Public Complaint (Policy OG-20)

This policy details the rights of members of the public to file formal complaints against Clarkson College. Complaints may be verbal or written. Verbal complaints are considered informal and will be handled in the manner described below. Written complaints are considered formal and the Procedure for Formal Complaints is to be followed. The College prohibits retaliation against a complainant or other persons who participate in the public complaint. Clarkson College student, faculty or staff member complaints are addressed through the Grievance Policies stated in the Student Handbook or the Employee or Faculty Handbooks.

Procedure for Informal Complaints

  1. Comments and complaints are emailed directly to the Strategic Communications department from the website and then will be forwarded to the appropriate department and cc’d to the President’s Office. Phone calls will also be directed to the appropriate department director and communicated to the President’s Office.
  2. Informal (verbal) complaints by members of the public are addressed by the complainant and the responsible college administrator supervising the area. If through this process a mutually satisfactory resolution of the complaint cannot be reached, the complainant may put the complaint in writing using the complaint form available on the internet and move to the formal complaint process.

Online Public Complaint form

Procedure for Formal Complaints

  1. Formal written complaints on the complaint form by members of the public are to be addressed by the responsible administrator supervising the appropriate area.
  2. The administrator addressing the complaint is to gather information relevant to the complaint.
  3. A written response is to be sent to the complainant. A copy of the complaint and the written response is to be sent to the vice president of Academic Affairs (VPAA) and vice president of Operations (VPO).
  4. If the complainant is not satisfied with the response, he/she may file a written complaint to the president. In such cases, the president will gather information and provide a final written response to the complainant with a copy to the VPAA and VPO.
  5. The file of all formal complaints is to be securely housed in the VPO office.


Procedure for Complaints to Third Parties

Complaints made by students or the public to third parties (e.g., governor’s office, congressional office, Nebraska college system, accrediting bodies, etc.) will be addressed using the procedures set forth by the third party.

Academic Policies and Procedures