Student Grievance Procedure

Students are encouraged to voice concerns they have and should attempt, in the first instance, to resolve a concern by using a direct and informal approach. Concerns may be addressed with the support, involvement or intervention of university faculty and / or staff members. It is advisable to voice concerns as soon as possible and to seek informal resolution, if possible.

If, however, a student feels that a complaint has not been dealt with satisfactorily he/she should use the appropriate process to have the issue addressed and are encouraged to submit a Formal Complaint Form.

Step One:  Complete a Notice of Complaint form found on the Trine University myPortal – Student Page, under Miscellaneous Student Forms - Formal Complaint Form.  The student will need to provide the date of the incident and a thorough explanation of what happened. 

Step Two: The vice president for academic affairs (or designee) will review the complaint and forward the complaint to the appropriate University administrator who will be responsible for meeting with the concerned student and investigating the complaint. Action must be taken within 10 class days.

Step Three: After completing the investigation of the incident, the University administrator will render a decision in writing to all entities involved in the grievance process within 5 business days.  That decision is considered final.  A summary of the findings will be submitted to the office of the VPAA for archiving purposes.

Students who are not satisfied with the results of the complaint process can contact the following entities:

Indiana Commission for Higher Education
101 W. Ohio Street, Suite 300
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: 888.528.4719
Website:  https://www.in.gov/che/student-complaints/

Higher Learning Commission
230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500
Chicago, IL  60604
Phone: 800.621.7440
Website:  https://www.hlcommission.org/Student-Resources/complaints.html

NC-SARA
Trine University is a member of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). 
Website: https://nc-sara.org/student-complaints 

For students at the Arizona location: If the student complaint cannot be resolved after exhausting the Institution’s grievance procedure, the student may file a complaint with the Arizona State Board for Private Post-Secondary Education. The student must Contact the State Board for further details.

The State Board address is:
1740 W. Adams Street, #3008
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Phone: 602/542-5709
Website: www.azppse.gov