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Student Life
Student Inquiries Process

GENERAL PROCEDURES FOR FILING A STUDENT INQUIRY, COMPLAINT, PROBLEM OR CONCERN

  1. The first step that a student must initiate when filing a complaint is the completion of a Student Inquiry Form.  This form is to be filled out by the student and submitted to the designated person in the Office of Student Life.  A sample of this form can be found in the Appendix  (Sample 1).  The writing on the form should be clear and understandable.  This form documents that the student requested assistance from the Office of Student Life, and allows for an efficient mechanism for providing a service to the student.
  2. Depending on the nature of the student’s issue, an immediate referral may be made to the academic or the administrative unit area involved or the student complaint or concern may undergo further assessment by appropriate staff in the Office of Student Life.  The necessary actions will then be taken to resolve the matter.
  3. If the assessment of the problem is extensive, then these steps must be followed:
    1. The designated staff member will schedule a meeting with the student.
    2. The office personnel will then contact the involved parties to schedule a hearing and to resolve the problem. 
    3. After all possible interventions have been established by the parties involved,  Office of Student Life will intervene
          
  4. IF THE STUDENT IS TO BE REFERRED to another office, then he or she will be given a Referral Form (Sample 2) and be guided to the appropriate office or personnel.  The following steps must be completed:
    1. The student is referred to the proper office after a telephone call is made by the staff member to ascertain a timetable for handling the Student Inquiry.
    2. A copy of the complaint form is forwarded to the proper office with copies of the Student Complaint Procedures, inquiry and referral slip.
    3. A staff member will then contact the involved parties to schedule a hearing and to develop a solution to the problem.
    4. The director of the office will then forward a copy of the disposition or resolution of the issue, within one week, to the Office of Student Life.
    5. Should the complaint or concern appear to be irreconcilable, staff will contact the Assistant Dean of Students and develop a strategy for mediating the issue (Note: a copy of the inquiry/complaint is kept on file and recorded in the database for follow-up on the disposition of the complaint).
      
  5. After a resolution is established and the student’s matter is considered to be resolved, a resolution letter is sent to inform parties of the outcome.
  6.  The Office of Student Life staff will maintain the disposition in the student’s file folder and database.
  7. The Office of Student Life performs an annual evaluation of all outstanding complaints.  All offices that are involved in the complaint are to submit copies of their disposition reports.

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