Procedure for Complaints against the Occupational
Therapy Program
Any person who has a concern about any matter connected to the Occupational Therapy program is encouraged to contact the Occupational Therapy Program Director at Neil.Penny@alvernia.edu. This procedure describes the process for formal complaints against the program.
A formal complaint against the Occupational Therapy program is defined as a written expression of serious dissatisfaction related to a specific aspect of the Occupational Therapy program at Alvernia University. Anonymous complaints are not accepted. A complaint is distinguished from a dispute about a course grade or other academic matter, which is handled under the Academic Grievance Procedures described in the relevant Undergraduate Student Handbook or Graduate Catalog. Alvernia University also has procedures for addressing Student Grievances related to university policies, and complaints related to Ethics, Research (Institutional Review Board), Non-discrimination, Equal Employment and Harassment. If the complaint is found to relate to one of these areas it will be forwarded for disposition to the appropriate office and the person who initiated the complaint will be notified of this action.
Formal complaints may be initially
received by any Occupational Therapy faculty or staff member, but no action can
be taken until the Occupational Therapy Program Director is notified of the
complaint. When this has occurred, the
person will be notified that their formal complaint against the program has
been received. The nature of the
complaint will be screened by the Occupational Therapy Program Director, unless
the complaint directly involves the actions of the Program Director, in which
case it will be screened by the Dean of the College Professional Programs (Dr.
Karen Thacker Karen.Thacker@alvernia.edu ). After initial
screening, the complaint will be channeled to the individual, group or office judged
to be most directly relevant and appropriate to resolve the complaint. Once again, the person who initiated the
complaint will be notified when this step has occurred.
Our guiding principle is to settle disputes in a prompt and fair manner, in
keeping with the underlying Franciscan values of Alvernia University. If appropriate, an ad hoc panel may be
appointed to seek resolution of the complaint or the complaint may be forwarded
to the College of Professional Programs Multidisciplinary Advisory Group,
consisting of the Department Chairs of the College of Professional Programs. A written response will be conveyed to the
person who initiated the complaint by the Occupational Therapy Program Director
or College Dean within 90 days of acknowledgement of the receipt of the
complaint. The Occupational Therapy
Program Director will keep a record of the disposition of all formal
complaints. Beginning academic year
2012/2013, disposition of formal complaints against the program will be
reported in the Occupational Therapy Program Annual Evaluation Report.
