The complaint must also include an explanation of why the complainant or other
reporting party believes that the alleged actions constitute discrimination, harassment,
or retaliation. The written complaint shall be dated and signed to acknowledge
completeness and accuracy.
If a College supervisor receives an anonymous complaint from a student or employee
either verbally or in writing, the College supervisor shall immediately send notice of the
complaint to the Vice President of Human Resources.
If the complaint is against the College President or a direct report to the President, the
reporting party should make the report under this procedure directly to the Chair of the
Board of Governors.
If the complaint is against any member of the Board of Governors, the reporting party
should make the report directly to the College President, the College’s legal counsel, or
any other member of the Board who is not the subject of the complaint.
For purposes of this procedure, it is assumed that a report recipient is not a respondent.
In the event a person designated by this procedure to receive a report is a respondent in
the complaint, the report shall be directed to another appropriate official.
Deadlines
Due dates under this procedure shall be calculated based upon calendar days. If the
due date specified falls on a weekend or holiday, the next business day is the due
date for the action. Either party may request a reasonable extension of time for any
of the deadlines set forth in this procedure, including the time for making an initial
complaint. While the intent of this procedure is to provide for the prompt reporting and
investigation of claims of unlawful conduct, these deadlines are not meant to penalize.
Therefore, failure to comply with the deadlines set forth herein will not invalidate a
complaint, investigation, or discipline.
Retaliation
The College’s commitment to eradication of any sort of illegal discriminatory or
harassing conduct includes prohibiting actions taken in retaliation for complaining of
violations of College policy. Retaliation includes taking any action that may have any
adverse impact on the student’s academic success or the learning environment of the
student if such action is taken because of the student’s filing of or participation in the
review of a complaint, whether or not such complaint is determined to be valid; or
taking any action that may have any adverse impact on the employment status or the
work environment of the employee, if such action is taken because of the employee’s
filing of or participation in the review of a complaint, whether or not such complaint
is determined to be valid. The complainant is assured that retaliation due to filing a
complaint under this procedure is strictly prohibited by law and by College policy,
and shall lead to discipline up to and including termination or expulsion. Any person
believing that retaliation has taken or is taking place should immediately report the
matter as provided herein.
It shall be considered a violation of College policy for any individual to knowingly
file a false or malicious complaint of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. If the
College believes that such a false or malicious complaint has been filed, the matter is
investigated under the Formal Procedure review process of this procedure.
Complaint Resolution Procedures
Western Nebraska Community College has established both formal and informal
procedures to resolve prohibited discrimination, harassment, or retaliation complaints.
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