Internal Student Complaint Procedures

If a student has a concern or a grievance, please read below:

Students have the right to file a Grievance Report based on the procedure set forth in our Grievance Procedure and Policy. A grievance report is a formal documentation of a perceived wrong or unjust or unfair act committed by a faculty or staff member based on a student’s disability that is believed to have caused the student distress. These reports are provided to the department supervisor or chair for follow up or resolution.

Students also have the right to report any bias incident. A bias incident is conduct, speech, or expression motivated, in whole or in part, by bias or prejudice. It differs from a hate crime in that no criminal activity is involved. Bias, in and of itself, is not illegal and each state has different laws that govern hate crimes and hate incidents by bias. Therefore, each report submitted is handled on a case-by-case basis in accordance with our internal policies and procedures.

Students also have the right to report any suspected hazing incident. Please refer to the College’s Hazing Policy for more information on what might constitute a Hazing report. Hazing reports are handled on a case-by-case basis in accordance with our internal policies and procedures.

If you submit a report and provide your contact information, you may be contacted to meet in person with the Vice President of Student Life (or his designee, including the Associate Vice President of Student Life, Director of Greek Life, or other as deemed appropriate). Working together with the appropriate staff will allow you to develop a plan for the next steps in further collection of information and outcome or resolution. The Dean of Students may be contacted by phone at 304-829-7631 or via email at gstebbins@bethanywv.edu.

For more information on Bethany College’s Policies, please refer to the applicable Policy Manual on the College’s website. Several of the College’s official policies can be found at the following links:

• College Policy Manual Volumes I through VII can be found on the Employment webpage.
• Bethany College’s Title IX Sexual Harassment Policy can be found on the Title IX webpage.
• Additional policies can be found on the Student Right to Know webpage.

External Student Complaint Procedures

If a student’s complaint cannot be resolved with the institution, the following two accreditation bodies can be contacted.

To submit a complaint to the Higher Learning Commission about Bethany College as an institution, please refer to this link.

To submit a complaint to the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, please refer to the information provided on the Commission’s website.