Grievance Procedures for Complaints of Discrimination

A written, formal complaint may be submitted by students, faculty or staff members, other NSU employees, or third parties (i.e., an individual who is not a student, faculty member, or employee of NSU). A formal complaint must be written* and must provide detailed allegations of the alleged discrimination.  

The appropriate individual designated above will be responsible for overseeing the University’s response to the complaint, which includes a thorough and fair investigation and unbiased decision-making process.  

Any complaint relating to harassment or discrimination made against faculty or staff members may be referred to the NSU Office of Human Resources (OHR) where appropriate, at the discretion of the Dean of Students. Any complaints referred to the NSU Office of Human Resources will be investigated and processed to conclusion, in accordance with the policies contained in the Faculty Policy Manual or Employee Policy Manual and the grievance procedures contained therein. If a complainant is both a student and an employee, the appropriate university official will consider the context in which the alleged discrimination occurred.  

* NSU also will accept oral complaints from individuals with disabilities, if, due to their disability, they are unable to file a written complaint. The University will memorialize the individual’s complaint in writing and the individual will certify that the written complaint is an accurate representation of their complaint. 

Upon receipt of a formal complaint, an initial review will be conducted by the appropriate University official to evaluate the jurisdiction and nature of the complaint. This generally involves:  

• The University official will contact the complainant (or affected party, if the complainant is not the person who experienced the alleged discrimination) to review the complaint procedures and seek any clarification about the complaint. 

• If appropriate, supportive measures may be offered while the complaint is under review. 

Some complaints may not actually fall within the definition of discrimination set forth by university policy or otherwise may be more appropriately handled by other offices. These reports will be dismissed or referred to other offices as appropriate, at the discretion of the University official overseeing the investigation. 

The University will provide notice of the allegations to the parties with sufficient time to review and respond to them.  

The University may attempt to resolve matters through mediation or other alternative resolution, when appropriate. Mediation will not be used for reports of extreme forms of discrimination or harassment, or where prohibited by law. In mediation, the investigator—or an assigned individual—typically meets with the reporting party and the respondent—separately and/or together—to seek an acceptable resolution. Any informal resolution may be made only with the agreement of all affected parties. 

If alternative resolution is unsuccessful, the matter will proceed to investigation. 

Grievance investigations are objective, fact-finding inquiries. The purpose of the investigation is to gather facts relating to the allegations made by the complainant and to enable the University decision-maker to decide whether NSU policy has been violated. During the investigation, the parties will have the opportunity to present relevant information to support or refute the allegations, and to respond to the information collected. The burden is on NSU and not on the parties to investigate the allegations.  

• The University official overseeing the complaint will appoint an investigator who will contact the complainant/affected party within five (5) business days to coordinate a meeting to document the allegations, based on the written complaint and any other information gathered.  
• The investigation will include interviews with the complainant, respondent, and any other witnesses deemed to potentially have relevant information. Both complainant and respondent may identify witnesses who can provide information relevant to the allegations, but the investigator determines which witnesses will be interviewed. Complainant and respondent are always permitted to present written statements from witnesses for the investigator’s consideration during the investigation process. 
• The investigation may include written statements, interviews, document requests, and any other sources the investigator deems appropriate. The complainant and respondent are permitted to provide the investigator with evidence. 
• Investigations may be expanded to address additional allegations that surface during the investigation, at the investigator’s discretion. If appropriate, the parties will be provided with written notice of any such additional allegations related to them and will be given the opportunity to respond to the additional allegations. 
• The investigator typically will complete the investigation within 90 calendar days of the date the report was filed. Should additional time be required to complete the investigation, the investigator will provide written notification to the parties detailing the reason(s) additional time is necessary. 

Parties and witnesses are expected to speak for themselves during the investigation; attorneys are not permitted to be present during university interviews or meetings in the course of an investigation or resolution of a report, unless the allegations involve a crime under the Violence Against Women Act.

At the conclusion of the investigation, the investigator(s) will prepare a written report. The report typically will summarize the allegations investigated, and describe the relevant information discovered and factual findings made, including whether any allegations were substantiated, and the basis for such findings, which may include credibility as determined in the investigator’s judgment. The report will not make any findings as to whether there has been a violation of law or university policy. The investigator will indicate any facts or allegations in dispute and present their conclusions (if any) about such facts or allegations, including the basis for such conclusions (e.g., whether an allegation was corroborated by witnesses, or whether the investigator found one version of events more credible than another). Both parties (complainants and respondents) are permitted to review and inspect the investigation report upon request.  

The investigator will provide the investigation report, the written complaint, the response, and any other information deemed necessary to the University official overseeing the complaint. The University official overseeing the complaint will then designate a decision-maker and provide them with the above information. After receiving and reviewing the information, the University decision-maker will make a determination of whether a policy violation occurred. (See Section G for a description of the possible determinations. 

The University decision-maker will make a determination whether there has been a violation or no violation regarding each allegation, based on a preponderance of the evidence. If there is a violation found, the University decision-maker, in consultation with other appropriate officials, will also make a determination of any sanctions, remedies, and/or corrective action to be taken. If the respondent has prior relevant misconduct, that will be taken into consideration prior to determining corrective action and/or sanctions. Information specific to the respondent’s prior conduct will not be shared with the complainant.  

After a final determination is made, the University official overseeing the complaint, or designee, will provide simultaneous written notification of the outcomes to the complainant and respondent informing them of the findings and rationale. If there are any concerns for safety, the University official overseeing the complaint, or designee, make take appropriate measures to provide the notice of outcomes in a way that protects the safety of those involved.

A party (complainant or respondent) may appeal a determination of responsibility and/or the dismissal of all or part of a complaint of harassment or discrimination in writing based on any of the following: 

• Procedural irregularity that affected the outcome, 
• New evidence that was not reasonably available at the time the decision was made that could affect the outcome, or
• The investigator(s) or decision-maker(s) had a conflict of interest or bias for or against complainants or respondents generally or the individual complainant or respondent that affected the outcome. 

Appeals must be submitted in writing within five (5) calendar days of the issuance of the decision. If an appeal is received, the other party will be notified, and both have the opportunity to submit in writing any information they wish to have considered by the appeals officer. Appeals will be reviewed and responded to in writing within two weeks of receipt. Appeals of decisions are heard by the Vice President of Student Affairs or designee. The decision of the appeals officer is final.

Discrimination and/or harassment are not tolerated at NSU. The university is committed to taking necessary remedial steps that are designed to stop the discrimination, correct its effects, and prevent the discrimination from recurring. Such actions may or may not be the action that the reporting party requests or prefers. Steps may be specific to the parties involved or may be aimed at a broader group. Typical steps range from counseling (which may be either remedial counseling, for the respondent, or supportive counseling, for the reporting party) or training or separation of the parties, to discipline of the respondent, including a written warning, probation, suspension, demotion, transfer, expulsion, or termination for cause. The appropriate discipline will depend on the nature and severity of the conduct, the respondent’s overall record, the applicable policy on discipline, and other factors where relevant. 

The law prohibits retaliation.  No person nor NSU may intimidate, threaten, coerce, or discriminate against any individual for the purpose of interfering with any right or privilege secured by this policy, or because the individual has made a report or complaint, provided information, assisted, participated or refused to participate in any manner in a discrimination investigation or proceeding. NSU will immediately investigate and remedy (if appropriate) any reported retaliatory actions taken by the respondent or other individuals.