Nondiscrimination Statement & Grievance Policy

Non-Discriminatory Policy

Southeastern Free Will Baptist College admits students of any race, color, national or ethnic origin, and sex to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to the students at the College. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, and sex in administration of its education policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, or athletic and other school administered programs. Because of religious beliefs, Southeastern Free Will Baptist College reserves the right to maintain student educational and behavioral employment requirements consistent with its Christian mission and Christian philosophy of education.

Grievance Policy

Formal Complaint: Students have an opportunity to present their complaints and to appeal faculty or administrative decisions through a dispute resolution or grievance procedure. SFWBC will attempt to resolve promptly all grievances that are appropriate for handling under this policy.

Policies:

1. An appropriate grievance is defined as a student’s expressed feeling of dissatisfaction concerning any interpretation or application of a work/study-related policy by management, faculty, or other employees.
2. Students must notify SFWBC in a timely fashion of any grievance considered appropriate for handling under this policy. The grievance procedure is the exclusive remedy for students with appropriate grievances. As used in this policy, the terms timely fashion, reasonable time, and promptly mean seven days.
3. Students will not be penalized for proper use of the grievance procedure. However, it is not proper for a student to abuse the procedure by raising grievances in bad faith or solely for the purposes of delay or harassment; likewise, it is not acceptable for a student to repeatedly raise grievances that a reasonable person would judge to have no merit.

Procedure:

1. Promptly bring the grievance to the attention of a faculty member. If the grievance involves a faculty member, then it is permissible to proceed directly to Step 2. The faculty member is to investigate the grievance, attempt to resolve it, and give a decision to the student within a reasonable time. The faculty member should prepare a written and dated summary of the grievance and proposed resolution for file purposes.
2. The student may appeal the decision to the Academic Dean, if dissatisfied with the faculty decision, or initiate the procedure with the Academic Dean if the grievance involves a faculty member. If the grievance involves the Academic Dean, then it is permissible to proceed directly to Step 3. An appeal or initial complaint must be made in a timely fashion in writing. The faculty member’s version of the grievance and decision will then be submitted, also in writing. In a timely fashion, the Academic Dean will confer with the student, the faculty member, and any other members of management considered appropriate; having investigated the issues, the Academic Dean will then communicate a decision in writing to all parties involved.
3. The student may appeal an unsatisfactory Academic Dean decision to the President, or initiate the procedure with the President if the grievance involves the Academic Dean. The timeliness requirement and procedures to be followed are similar to those in Step 2. The President will take the necessary steps to review and investigate the grievance and will then issue a written, final, and binding decision.
4. Final decisions on grievances will not be precedent-setting or binding on future grievances unless they are officially stated as SFWBC policy. When appropriate, the decision will be retroactive to the date of the student’s original grievance.
5. Information concerning a student’s grievance is to be held in strict confidence. The office of the Academic Dean will collect, file, and report all student complaints. Faculty members, department heads and other members of management who investigate a grievance are to discuss it only with those individuals who have a need to know about it or who are needed to supply necessary back-ground information.

TRACS Student Complaint Process:

Students who feel that the administration or faculty are not dealing properly with their complaint may contact Transnational Association of Christian Colleges by mail at TRACS, P.O. Box 328, Forest, VA 24551; by phone at (434)525-9539; or by e-mail at president@tracs.org.

NC Post-Secondary Education Complaint Procedures:

If a complaint cannot be resolved through the complaint process of Southeastern Free Will Baptist College, students may file a complaint with the North Carolina Post-Secondary Education Complaints unit. Please review the NC Post-Secondary Education Student Complaint Policy, print and complete the NC Post-Secondary Education Complaint Form, and submit the complaint to:

North Carolina Post-Secondary Education Complaints c/o Student Complaints

University of North Carolina System Office

910 Raleigh Road

Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2688

Phone: (919) 962-4550

E-mail: studentcomplaint@northcarolina.edu Website: northcarolina.edu/complaints

Complaints Regarding Fraud or False Advertising:

To file a complaint with the Consumer Protection Division of the North Carolina Department of Justice, visit the State Attorney General’s webpage at ncdoj.gov/complaint or call one of the following numbers:

• (877) 566-7226 (North Carolina residents)
• (919) 716-6000 (outside North Carolina)
• (919) 716-0058 (en Espanol) 

If you choose to mail a complaint, use the following address:

Consumer Protection Division

Attorney General’s Office

Mail Service Center 9001

Raleigh, NC 27699-9001