How to File a Complaint
The College offers a variety of avenues for formal complaint procedures, depending
on the nature of the complaint. First, it is important to remember that if a situation
can be managed through classroom management techniques, that is preferable since it
enables you to give the student timely feedback about their behavior, and reinforces
the standards you have already provided. If you address a low-level incident and you
just want it documented somewhere in case the behavior continues, you can always report that as an informational incident so that the Student Conduct Officer is aware of
it. However, If the situation is egregious (involves a threat to physical safety or
significant disruption that can't be managed), consider one of the following:
- If the incident requires an immediate response, contact the Harper College Police Department at 847-925-6330. Examples include:
- A person or student with a weapon
- A person or student who appears intoxicated or in a similarly altered state of mind
- An unknown person who is a significant disruption to the campus
- To report a crime
- Other concerns can be reported online for review and response by the College. The information will be reviewed and routed
to the appropriate College entity: possible threats will be forwarded to HEAT and
all other incidents of student behavior will be reviewed by the Student Conduct Officer.
Examples of incidents to report include:
- A person who jokes about bombing the College or shooting someone
- A student who is not complying with your clearly provided instructions
- Harassment or aggressive behavior
- Students who engage in theft, disruption, or other policy violations
- If the complaint pertains to academic dishonesty, you can file an academic dishonesty report after you speak to the student.
- If the complaint pertains to sexual or gender-based harassment or misconduct, you
are encouraged to review the College's Title IX/Sexual Misconduct website and file a report online.
Review the Tips for Documenting Incidents for more information about what you should report. It is most helpful for reports
to be made in first-person and in a timely fashion. Please feel free to consult with
your Chair/Dean about the incident, but please remember that the timeliness of the
report may be critical to investigation and/or resolution of the issue.