In accordance with U.S. Department of Education and American Council on Pharmaceutical Education (ACPE) policies, the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SSPPS) has implemented the following policy and procedure for handling student complaints on issues related to curriculum, faculty, student affairs and other issues over which the School has jurisdiction and which are related to ACPE accreditation standards.
Students wishing to file a complaint should file it in writing with the Office of Student Affairs. The Office of Student Affairs will provide a written acknowledgement that the complaint has been received. The student will be invited to discuss the complaint with the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, who will act in a fact-finding capacity.
Complaints will be handled as follows depending on their nature:
- Harassment or discrimination: Referred to the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination for resolution according to its established procedures.
- Other complaints: May be investigated by the Associate Dean for Student Affairs or designee, and/or referred to an appropriate official or committee, which may include:
- The Dean of the SSPPS
- The Committee on Privilege and Tenure (if a ladder rank faculty member is accused of misconduct)
- The Residency Program Director (if a pharmacy resident is accused of misconduct)
If informal discussions do not resolve the complaint, it will be submitted to the Academic Oversight Committee (AOC) for review. The Associate Dean for Student Affairs will present the results of the fact-finding investigation. The student will be offered the opportunity to submit a written statement to the AOC and may be invited to attend to answer questions. Following the meeting, the AOC will make a written recommendation to the Dean or to the Faculty. A written response to the complaint will be provided to the student.
Complaints filed under this policy shall be held in confidence to protect the student, to the extent permitted by law, regulation, and policy, though confidentiality is not guaranteed. A record of investigatory proceedings and resulting actions shall be held in a sealed file in the Office of Student Affairs. The School's policy is to protect students who come forth under this policy and to prevent retaliation for complaints brought forward in good faith.
All written complaints, investigations, meeting minutes, reports and correspondence will be maintained in a confidential file and made available to the ACPE site-visit team in accordance with ACPE Accreditation Standards.
Students also have the right to file a formal complaint directly to ACPE at any time: https://www.acpe-accredit.org/complaints/
Approved August 24, 2018