COCC Complaint and Concerns Procedure
Central Oregon Community College has specific procedures designed to maintain an atmosphere free of discrimination and harassment and one that allows for free and effective communication between individuals. Community members, employees, students and applicants for admission or employment may have recourse to such procedures to address issues of harassment, discrimination and similar concerns. Specific procedures exist to address complaints of discrimination, discriminatory harassment, sexual harassment and violation of rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Members of the college community who believe they have been subjected to discrimination, discriminatory harassment or sexual harassment are urged to contact the appropriate officer of the college to facilitate resolution of such complaints.
There are both informal and formal complaint procedures. The informal procedure attempts to resolve the complaint through cooperative meetings with the parties involved. Appropriate officers of the College may be contacted to provide assistance in the informal process and to advise complainants on options for filing their claims. If the informal procedure fails to resolve the issue, the complainant has the option of filling a formal complaint and/or pursuing outside assistance. It is not necessary to follow the informal procedure prior to filing a formal complaint, but the College encourages informal resolution whenever possible.
At any time during the process, complainants have a legal right to pursue their concern through outside channels. See the Section VIII, Outside Avenues, for specific information related to filing complaints with external agencies or attorneys.
Retaliation against the complainant is expressively forbidden. Sanctions will be applied to all violations of this rule.
A complete copy of the Complaint/Concerns Procedures may be obtained from the Dean of Students or from the Office of Student Life or see Complaints and Concerns information.
To see our non-discrimination policy and procedures, please review our Incident Report form
To see our student grievances procedures, please review our Student Concerns Process