Integrated Biomedical Science Graduate Program
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INTEGRATED BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE GRADUATE PROGRAM
PETITIONS AND GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES
Petitions
A student may petition for relaxation of or modification to any rules in the Interdisciplinary Biomedical Scientist Graduate Program (IBGP) handbook by first submitting a written petition to the IBGP Graduate Studies Committee (GSC). Such a petition should contain at least the signature of the student's Advisor, but a petition submitted with a letter of support from the advisor would be prefered.
Grievance Procedures
Occasionally, conflicts may arise between graduate students or between students and faculty or staff members. Sincere attempts should be made to resolve conflicts among the involved parties before any grievance policy is activated.
If a problem remains after exhausting the informal process between the involved parties, the person having the unresolved complaint may file a written grievance with the IBGP GSC. The IBGP GSC will act as the Graduate Student Grievance Committee (GSGC). The Chair of the IBGP GSC will chair the GSGC unless personally involved, in which case the Chair will be excluded from all deliberations on the matter and the GSC will select a Chair from among the remaining IBGP GSC members. Members of the IBGP GSC directly involved in the case will also be disqualified from sitting on the panel for that specific case. In such circumstances, the Chair will designate an alternate, when possible from the same area of expertise as the disqualified member. The Chair of the IBGP GSGC will set a hearing date no later than two weeks after the grievance statement is received. At least 72 working hours prior to the hearing, the chair of the GSGC will provide to all parties a written statement of the specific grievance, a notification of the time and place of the hearing and copies of documents relevant to the grievance hearing. Each party will appear in person to present his or her case. The Chair will preside over the hearing and determine all procedural matters. This is an administrative proceeding, and the formal rules of legal procedures do not apply. All parties will be entitled to an expeditious hearing. The final decision of the GSGC will be reported in writing to the parties involved not later than two weeks after the hearing. The report on this decision will also include a statement concerning the validity of the complaint. Throughout this process the GSGC will attempt to mediate a resolution. Cases not resolved at this level will be referred to the Graduate school, and formal grievance procedures shall be activated as defined by the Graduate Associate Grievance Procedures Guidelines (available from the Graduate School).