Student Complaints and Grievances

We are committed to addressing comments, questions, and concerns related to your experience at National Louis University.

Complaint: A complaint is a concern about an action, practice, or decision within the control or responsibility of the University raised by a student that they believe should be changed to improve the overall quality of education and/or student experience.

Grievance: A grievance is a matter to be investigated according to formal grievance processes as outlined in the Academic Catalog or Student Guidebook when a student believes a faculty member or administrator has made an error. This includes matters that are not able to be resolved through informal processes or mediation, and matters relating to allegations of misconduct where disciplinary action against a student or staff member may be an outcome of the investigation.

ACADEMIC COMPLAINTS (Course Grades, Transfer Credit, Academic Decisions)

Academic Appeals and Grievances include academic issues, such as awarding transfer credit, course grades, admission to a specific program, and certification for graduation are examples of academic decisions that affect an individual student enrolled in the University. Complete the Academic Appeals Form.

NON-ACADEMIC COMPLAINTS

Non-Academic Grievances include university error related to non-academic issues. File a non-academic grievance through the Issue Resolution Form to initiate contact with the Dean of Students Office.

How to File a Complaint or Grievance

The University encourages students to first direct concerns to the individual or department with whom they have a concern. There are staff in many offices to help resolve your concerns, questions, or complaints regarding University policies or actions. This should be the initial step, before an official complaint is submitted.

Confidentiality Statement

We do not disclose information regarding the identities of visitors to our office, or the content of our conversations. Exceptions to this rule include if we have a concern of an imminent risk of physical harm, if we have a concern about child abuse, or if required to make a confidential report for inclusion in the Annual Safety and Security Report under the Clery Act. The identity of the reporting party will not be disclosed when making the report for inclusion purposes.

Protection Against Retaliation

Under no circumstances will the filing of a complaint result in retaliation. Any student who has been retaliated against should contact the Assistant Dean of Students (or designee) immediately.

Division of Student Affairs Support

In order to fulfill our mission, procedures have been established to foster open communication and ensure we drive continuous improvement by focusing on service excellence. As such, Student Affairs staff offer support to students and work collaboratively with faculty, staff, and administration to identify options and strategies for resolution. The Assistant Dean of Students (or designee), who serves in lieu of an Ombudsman, is the point of contact in Student Affairs for students who seek assistance in addressing student concerns, including academic appeals.

Contact Information:

__________, Assistant Dean of Students and Title IX Coordinator
TJ Martin, Associate Director of Community Standards (tmartin26@nl.edu)

Students can appeal an academic decision for any of the following reasons:

criteria and procedures for the decision were not published
published criteria and procedures were not consistent with college, school, division, department or program policy and procedures, or violate a student’s rights
published criteria and procedures were not followed in making the decision, or
decision was substantially influenced by factors other than published criteria.

Admission and re-admission decisions are specifically excluded from the Policy on Academic Appeals.

Academic Appeals are offered in a four-step process, with the final and binding decision being made by the Senior Academic Officer, or their designee. The student may also consult with an academic advisor, program director, department chair, Assistant Dean of Students, or student services professional to obtain informal assistance. Such consultation does not initiate the appeal process. A policy may not be appealed; only appeals based on academic decisions under a policy and procedure may be heard. This does not prevent students from petitioning for reform of academic policies and procedures outside of the appeal process. In such cases, the student should be directed to the individual or academic unit responsible for developing the decision in question.

The full policy is available in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog.

Students may be asked to submit their papers electronically to a third party plagiarism detection service.

When evidence of academic dishonesty is discovered, an established procedure of resolution will be activated to bring the matter to closure. Instructor has 14 business days to address incident. Either party can petition an appeal hearing within 10 business days. Hearing must occur within the subsequent 10 business days, committee decision must announced within 5 business days of hearing. A final appeal can be submitted within 10 business days, and the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs (or designee) must provide final and binding decision within 10 business days.

The full policy is available in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog.

There are two types of academic review performed each term by the Registrar’s and Student Finance offices.

The Standards for Academic Review (SAR) process is monitored on a term by term basis and reviews the cumulative GPA and Completion Ratio.
The Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) review performed by the Student Finance Office adheres to the financial aid regulations regarding GPA and pace minimum requirements. Financial aid regulations require that students meet specific Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements to maintain eligibility for financial aid. Your academic record will be evaluated after each academic term to determine if you are meeting the SAP requirements to maintain financial aid eligibility for the next term. The NLU requirements fall into these three areas:

Maintaining a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or above for undergraduate students and 3.0 or above for graduate students
Maintain a satisfactory pace of progress towards your degree by completing at least two-thirds (66.6% rounded to 67%) of all units attempted cumulatively
Completing your degree within a maximum number of attempted units not to exceed 150% of the published length of your program

Students may submit a SAP Appeal to have your eligibility reconsidered; the completed appeal (personal narrative, support documents and an academic plan) should be to their coach/advisor.

For Undergraduate appeals, the SAP Appeal Committee reviews the appeal and makes the decision to approve or deny the appeal.
For Graduate appeals, the appeal is submitted to the Registrar's Office and Student Finance to review.

If the appeal is approved, the student will be on financial aid probation and have an academic plan, which they must follow each term until they are meeting satisfactory academic progress. Note: Students are only allowed one lifetime appeal at NLU, so if an Undergraduate student continues into a Graduate program and is put on financial aid suspension, they are unable to appeal again.

The full policy and FAQs are available at https://nl.edu/student-services/student-success-and-advising/academic-progress-policies/.

The Office of Student Affairs assumes formal responsibility of issues of student conduct. This includes:

Counseling students involved in student conduct matters.
Processing communication and maintaining a central file of student conduct records.
Maintaining student rights and responsibilities through equity and accountability to university policies.
Mediating conflict between students.
Collaborating across the university to ensure student safety and success.

If a student is found responsible for violating a university policy, the responding student has the right to appeal. Appeals will be reviewed based on the following criteria:

A procedural irregularity
New evidence that was previously unavailable emerges
The hearing officer had a conflict of interest or bias
The sanction is disproportionate with the violation

The appeal must be submitted in writing no later than 5 business days after notification of the decision. Appeals will be reviewed by the Assistant Dean of Students. All decisions made upon an appeal is final.

An overview of the entire Student Conduct Process can be found in the Student Guidebook, including the right to an appeal.

Filing Complaints with the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE)

If you attempted to file a complaint at the institutional level and were not successful, you may file a complaint with the Illinois Board of Higher Education using the Online Complaint System. If you have questions please call (217) 557-7359.

Filing Complaints with the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE)

If you attempted to file a complaint at the institutional level and were not successful, you may file a complaint with the Florida Department of Education using the Online Complaint System.

Submit A Complaint to Higher Learning Commission (HLC) About an Institution

Students, faculty, staff and members of the public may submit a complaint about an HLC-accredited or candidate institution. File a complaint.

Filing Complaints with Other States

Online distance education students unable to resolve complaints through NLU’s resolution process or with the Illinois State Portal Entity (IBHE listed above, sara@ibhe.org) may file a complaint with the State Agency in their state of residence.