Widener University makes every effort to resolve student complaints internally, using policies and procedures outlined in the current undergraduate and graduate catalogs or student handbooks. It is expected that students will fully utilize any and all of such administrative procedures to address concerns and/or complaints in as timely a manner as possible.
For procedures regarding:
• Non-Academic Complaints: refers to incidents of unprofessional behavior and other complaints that are not of an academic grade concern. Contact Assistant Dean of Students for the Office of Student Conduct.
• Americans with Disabilities Act (see the Student Accessibility Services Website)
For a complaint about inaccessibility or to request accommodation due to disability-related needs, please contact the Office of Student Accessibility Services.
• Equal Opportunity, Harassment, and Nondiscrimination Policy
Widener University’s Equal Opportunity, Harassment, and Nondiscrimination policy (“EOHN “) defines and governs:
All allegations regarding discrimination, harassment, or retaliation on the basis of sex, gender, age, race, creed, national origin or ethnicity, religion, disability, veteran status, pregnancy status, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, and/or genetic information (otherwise known as protected classes) and all allegations regarding sexual misconduct, which includes sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, stalking, and sexual exploitation The EOHN Policy and procedures can be found on the Title IX Resources webpage. Please use the Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct reporting form, which is located on the Title IX Resources webpage, to report all incident(s) implicating the EOHN policy.
Use the above Reporting Form to also report Bias Incidents, and Pregnancy and Parenting related discrimination.
• Title IX: Sexual Misconduct Resources
• Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA): see Loading... in the Student Handbook
• Criminal Activity: Complaints involving matters of a criminal nature, such as assault, battery and theft should be directed to Campus Safety at 610-499-4200.
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In the unlikely event that an issue cannot be resolved by the university, students may file a complaint with their respective State Licensing Authority. For residential students taking courses on-campus, the Pennsylvania Department of Education - Postsecondary and Adult Education would be the applicable agency. For online students, the state agency would generally correspond with the student's state of residence. These agencies should be contacted only after the student has registered a complaint with the university and has not received a response to the request for resolution.
Contact information for all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. Territories is provided in the linked PDF.
Unresolved complaints may also be filed with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the university's accrediting agency, once all other avenues have been exhausted.
Middle States Commission on Higher Education
1007 North Orange Street
4th Floor, MB #166
Wilmington, DE 19801
267-284-5011
msche.org