The University of North Alabama is committed to making a positive impact on its community locally, regionally, and globally. However, it is expected that there may be occasions upon which members of the public feel it necessary to make the University aware of a complaint about a matter related to the University. Members of the public who make a complaint should be assured that the University will earnestly and promptly seek resolution of complaints.

Informal complaints should first be made with the University office or department that is most relevant to the complaint. Any office or department receiving a complaint should seek resolution of the complaint in a timely manner. If, after seeking remedy on an informal basis, the complaining party feels the complaint has not been satisfactorily addressed, they may make a formal complaint through the Office of the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost (http://www.una.edu/academics) using the following guidelines:

A written or electronic complaint should be prepared providing:

1. the nature of the complaint,
2. all relevant background information,
3. the informal attempts the complaining party has made and to whom they were made,
4. why the outcome of the informal complaint process was considered unsatisfactory,
5. the desired outcome of the formal complaint, if any.

Upon receipt of a formal complaint, the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost will

1. respond directly when possible,
2. forward the matter to the proper university office for a response, or
3. initiate an investigation as outlined in the following paragraph.

If the complaint can be resolved with a direct response from the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost or by another administrative office, the complaining party will receive a written response within 10 days of the University’s receipt of the written complaint. If the University feels an investigation is warranted, the complaining party will be informed of the initiation of an investigation and of the date they should receive a report of its outcome. The investigation should be carried out by the senior administrator of the office/department from which the complaint arose and should conclude within 30 days of the formal complaint. It is the responsibility of the office/department investigating the complaint to report the final resolution to the Office of the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost once the review process has been completed.

Following the investigation process outlined above, the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost will provide a written response to the complaining party that will address the appropriate action(s) taken by the University. Once this response has been sent to the complaining party, the matter will be considered closed.

A complaining party may withdraw their complaint at any time during the above outlined process by contacting the Office of the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost in writing or electronically.

Approved by the Executive Council via electronic business - August 18, 2011

Approved by the SGEC August 29, 2011

For students receiving VA education benefits, any complaint against the school should be routed through the VA GI Bill Feedback System by going to the following link: http://www.benefits.va.gov/GIBILL/Feedback.asp.  The VA will then follow up through the appropriate channels to investigate the complaint and resolve it satisfactorily.

GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government Web site at https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.