SMU Student Complaints

SMU Student Complaints Process

SMU values its students and strives to provide a supportive environment for students and is committed to addressing student complaints, when they arise, in a fair, consistent, and timely manner. The SMU Student Complaints Process establishes a clear and transparent process that students may use to report and resolve complaints that they have made a good faith effort to resolve with their instructor, department, college, school, or business unit of the university and that are not otherwise addressed by SMU policies.  The student complaints process is not intended to supersede appeals processes addressed in the SMU Catalog, in the SMU Community Standards, or in the SMU Student Code of Conduct, which guarantee students due process in disciplinary proceedings.

Complaints

A complaint is a formal, documented expression of disagreement or dissatisfaction with the performance, actions, or decision of a university employee (i.e., faculty and staff), department, or university office, or a formal expression of disagreement with a university, college/school or department-level rule, process, or procedure which a student believes to be unfair, inconsistent with university policy or the institutional mission, or an impediment to student success.
Complaints, to be formal, must be filed through the SMU Complaint system.  Any complaint not filed in this way will not be considered a formal complaint by the university. 

Informal Resolution

  1. Before filing a formal complaint, the student should attempt to resolve the issue with whichever university employee, academic department or unit, or business unit of the university with which the issue arose.
  2. If an appropriate resolution cannot be reached through the informal resolution process, the student may then file a formal complaint through the SMU Complaints and Appeals system.
  3. Complaints about bias incidents should be filed through the SMU BERT process: https://www.smu.edu/studentaffairs/get-help/bert
  4. Complaints regarding sexual harassment, assault, dating violence, or stalking should be submitted through the SMU Office of Equal Opportunity: https://www.smu.edu/oeo

Formal Resolution of Complaints

  1. Only SMU students may file complaints through the complaints system.
  2. Only complaints filed through the formal SMU Complaints system will be considered formal complaints.
  3. Anonymous complaints are not considered formal complaints, even when filed through the system.
  4. In reviewing a complaint, the system will automatically route a complaint through all possible levels of review, until resolution is reached. As a result, the decision rendered through this process is final and no additional appeal of a decision rendered through the formal complaints and appeals process is possible.
  5. SMU will do its best to notify the student of the result of the complaint in writing within 120 days of the submission of the original complaint or appeal.

 

File a Complaint