Student Grievance and Appeals Policies and Procedures
UNCG provides several means which a student may address complaints and grievances. Students are advised to put their concerns in writing and carefully document the events that led to the complaint or grievance. As it is sometimes confusing as to which of the routes listed below should be followed, students are advised to contact the Dean of Students Office for advice on which procedure to follow. Concerns should be expressed as soon as possible after the event occurs; some of the procedures below have specific deadlines for filing grievances or complaints.
Please note: some items require the Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader, which can be downloaded from the Adobe website.
- The UNCG Community-An Introduction
- Appeals of Academic Integrity sanctions. See the “Appeals” section of the Academic Integrity policy
- Appeal of Academic Suspension or Dismissal
- Appeals of Student Conduct decision and actions: The procedure for appealing decisions or actions stemming from a conduct board hearing
- Appeal of decision for an Involuntary Medical Withdrawal
- Appeal of decisions made by the Graduate School – Graduate Bulletin
- Appeal of decisions regarding Satisfactory Academic Progress: Undergraduate or Graduate
- Appeal of state residency classification for tuition purposes
- Comments or Concerns about UNCG Dining Services
- Comments or Concerns about Financial Aid
- Complaint on student merchandising activities
- Complaint regarding a UNCG police officer
- Student’s Rights Under the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA)
- Complaint regarding FERPA
- Request for current or retroactive course withdrawals
- SAS 100 or SAS 200 suspension appeals
- Complaints regarding discrimination
- Academic Appeals for Continuing Students
- Final Grade Appeals – Undergraduate
- Final Grade Appeals – Graduate Bulletin
- Parking Citation Appeals
- Request a Review of Refund-Tuition, Fees, Room, or Board
- Office of Accessibility Resources and Services Grievance Procedures
Normal inquiries or concerns such as those involving admission requirements, educational
programs, etc. should be addressed directly to the appropriate office at the University of North Carolina Greensboro.
Informal Review Process
A student who believes that he/she has been treated with substantial unfairness should initially attempt to resolve the matter by the end of the academic semester (fall, spring, or summer) following the academic semester when the alleged incident occurred (e.g. if the incident occurred during spring semester, the initial attempt must be completed by the last day of the final summer term) by communicating in writing allegations to the administrative officer most directly concerned, excluding the person accused of the improper act. This officer is likely to be a Director, a Department Head, Dean or Vice Chancellor. In the case of an allegation against a faculty member, the Dean shall be the first avenue of appeal. The final step in the informal review for all students shall be the Vice Chancellor to whom the accused ultimately reports.
The officer should attempt immediately to discover the truth of the allegation and in the case of valid complaints, should seek resolution by discussion, counseling, mediation, or agreement of the parties, or by administrative action. The nature of the grievance and any information about it should be treated with the utmost confidentiality and with sensitivity to the issues involved.
At the end of efforts to resolve the grievance, the officer should record the complaint in a written statement identifying the grievant, the conduct complained of, the name of the accused person, the outcome of the information inquiry, and should maintain a copy in the office’s complaint files to be made available to other appropriate officials if needed.
For student complaints that do not fall into the categories above, follow the Grievance Procedure for Students. (PDF)
If you are taking any UNCG courses, and you have a complaint about your experience with UNCG, you have two options:
- You can follow the UNCG process for student complaints located above. You may also contact The Southern Association of Schools and Colleges Commission on Colleges, UNCG’s accrediting agency.
- If you are residing outside of North Carolina while attending UNCG, in many cases you can file a complaint in the state where you are residing. As required by federal regulations, we direct you to a list of resources compiled and updated by the State Higher Education Executive Officers.
State Portal Entity
UNCG’s Student Complaint and Grievance Process for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA)
NC-SARA provides a complete lists of relevant agencies with contact information for each NC-SARA state.
Contact information for NC SEAA c/o SARA-NC:
SARA North Carolina
North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority
PO Box 41349
Raleigh, NC 27629
Email: information@saranc.org
855.SAR.A1NC (727.2162)
919.549.8614, ext. 4667
saranc.org
Listing of the State Contacts for Student Complaints
North Carolina Post-Secondary Education Complaints
If a complaint cannot be resolved after exhausting the institution’s grievance procedure, the student may file a complaint with the following office:
North Carolina Post-Secondary Education Complaints
c/o Student Complaints
University of North Carolina System Office
223 S. West Street, Suite 1800
Raleigh NC 27603
The student may contact North Carolina Post-Secondary Education Complaints (NCP-SEC) for further details.
Review the NCP-SEC student complaint policy
Access the NCP-SEC student complaint form
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Commission on Colleges
1866 Southern Lane
Decatur, GA 30033-4097
Telephone: 404.679.4500
Website: www.sacscoc.org
If the complaint has not been resolved by North Carolina Post-Secondary Education Complaints, the student may contact UNCG’s accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACSCOC).