Complaint Process

The San Diego City, Mesa and Miramar Colleges and Continuing Education are committed to an educational environment that is free from interference and disruption, and that fosters equity and mutual respect.

Students may file a complaint when they believe that a College faculty or staff member has violated the following Board Policies and Administrative:

  1. Student Rights, Responsibilities, Campus Safety and Administrative Due Process: Policy 5500
  2. Student Grievance: Procedure 5530
  3. Student Discipline: Procedure 5520
  4. Honest Academic Conduct: Procedure 3100.3
  5. Prohibition of Harassment: Policy 3430
  6. Nondiscrimination: Policy 3410
  7. Fraud/Whistle Blower: Policy 6125
  8. Grade Challenge: Procedure 3001.2

Board Policies and Administrative Procedures are available to Individuals online at
https://www.sdccd.edu/about/leadership/board-of-trustees/board-policies/index.aspx

Most complaints, grievances or disciplinary matters should be resolved at the campus level. Individuals are strongly encouraged to make every attempt to resolve matters through the appropriate administrative processes.

 

Academic Complaint

An academic complaint may be filed with the department chair or instructional dean when a student feels that a faculty member has violated state law, federal law, or College policies and procedures relative to grading or other academic matters*. Students may directly contact the department chair or instructional dean or submit their complaint online at: Complaint Form

*Please note: All grades awarded by the instructor of record shall be final. The California Code of Regulations, Title 5 §55025,states “the determination of the student’s grade by the instructor shall be final in the absence of mistake, fraud, bad faith, or incompetency.”

 

Academic Accommodations due to Disability (Section 504/ADA)

Students with disabilities who want to file a complaint regarding access to or quality of their academic accommodation under Section 504 and/or the American Disabilities Act (ADA) may go through the informal process with the DSPS counselor, if no agreement is reached with the informal process, students may submit a complaint online at Complaint Form or contact the campus 504 Officer:

 

College 504 Officer Email Phone
San Diego
City College
Poppy Fitch pfitch001@sdccd.edu 619-388-6983
San Diego
Mesa College
Claudia Perkins cperkins@sdccd.edu 619-388-2699
San Diego
Miramar College
Adrian Gonzales agonzales@sdccd.edu 619-388-7810
San Diego
Continuing Education
Michele Madrid Novak mnovak@sdccd.edu  619-388-1871

General Complaint

A general student complaint may be filed by a student who feels an action of a College staff member, College Police, office, or group violates existing College rules, policy, or procedures or other local, state, and federal laws. A complaint of gender discrimination or sexual harassment is not included in this category; please see Title IX complaint below.

The Complaint Procedures are formalized procedures to ensure timely resolution at the lowest possible level. The first step is the informal resolution stage, which involves the student who has a complaint and the faculty/staff member or specific group with whom the student has a complaint. The student must notify the faculty/staff person or representative of a group that he or she wishes to make an appointment for an informal meeting to review an action. In the absence of the instructor or staff person and after a good faith effort to make contact, the student may directly contact the instructional dean or appropriate administrator or submit their complaint online at: Complaint Form

Gender Discrimination, Sexual Harassment and/or Violence Complaint (Title IX)

San Diego City, Mesa and Miramar Colleges do not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, or sexual orientation in its education programs or activities. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and certain other federal and state laws, prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation in employment, as well as all education programs and activities, and protect all people regardless of their gender or gender identity from sex discrimination, which includes sexual harassment and sexual violence. These procedures are used when a complaint concerns discrimination on the basis of gender, including sexual harassment. For more information on the district’s sexual harassment and/or violence prevention and complaint policies, please visit the district Title IX & Campus SaVE Act

Students who wish to file a Title IX complaint may do so online at: Complaint Form or directly with the District's Title IX Office:

TitleIX@sdccd.edu
619-388-6660

Unlawful Harassment or Discrimination Complaint

San Diego City, Mesa and Miramar Colleges are committed to providing an academic environment free of unlawful harassment and unlawful discrimination. Board Policy 5500 defines verbal, physical, visual or written, environmental and harassment and other forms of harassment on campus, and sets forth a procedure for the investigation and resolution of complaints of harassment by or against any staff, or faculty member, or student within the District.

These procedures are used when a complaint concerns matters of discrimination or failure to comply with College policy or procedures or federal and/or state regulations including the Civil Rights Act; Executive Orders 11246 and 11375; the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Act of 1974; the Age Discrimination and Employment Act of 1967; Section 504 of the 1973 Federal Rehabilitation Act and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); and the nondiscrimination laws of the State of California.

Students who wish to file a complaint may do so online at: Complaint Form or your college Site Compliance Officer (SCO):

 

College Compliance Officer Email Phone
San Diego
City College
Edwin Hiel ehiel@sdccd.edu 619-388-3036
San Diego
Mesa College
Claudia Perkins cperkins@sdccd.edu 619-388-2699
San Diego
Miramar College
Francois Bereaud fbereaud@sdccd.edu 619-388-7503
San Diego
Continuing Education
Lynda Reeves lreeves@sdccd.edu 619-388-1827

Other Complaint Process

If your complaint is associated with the institution’s compliance with academic program quality and accrediting standards, you may contact the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) at: http://www.accjc.org/complaint-process. ACCJC is the agency that accredits the academic programs of the California Community Colleges.

If your complaint does not concern the California Community College’s compliance with academic program quality and accrediting standards, you may contact the California Community College Chancellor’s Office by completing the web form found at: http://cccco.edu/complaint-process-notice 


California Residents Enrolled in an Out-of-State Online Program

In the event a California resident enrolled in an online program at a public or private nonprofit college or university that is physically located in another state believes the institution’s administrative processes or educational programs are compromised, DCA should be notified.

A complaint may be filed by writing to DCA or calling DCA’s Consumer Information Center (CIC) at:

California Department of Consumer Affairs
Consumer Information Center
1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N-112
Sacramento, California 95834
Telephone: (833) 942-1120
Email: dca@dca.ca.gov

More information on the process can be found on the DCA website at dca.ca.gov/consumers/complaints/oos_students.shtml

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