of their instructors or the district without penalty." (See Academic Freedom.)

This procedure does not apply to the following:

• Student disciplinary actions, which are covered under separate board policies and administrative procedures
• Police citations (i.e., "tickets"). Complaints about citations must be directed to the County Courthouse in the same way as any traffic violation.

Any student who believes he or she has a grievance should file a statement of grievance with the grievance officer within 10 days of the incident on which the grievance is based or 10 days after the student learns of the basis for the grievance, whichever is later. The statement of grievance must be filed, whether or not the student has already initiated efforts at informal resolution, if the student wishes the grievance to become official. Within 2 days following receipt of the statement of grievance form, the grievance officer will advise the student of his or her rights and responsibilities under these procedures and assist the student, if necessary, in the final preparation of the statement of grievance form.

Definitions

Party: The student or any persons claimed to have been responsible for the student's alleged grievance, together with their representatives. "Party" shall not include the Grievance Hearing Committee or the College Grievance Officer.

Superintendent/president: the superintendent/president of the college or a designated representative of the superintendent/president.

The college: the MiraCosta Community College District (commonly referred to as MiraCosta College).

Student: Any person currently enrolled as a student at any site or in any program offered by the college. A grievance by an applicant shall be limited to a complaint regarding denial of admission. Former students shall be limited to grievances relating to course grades to the extent permitted by Education Code §76224(a).

Faculty member: Any academic employee of the college in whose class a student subject to discipline is enrolled, or counselor who is providing or has provided services to the student, or other academic employee who has responsibility for the student's educational program.

Respondent: Any person claimed by a grievant to be responsible for the alleged grievance.

Informal resolution: Each student who has a grievance shall make a reasonable effort to resolve the matter on an informal basis prior to requesting a grievance hearing and shall attempt to solve the problem with the person with whom the student has the grievance, that person's immediate supervisor, or the local college administration.

Informal Resolution

Mediation is strongly suggested as a method to informally resolve any issues about which the student wishes to grieve. A student seeking to informally resolve an issue may choose, in cooperation with the respondent, a mediator from a trained mediator pool at the college that includes faculty, staff, administrators, and students.

The superintendent/president has appointed the Dean of Counseling and Special Services at the Oceanside Campus, the Associate Dean of the Community Learning Center, and the Associate Dean of Student Services at the San Elijo Campus, as grievance officers to assist students in resolving matters through informal processes and to provide information on formal grievance processes.

To informally resolve any issues with a faculty member, the student must make a reasonable effort to follow these steps:

1. First, speak to the instructor in person, by e-mail, or by telephone, unless there is a valid reason to omit this step.
2. If the concern or complaint is not resolved satisfactorily, speak to the department chair in person, by e-mail, or by telephone.
3. If the concern or complaint is still not resolved, speak to the appropriate dean in person, by e-mail, or by telephone.

To informally resolve any issue with a staff member, the student must make a reasonable effort to follow these steps:

1. First, speak with the staff member with whom the student has the grievance in person, by e-mail, or by telephone.
2. If the concern or complaint is not resolved satisfactorily, speak with the supervisor in person, by e-mail, or by telephone.
3. If the concern or complaint is still not resolved, speak to the appropriate dean or department head in person, by e-mail, or by telephone.

To informally resolve any issues with a student, the student must make a reasonable effort to follow these steps:

1. If appropriate, discuss the issue with the student with whom the student has the grievance in person, by e-mail, or by telephone.
2. Meet with the grievance officer in person to request assistance on an informal resolution.

Informal meetings and discussion between persons directly involved in a grievance are essential at the outset of a dispute and should be encouraged at all stages. An equitable solution should be sought before persons directly involved in the case have stated official or public positions that might tend to polarize the dispute and render a solution more difficult. At no time shall any of the persons directly or indirectly involved in the case use the fact of such informal discussion, the fact that a grievance has been filed, or the character of the informal discussion for the purpose of strengthening the case for or against persons directly involved in the dispute or for any purpose other than the settlement of the grievance.

Formal Grievance Hearing

If the mediator(s) are unable to help the student and the staff or faculty member resolve the differences and the mediator(s) agree that the issue is grievable, the student shall have the right to request a grievance hearing, in writing, to the Vice President, Student Services, or Dean of Counseling and Special Services. This must be done within 10 days of the mediation meeting. The formal hearing will be scheduled within 10 school days of the request.

The grievance hearing committee will consist of the following:

• One student appointed by the Student Senate President.
• One faculty member appointed by the Academic Senate President if the grievance is against a faculty member.
• One staff member appointed by the Classified Senate President, if the grievance is against a staff member.

A committee chair who will be the Vice President, Student Services, or the Dean of Counseling and Special Services (non-academic grievance), or the Academic Senate President (academic grievance).

The decision of the grievance hearing committee chairperson shall be final on all matters relating to the conduct of the hearing, unless there is a vote of a majority of the other members of the panel to the contrary.

The members of the grievance hearing committee shall be provided with a copy of the grievance and any written response provided by the respondent before the hearing begins.

Each party to the grievance may call witnesses and introduce oral and written testimony relevant to the issues of the matter.

Formal rules of evidence shall not apply. Any relevant evidence shall be admitted.

Unless the grievance hearing committee determines to proceed otherwise, each party to the grievance shall be permitted to make an opening statement. Thereafter, the grievant or grievants shall make the first presentation, followed by the respondent or respondents. The grievant(s) may present rebuttal evidence after the respondent(s)' evidence. The burden shall be on the grievant or grievants to prove by substantial evidence that the facts alleged are true and that a grievance has been established as specified above.

The student may bring an advocate or attorney to the hearing only if s/he notifies the Vice President, Student Services, or the Dean of Counseling and Special Services, within 5 school days of the hearing. The respondent may also bring legal counsel to the hearing. The hearing will be recorded. The recording shall remain in the custody of the district, either at the college or the district office, at all times, unless released to a professional transcribing service. Any party may request a copy of the recording.

Written statements of witnesses under penalty of perjury shall not be used unless the witness is unavailable to testify. A witness who refuses to be recorded shall be considered to be unavailable.

Hearings shall be closed and confidential unless all parties request that it be open to the public. Any such request must be made no less than 5 days prior to the date of the hearing.

In a closed hearing, witnesses shall not be present at the hearing when not testifying, unless all parties and the committee agree to the contrary.

The hearing committee will recommend a resolution of the grievance after listening to the student and the person(s) against whom s/he filed the complaint. The committee must inform the student in writing about its recommendation within 10 days of the hearing. The decision shall include specific factual findings regarding the grievance and shall include specific conclusions regarding whether a grievance has been established as defined above. The decision shall also include a specific recommendation regarding the relief to be afforded the grievant, if any. The decision shall be based only on the record of the hearing and not on matters outside of that record. The record consists of the original grievance, any written response, and the oral and written evidence produced at the hearing.

The student may appeal the decision of the grievance hearing committee by writing to the college superintendent/president within 10 days of being notified of the grievance hearing committee’s decision. The superintendent/president will send the student a final decision in writing within 10 days of receiving the appeal.  

(Source: MCCCD Administrative Procedure 5530)