{"id":2825,"date":"2023-09-13T20:47:26","date_gmt":"2023-09-13T20:47:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nau.edu\/student-affairs\/?page_id=2825"},"modified":"2026-09-28T23:06:44","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T23:06:44","slug":"complaint-resolution-process","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/student-affairs\/complaint-resolution-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Complaint Process"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"nau-block nau-block-left-nav-top-bound\">\n    \t<button id=\"left-nav-toggle-btn\" onclick=\"toggleNav();\">\n\t\tON THIS PAGE \n\t\t<i id=\"chevron-icon\" class=\"fas fa-solid fa-chevron-down\"><\/i>\n\t<\/button>\n\t<div id=\"left-nav-menu-track\">\n\t\t<div id=\"left-nav-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"rfi-above-anchor-tags\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"ri-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/nau.edu\/admissions\/request-information\/\" id=\"request-info\" class=\"btn bg-true-blue left-nav-menu-bottom-button display-mobile\">Request info&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/a>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div id=\"left-nav-menu\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"menu-section menu-section-links\"><h6 class=\"hidden-mobile left-nav-list-header\">ON THIS PAGE<\/h6><ul class=\"left-nav-menu-list left-nav-automatic on-this-page\"><\/ul><div class=\"ri-container\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nau.edu\/admissions\/request-information\/\" id=\"request-info\" class=\"btn bg-true-blue left-nav-menu-bottom-button display-mobile\">Request info&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/a><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"menu-section backcolor\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHOW CAN WE HELP?\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"responsive-icons\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"link-button\" onclick=\"embedLouieChatbot();\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 20px;\" src=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/themes\/nau-marketing-2021\/img\/icon-chat.svg\" alt=\"Live chat:\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChat\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"tel:928-523-5511\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/themes\/nau-marketing-2021\/img\/icon-phone.svg\" alt=\"Telephone:\"> 928-523-5511<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"mailto:student.affairs@nau.edu\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/themes\/nau-marketing-2021\/img\/icon-email.svg\" alt=\"Email:\"><span class=\"left-nav-email\"> student.affairs&#8203;@nau.edu <\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<section class=\"nau-block left-nav-section\"><header class=\"entry-header\"><div class=\"breadcrumb\"><ol class=\"breadcrumbs\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\">IN<\/a><span class=\"breadcrumb-chevron\" aria-hidden=\"true\">&gt;<\/span><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/student-affairs\">Student Affairs<\/a><span class=\"breadcrumb-chevron\" aria-hidden=\"true\">&gt;<\/span><\/li><li class=\"current\">Pages<\/li><\/ol><\/div><h1 class=\"entry-title text-left \">Complaint Process<\/h1><hr class=\"h1-hr  text-left \" role=\"none\"><\/header><!-- .entry-header --><\/section><!-- <section class=\"nau-block left-nav-section grid-md-12\">\n    <header class=\"entry-header\">\n        <h1 class=\"entry-title text-left \" tabindex=\"0\" id=\"h1-first\">Dummy H1<\/h1>\n        <hr class=\"h1-hr  text-left \" role=\"none\">\n    <\/header>\n<\/section> -->\n\n<section class=\"nau-block left-nav-section grid-md-12\">\n    <div class=\"page-content\">\n        <div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">NAU Student complaint process<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fairness and respect for all students is a top priority at Northern Arizona University. Find all the policies that affect students in the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/legacy.nau.edu\/university-policy-library\/student-affairs\/\">Student Affairs Policy Manual<\/a>&nbsp;located in the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/legacy.nau.edu\/university-policies\/\">University Policy Library<\/a>. For academic policies, refer to the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/legacy.nau.edu\/catalog\/\">Academic Catalog<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Please delve into NAU\u2019s comprehensive student complaint policies and procedures below to ensure your concerns are addressed promptly and fairly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section  \n    class=\"nau-block nau-block-panels   \" \n    data-layout_mobile=\"groupLayout-Stack gutter_Default panelLayoutPhotoTextVertical  photoAspect-1-1\"\n        data-layout_tablet=\"groupLayout-Stack gutter_Default panelLayoutPhotoTextVertical  photoAspect-1-1\"\n        data-layout_desktop=\"groupLayout-Grid gutter_Default panelLayoutPhotoTextVertical  photoAspect-1-1\"\n        data-layout_xl=\"groupLayout-Grid gutter_Default panelLayoutPhotoTextVertical  photoAspect-1-1\">\n\n    <div class=\"background-wrapper\">\n        <div class=\"block-main-content\">\n            \n            \n            \n            \n            \n            <div class=\"panel-wrapper\">\n                \n                                \n                        <div class=\"panel bg-twilight-xxx-light  panelTypeText  noHover \"\n                            data-role=\"tabpanel\"\n                            data-panel=\"panel--0\"\n                            id=\"panel--0\">\n\n                            \n                                                                    <div class=\"content\">\n                                            <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n                                                                                                <h3 class=\"h3-tab-index\">Informal complaint process<\/h3>\n                                                \n                                                                                                    <div class=\"text\">\n                                                        <p>When a student encounters a problem on campus or feels they have been treated unfairly, they should first try to resolve the issue informally with the faculty\/staff member or department directly involved. Many issues can be resolved if a student makes an appointment with a faculty or staff member and calmly and honestly communicates their concerns.<\/p>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                \n                                                                                            <\/div>\n                                        <\/div>\n\n                                    \n                                \n                                                        <\/div>\n                    \n                        <div class=\"panel bg-twilight  panelTypeText  noHover \"\n                            data-role=\"tabpanel\"\n                            data-panel=\"panel--1\"\n                            id=\"panel--1\">\n\n                            \n                                                                    <div class=\"content\">\n                                            <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n                                                                                                <h3 class=\"h3-tab-index\">Formal complaint process<\/h3>\n                                                \n                                                                                                    <div class=\"text\">\n                                                        <p>Unsatisfied students can file a formal complaint through our online process if their informal resolution attempts fail. When submitted through the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/cm.maxient.com\/reportingform.php?NorthernAZUniv&amp;layout_id=61\">online form<\/a><\/strong>, complaints are automatically linked to the student&#8217;s User-ID for clear attribution.<\/p>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                \n                                                                                            <\/div>\n                                        <\/div>\n\n                                    \n                                \n                                                        <\/div>\n                                                <\/div>\n\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When to submit a formal complaint<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Formal Complaints should be used to report concerns involving an NAU Department or NAU Faculty\/Staff member when a student has been unable to resolve the issue informally with the faculty\/staff member or department directly involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-af6bdb36 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/cm.maxient.com\/reportingform.php?NorthernAZUniv&amp;layout_id=61\">File a formal complaint<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Complaint process exceptions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\t\t<script src=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/nau-marketing-2021\/js\/accordion.js\"><\/script>\n\n\t\t<div class=\"accordion accordion-flush my-5\">\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"accordion-item\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"accordion-header\" id=\"collapse-View-Complaint-Process-Exceptions1-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"accordion-button collapsed\" type=\"button\" data-bs-toggle=\"collapse\" data-bs-target=\"#collapse-View-Complaint-Process-Exceptions1\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-View-Complaint-Process-Exceptions1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tView Complaint Process Exceptions\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"collapse-View-Complaint-Process-Exceptions1\" class=\"accordion-collapse collapse \" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"collapse-View-Complaint-Process-Exceptions1-header\" style=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"accordion-body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The following areas of concern have their own distinct policies and complaint procedures and are not managed by Student Affairs:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Grade Appeal (See: <a href=\"https:\/\/www9.nau.edu\/policies\/Client\/Details\/1662?whoIsLooking=Students&amp;pertainsTo=All\">Grade Appeal Policy<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Undergraduate Academic Petitions (See: <a href=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/registrar\/term-withdrawal-reimbursement-petition\/\">Withdrawal and Reimbursement Forms<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Threatening Behavior (See: <a href=\"https:\/\/nau.edu\/about\/safety\/threat-assessment-management-team\/\">Threat Assessment and Management Team<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Nondiscrimination and anti-harassment (See: <a href=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/office-civil-rights-compliance\/\">Complaints for Discrimination or Harassment<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Sex discrimination, sexual assault, and relationship violence (See: <a href=\"https:\/\/nau.guardianconduct.com\/authenticated\">Sexual Misconduct Report<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Graduate College grievance policy (See: <a href=\"https:\/\/www9.nau.edu\/policies\/Client\/Details\/1353\">Academic Appeal Policy and University Graduate Committee Hearing Panel (UGCHP), Graduate<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Student Code of Conduct violations (See: <a href=\"https:\/\/cm.maxient.com\/reportingform.php?NorthernAZUniv&amp;layout_id=0\">Student Code of Conduct Report<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Academic Integrity (See: <a href=\"https:\/\/www9.nau.edu\/policies\/Client\/Details\/307\">Academic Integrity Policy<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Please follow the appropriate reporting procedures as outlined in the relevant link(s) above<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where are formal complaints routed?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Formal complaints submitted to Student Affairs are routed to the appropriate university administrator(s) based on the nature of the complaint. Complaints that are academic in nature will be routed to the Chair\/Director of a School, an academic Dean, or an administrator(s) within the Office of the Provost. Nonacademic complaints will be routed to the appropriate administrator(s) within the listed department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"Complaint-review-and-resolution-process\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Formal complaint review and resolution process<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once a formal complaint is received by the Division of Student Affairs, an attempt will be made to resolve the issue in a timely manner by working with the student and the appropriate university employees and offices to ensure a fair process. It is important to note that a student might not be satisfied with a complaint that is deemed &#8220;resolved.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If a student is unsatisfied with all attempts to resolve the complaint, they can contact the Vice President for Student Affairs, who will help identify other resources available. This includes appeals that may be available from agencies external to the university, including the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.azregents.edu\/\">Arizona Board of Regents<\/a>&nbsp;or the university\u2019s accrediting body, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncahlc.org\/HLC-Institutions\/complaints.html\">Higher Learning Commission (HLC)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section  \n    class=\"nau-block nau-block-panels   \" \n    data-layout_mobile=\"groupLayout-Stack gutter_Default panelLayoutPhotoTextVertical  photoAspect-1-1\"\n        data-layout_tablet=\"groupLayout-Stack gutter_Default panelLayoutPhotoTextVertical  photoAspect-1-1\"\n        data-layout_desktop=\"groupLayout-Stack gutter_Default panelLayoutPhotoTextVertical  photoAspect-1-1\"\n        data-layout_xl=\"groupLayout-Stack gutter_Default panelLayoutPhotoTextVertical  photoAspect-1-1\">\n\n    <div class=\"background-wrapper\">\n        <div class=\"block-main-content\">\n            \n            \n            \n            \n            \n            <div class=\"panel-wrapper\">\n                \n                                \n                        <div class=\"panel bg-monsoon  panelTypeText  noHover \"\n                            data-role=\"tabpanel\"\n                            data-panel=\"panel--0\"\n                            id=\"panel--0\">\n\n                            \n                                                                    <div class=\"content\">\n                                            <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n                                                                                                <h3 class=\"h3-tab-index\">Complaints and Institutional Improvements<\/h3>\n                                                \n                                                                                                    <div class=\"text\">\n                                                        <p style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Division of Student Affairs tracks all student complaints, noting details such as date, student ID, complaint description, actions taken, and resolution.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Annually, the Vice President for Student Affairs will review the complaint data, compile an Annual Institutional Summary of Student Complaints that identifies trends and recommended policy changes, and share with the appropriate university offices for action.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Regulatory agencies and accrediting bodies, like the Higher Learning Commission, will have access to this tracked information as mandated by laws and policies.<\/p>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                \n                                                                                            <\/div>\n                                        <\/div>\n\n                                    \n                                \n                                                        <\/div>\n                                                <\/div>\n\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n<section id=\"Complaint-definitions\" \n    class=\"nau-block nau-block-panels   \" \n    data-layout_mobile=\"groupLayout-Stack gutter_Default panelLayoutPhotoTextVertical  photoAspect-1-1\"\n        data-layout_tablet=\"groupLayout-Stack gutter_Default panelLayoutPhotoTextVertical  photoAspect-1-1\"\n        data-layout_desktop=\"groupLayout-Grid gutter_Default panelLayoutPhotoTextVertical  photoAspect-16-9\"\n        data-layout_xl=\"groupLayout-Grid gutter_Default panelLayoutPhotoTextVertical  photoAspect-16-9\">\n\n    <div class=\"background-wrapper\">\n        <div class=\"block-main-content\">\n                            <h2 class=\"h2 headlineAlignLeft\">\n                    Complaint definitions                <\/h2>\n            \n            \n            \n            \n            \n            <div class=\"panel-wrapper\">\n                \n                                \n                        <div class=\"panel bg-true-blue  panelTypeText  noHover \"\n                            data-role=\"tabpanel\"\n                            data-panel=\"panel-Complaint-definitions-0\"\n                            id=\"panel-Complaint-definitions-0\">\n\n                            \n                                                                    <div class=\"content\">\n                                            <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n                                                                                                <h3 class=\"h3-tab-index\">Student:<\/h3>\n                                                \n                                                                                                    <div class=\"text\">\n                                                        <p>An individual who is currently enrolled full-time or part-time or was enrolled at the institution within the previous 12 months (when the underlying facts and circumstances of the complaint first occurred) and who has not been suspended or dismissed. Parents, relatives, employers, agents, and others acting for or on behalf of a student are not students for the purposes of this procedure.<\/p>\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                                \n                                                                                            <\/div>\n                                        <\/div>\n\n                                    \n                                \n                                                        <\/div>\n                                                <\/div>\n\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<section         class=\"nau-article-block-simple-color-text-photo bg-sunset  hasLink\">\n    \n\n    \n        <hr role=\"none\" class=\"hr-clearspace-20 d-none-md\">\n\n        <h3>Additional resources<\/h3>                <p>Students may also use the NAU Police Department\u2019s Anonymous Report to alert police about ongoing criminal activity.<\/p>\n\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/legacy.nau.edu\/Police\/Safety\/Anonymous-Report\/\" target=\"\" class=\"link link_padding\">Submit an anonymous report<\/a>\n        \n\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<div class=\"nau-block nau-block-left-nav-bottom-bound\">\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":679,"featured_media":5884,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ring_central_script_selection":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2825","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/679"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2825"}],"version-history":[{"count":100,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10396,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2825\/revisions\/10396"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}