Guidelines for Informal Student Concerns

Informal Student Concerns relate to issues that can be solved between individuals such as student and faculty member or student and staff member in an office. These student concerns are usually communicated directly to the individual either verbally or through informal written communication (i.e., email).

Examples may include concerns about course content, syllabus content, inability to enroll in a full class, course scheduling, billing, financial aid, campus housing, etc.

Students are encouraged to handle these types of concerns by contacting the relevant department or employee so the concern can be resolved quickly. Many problems are resolved when a student makes an appointment with a faculty or staff member and communicates their concerns. Students are provided with a timely response, typically within 3 business days during a normal working week.

All UMHB departments and offices have contact information published on their webpage to which questions may be directed, and a faculty/staff directory is published and available to all students on the university’s website.

While students are encouraged to talk about their concerns directly with the department or employee concerned, this approach may not always be appropriate. In circumstances in which students believe it is not appropriate to raise the issue directly with a specific department or employee, advice on how to proceed can be sought from the Vice President for Student Life or the Dean of Students.

These guidelines for informal concerns should not be used to submit academic appeals, or for complaints regarding harassment, discrimination, disciplinary action, or to report a crime or other incident which requires immediate attention. Please see the appropriate sections of this REPORT IT website or the UMHB Student Handbook for the proper procedures related to these issues.