American Islamic College values feedbacks from students and believes students should be able to freely express concerns and report problems without the fear of retaliation and duress. AIC accepts both written and oral form of complaints/feedbacks. If there is a general complaint related to Student Affairs, please contact the Student Services Coordinator, Bill Chambers. A General Complaint Form can be downloaded here at www.aicusa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/General-Student-Complaint-Form.pdf

1. The Student Services Coordinator will investigate the complaint and try to resolve the complaint within 14 business days of the filing of the written/oral complaint. If the resolution is not possible, Then the Student Services Coordinator will refer the matter to the VPAA. The VPAA will investigate and if deemed necessary, attempt to resolve the complaint within 30 business days of the date of referral by the Student Services Coordinator.
2. The findings will be communicated to the student within 3 business days after the conclusion of the investigation.

To report a claim to IBHE, visit complaints.ibhe.org

The Grievance Procedure is available to students after a determination has been made regarding an alleged violation of student rights or academic decisions. Students may file formally should an informal means of resolution fail. However, if there is any unlawful discrimination and/or sexual misconduct, then the student should report the allegation to the Title IX Coordinator rather than use the grievance procedure described below.

The student must file a Grievance Form with the Student Services Coordinator; this includes cases involving student employees. The grievant will be asked to make a formal statement outlining the specifics of his or her grievance. The deadline to file the Grievance is within sixty (60) days from the time the decision or action being grieved.

The Grievance Procedures may be used freely without fear of retaliation.

There are three grounds for which the Grievance Procedure can be applied when related to student rights:

• the complainant or the respondent believes that the discipline/sanction imposed was inappropriate for the violation for which he or she was found responsible;
• an error occurred during the investigative stage preventing either the complainant or the respondent a reasonable opportunity to prepare and present information to the investigator(s); or
• there has been a discovery of new information that was not available at the time of the investigative process and could have affected the adjudication of the matter.

The formal written statement should include:

• a clear description of the decision/action being grieved
• an explanation of why the decision is being challenged
• the name of the party or parties involved in making the decision/action
• the requested resolutions
• a description of any informal resolutions attempted
• the Grievance Form with a date and signature

The Grievance Form must be submitted to the Student Services Coordinator who will send it to the Grievance Officer. A formal Hearing will be scheduled within thirty (30) days of the request.

The Grievant has the right to an advisor or attorney, and may also present witnesses. The Hearing Panel may present witnesses, as well. The Grievant must inform, in writing, that an advisor/attorney and/or witnesses will be present, within five (5) days of the Hearing. The Hearing Panel must do the same.

The Grievant can pose questions to the Hearing Panel, which the Panel will direct to the Respondent or to the witnesses. The hearing will be a closed meeting, including only those persons whom the hearing panel deems necessary to address the grounds for the grievance. Witnesses will be present only when their testimony is being taken.

The Hearing Panel will make a recommendation after final review of the case, which will be presented within five (5) days after the Hearing. The Grievance Officer will either grant or deny the resolution presented and will inform the Grievant of the final decision within five (5) days of receipt of the recommendation.

If the Grievant is still unsatisfied, then the Grievant may report his/her grievance to the Vice President of Academic Affairs for grievances related to academic affairs and to the Vice President of Finance and Administration for grievances related to student affairs and student employment.