Complaints regarding the Occupational Therapy Department, the academic program or any of its members that have not been resolved by informal discussions and/or negotiations or the petitioning process See online Ithaca College undergraduate or graduate catalogs on Students Right to Petition) may be submitted in writing to the Chair of the department.
Complaints may be submitted by persons affiliated with the department (students, faculty, administrators or staff) or persons in the public sector who have no formal association with the program or the college. If the complaint is associated with the Department Chair the written description of the concern should be submitted to the Associate Dean of Graduate and Professional Studies of the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance.
The written expression of a complaint should include the name and contact information of the person(s) filing the concern or grievance. The written statement should clearly describe the issue(s) of concern. The Department Chair (or Associate Dean) may initiate an investigation into the matter of concern through dialogue with the parties of interest, the department faculty or programmatic administrators. Following an examination of allegations the Chair (or Associate Dean) may a) offer recommendations or actions to resolve the complaint or b) may find the complaint to be without sufficient merit and take no action.
Individuals submitting a complaint that is not satisfactorily resolved at the department or school level may choose to submit the matter for further consideration to the Office of the Provost.
Complaints that are not resolved to the satisfaction of the persons filing the complaint (s) may be submitted to a) the New York State Education Department (NYSED) and/or b) the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE). Information regarding filing a complaint with NYSED may be found online. Information regarding filing a complaint with ACOTE may be learned by contacting the ACOTE Accreditation Program Manager, Angelica Grigsby at 301-652-6611 x2915.
Records of the complaints submitted by any party are maintained in secure files within the Office of the Department Chair for ten years from the date of submission.