Grievance Policy

Fordham University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, age, sex, gender, national origin, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, citizenship status, veteran status, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic predisposition, carrier status, or any other basis prohibited by law.

The Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education employs the following Grievance Procedure covering all matriculated and non-matriculated students. Students who believe they have been discriminated against with respect to participation in, access to, or benefits of any program or activity within the school are requested to use the following Grievance Procedure. 

Informal Procedure

Since a formal grievance procedure is a last resort, it is assumed that every effort to resolve the grievance through informal approaches has been conducted by the concerned parties. Nevertheless, the use of informal procedures is not a prerequisite for the submission of the grievance through the formal procedure.

Formal Procedure

Step I: School-Wide

  1. An alleged grievance must be brought in writing to the attention of the dean within 25 school calendar days from the time of the incident.

  2. The dean will convene the standing committee, which will conduct the review and which must receive a full written statement of the grievance and pertinent substantiating information from both the aggrieved and the person charged at least five days prior to the review date. All review procedures will be restricted to the parties involved. It is expected that this process will take place within 15 school Fall/Spring semester calendar days after the student submits a written statement to the dean.

  3. This standing committee is to be composed of two faculty members, selected by the faculty for staggered terms of two years, and one student, selected by the dean for a one-year term. Should one of the standing committee members be the person charged, the dean shall appoint an alternate.

  4. The parties will be given an opportunity to attend the meetings and to present information to the committee.

  5. The standing committee will render a written statement of the findings together with recommendations for appropriate remedies to the dean within five school calendar days after the review.

  6. The dean will meet with the concerned parties within 10 school calendar days to present recommendations for resolution of the grievance to the concerned parties.

  7. Should the dean be the person charged, an alleged grievance must be brought in writing to the assistant chairperson within 25 calendar days. The associate dean will convene the standing committee, receive its report, and communicate recommendations for resolution of the grievance to the concerned parties within the same time limits as specified above.

Step II: University-Wide

  1. If either the aggrieved or the individual school against whom charges have been brought feel that the matter has not been resolved, either party may appeal in writing to the appropriate area vice president within 10 school calendar days after the meeting between the dean and the concerned parties in Step I. The appeal should include 1) a concise summary of the charge(s) and 2) an explanation of why the school-wide process was considered unsatisfactory.

  2. The Office of the Provost will review the grievance process to determine whether proper procedures were followed, or if new evidence not available in Step I is being presented. If the Office of the Provost is not satisfied with the handling of the grievance investigation, this office will return the grievance to the dean for further investigation. The concerned parties will be notified of the provost's office actions and decisions within 20 school calendar days of the receipt of the appeal.

  3. The Office of the Provost is the last court of appeal, and his/her decision will be final.