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Grievance Procedures
Student Grievance Procedures for Matters Pertaining to Academic Policies and/or Student Life
The Graduate School of Arts and Science is committed to providing a supportive and structured environment for the development of scholars, researchers, and teachers. It is expected that the rules, procedures, and policies of the Graduate School of Arts and Science will be honored by all in the community and that the responsibilities of students, faculty, and staff will be discharged with impartiality, reason, and consistency. The following procedures are designed to provide GSAS students with a mechanism of redress in those situations in which they feel that they have been subject to treatment which is in violation of GSAS or FAS rules and procedures, is caused by an unreasonable and/or unfair rule, procedure or policy or implementation of same, or otherwise unfairly or inappropriately undermines their capacity to meet the requirements of graduate education. If this matter involved harassment based on membership in a legally protected group such as gender or race, students should follow the guidelines in 15.4.
Coverage
These procedures are available to any student, registered in Graduate School of Arts and Science courses or otherwise formally involved in GSAS programs, to resolve any grievances involving an alleged action or condition directly affecting that student caused by any faculty or staff associated with GSAS or FAS while acting in an official capacity or that results from any rule, procedure, or policy of GSAS or FAS. If the student’s grievance is against a faculty or staff member whose primary affiliation is with another school, the student should consult that school’s procedures and submit copies of the written grievance to the GSAS Vice Dean and the comparable office in that school. If the grievance is against an action or condition that occurred in the context of a graduate assistantship covered by the contract with the Graduate Assistant’s Union, the grievant has the option of utilizing the grievance procedures stipulated by that contract.
Resolution
At the request of the grievant, the Associate Dean of Academic and Student Life (or, if a faculty member is involved in the grievance, the Vice Dean) shall assist in the development of an informal resolution of the grievance. The Associate Dean would arrange meetings as appropriate, attend such meeting(s), and attempt to aid in the resolution of the grievance.
In those cases in which the student wishes to file a grievance against an action by a member of the GSAS/FAS faculty or staff, she or he is encouraged to contact first, in a timely way, the person responsible for the matter being grieved (the respondent) and attempt to resolve the matter informally.
If the event or condition to be grieved occurred within a departmental context, the student must raise the issue with the appropriate authority in the department or graduate program. Departments may have their own grievance procedures and the Director of Graduate Studies in the department should be able to clarify any such procedures. Assignment of course grades by faculty cannot be grieved except on the basis of inequitable or prejudicial practices or administrative or clerical errors.
If the grievance is not resolved to the student’s satisfaction at the departmental level (assuming it occurred in that context) or through the informal means undertaken by the Associate Dean's office, the student may bring the grievance to the office of the Vice Dean. The student may request an informal meeting with the Vice Dean or may submit a formal written grievance to the Vice Dean. In the former case, the Vice Dean may look into the matter and offer the student an assessment of the grievance. If, either with or without an informal review, the student elects to submit a formal grievance, the student must submit a written grievance to the Vice Dean as promptly as possible. The grievant shall state the grounds for the grievance, specifying departmental, GSAS, or FAS policy, rules, or procedures in question, describe the facts and evidence supporting the grievance, indicate what redress the grievant seeks, and provide a brief history of the attempts to resolve the grievance.
Students may request a restriction of the investigation or attempted resolution of a grievance based on concerns about privacy or conflict of interest.
Upon receipt of a formal grievance, the Vice Dean will promptly schedule a meeting with the grievant in which the grievant may be accompanied by one other person who may advise the grievant but cannot directly participate in the meeting. The Vice Dean and the student may request the presence of the Associate Dean for Academic and Student Life at the meeting and may request that the meeting be recorded. The Vice Dean may contact such other persons as the Vice Dean shall deem appropriate for the purpose of ascertaining the facts and evidence in the case. The Vice Dean shall render a written decision on the grievance to the grievant, the respondent, and, if the matter had previously been addressed to the department, to the department.
If the grievant is not satisfied that the procedures were properly and fairly executed by the Vice Dean, the grievant may appeal the Vice Dean’s determination to the Dean of the Graduate School The Dean will not reevaluate the evidentiary record but will address only questions of whether the process resulting in the Vice Dean’s finding was fair and impartial and followed the rules and policies of the Graduate School.
Students wishing to appeal the Dean’s decision should consult the university-wide “Student Grievance Procedure” available from the Office of Student Life, the NYU Student Handbook, or at http://www.nyu.edu/students.guide.
Harassment Based on a Legally Protected Status
Harassment based upon race, gender, color, religion, age national origin, ethnicity, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, marital statues, citizenship status, or any other legally protected basis is prohibited by law and university policy. Grievances against should be filed promptly and reduced to writing when possible. For the university Anti Harassment policy visit http://www.nyu.edu/eo/.
Grievances against GSAS students or faculty. The grievant has the option of filing the grievance with the Associate Dean of Academic and Student Life or the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs at 212-998-4403. If the grievance is filed with the Associate Dean, the Associate Dean will oversee an investigation of the grievance and will transmit the findings to the Dean for resolution. Students wishing to appeal the Dean’s decision should consult the university-wide “Student Grievance Procedure” available from the Office of Student Life, or in the NYU Student Handbook.
If the grievance is originally filed with the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, that office will oversee the investigation.
Grievances against students in other schools within NYU: File the grievance with the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs at 212-998-4403.
Grievances against employees (including student employees). File the grievance with the Human Resource Representative of GSAS, the Human Resource Representative of the applicable school or unit, or the Office of Employee Relations in the Division of Human Resources at 212-998-1242.
Grievances against faculty from other schools. File the grievance with the appropriate dean or dean’s designee of the school in which the faculty member is appointed.
Grievances against others: File the grievance with Sharon Weinberg, Director of Equal Opportunity, at 212-998-2370.
Harassment grievances will be investigated in the manner deemed necessary and parties to the grievance will be informed of the status of the investigation as deemed appropriate. The confidentiality of the grievance will be maintained to the extent consistent with the goal of conducting an investigation. Effort will be made to safeguard the privacy and rights of persons involved and to protect against retaliation.
Students wishing to appeal a Dean’s decision should contact the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs at 212-998-4403 or consult the university-wide “Student Grievance Procedure” available from the Office of Student Life, or in the NYU Student Handbook.
Record-keeping
The Office of the Dean of GSAS shall retain a confidential copy of any grievance submitted to the Office of the Vice Dean or to the Dean of the Graduate School, any amended grievance and any decision of the Vice Dean and/or Dean for five full calendar years following the year in which the grievance is resolved.
Policy on Sexual Harassment
New York University is committed to maintaining a learning and working environment for all students, faculty, and staff that is fair, humane, and conducive to maximum realization of each person's potential; an environment that supports, nurtures, and rewards career and educational advancement on the basis of ability and performance. Sexual harassment undermines the character and purpose of the University and will not be tolerated.
Sexual harassment is any unwelcome sexual advances or other verbal or physical conduct that has sexual implications. Based on guidelines issued by the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, NYU applies the following broad criteria to help determine whether an action constitutes unlawful sexual harassment:
Such conduct is either an explicit or implicit basis for decisions related to employment, conditions of employment, or participation in academic programs or University-sponsored activities; the conduct has the purpose or effect of interfering with an individual's performance on the job or in the classroom by creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or educational environment. The Sexual Harassment Committee can be contacted in Room 920, Main Building, 998-8155.
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