Concerns & Complaints

Lawson State Community College takes all concerns and complaints seriously and each is fully vetted, including issues related to Academic Freedom.  Follow these steps to resolve all complaints from informal to formal complaints. Employees and students are strongly encouraged to resolve conflicts under the informal process first before advancing to the formal complaint process level.  Once a complaint has been fully vetted and all steps have been followed and a resolution to the complaint has been issued (by the College), an individual can move beyond the college if displeased with the end result.  All complaints then can move forward to the Chancellor's office within the Alabama Community College System (ACCS).   

**Harassment and Retaliation complaints are viewed as highly serious complaints.  Thus, employees and students with such complaints, can skip Steps 1 and 2 (if they feel uncomfortable addressing the matter personally), and file a formal complaint (at the college) immediately (online) after viewing the terms and conditions.  See below for more information on the Complaint Process at Lawson State.

Retaliation for submitting a complaint will not be tolerated. Employee and students should always feel safe and protected and encouraged to file a concern or complaint at the College.

Back to top

Retaliation for submitting a complaint will not be tolerated. Employee and students should always feel safe and protected and encouraged to file a concern or complaint at the College.  In addition, if an employee or student feels that retaliation has taken place following the lodging of a complaint, he or she can file a separate RetaliationComplaint that will be investigated vigorously at the College.  Retaliation Complaints are taken extremely seriously at the College and can lead to employee or student dismissal from the College.

Back to top

Steps 1: Informal Process.  Resolve your complaint one-on-one informally with the person of concern.

As an employee or student, if you feel safe and comfortable, first address the complaint or concern with the parties involved (supervisor, faculty member, staff member, student, etc...) one-on-one.  Your goal is to try to resolve the problem on this level amicably.  Remember, when attempting to resolve a concern or conflict at this level, it is important to address the concern, not attack the person or persons involved.  Just, to the best of your ability, discuss what is concerning you and clarify (to the individual) what you would like to happen to resolve the matter.  Most concerns and conflicts can be resolved on this level, so start here first.  If unsuccessful, move to Step 2. 

Step 2:  Speak with the Department Chairperson, Direct Supervisor or Office Director:

If Step 1 was not successful, speak with the individual's direct supervisor or faculty member (if dealing with a complaint against another student). If you do not know the name of the Director or Supervisor search the Employee Portal or email us at help@lawsonstate.edu.  We will be happy to assist you.

Back to top

NOTE: If your complaint deals with a Title IX offense (pregnancy, sexual assault, sexual harassment or other offenses) skip to Step 3 and file an official complaint online immediately.  Do not delay in filing sexual harassment or sexual assault claims.  Report such claims immediately to the College.

Back to top

Step 3:  File a Formal Complaint at the College in Writing

As an employee or student, when you move from Step 2 to Step 3, your complaint moves from an informal complaint to a formal complaint (in writing).  If the complaint is not resolved by working with the Supervisor or Department Chair, file an official complaint via Lawson's online complaint system (Advocate).  Official complaints can be filed after clicking on the Current Students menu bar from the main website page or by clicking below.  From there, an investigation into your complaint will be lodged and a Dean's Resolution (aimed to resolve your complaint) will be issued.  For more specifics on the Complaint Process, please view the College's Student Catalog & Handbook.

Click here to file an official complaint at the college. Be sure to check email for a response which should come within 24-hours unless you are filing over the weekend or during a holiday.  In such cases, the College will respond on the next business day.

Back to top

Step 4: File a Grievance After Receiving the Dean's Resolution

Although extremely rare, as an employee or student, if you disagree or want to challenge the Dean's Resolution (to your original complaint filed, you would then file a Grievance.  In doing so, a Grievance Committee will "field" your complaint and any and all challenges you have made of the Dean's Resolution (based on proven facts, not simply disagreement with the Dean's Resolution).  Please keep in mind that simply disagreeing with the Dean's Resolution is not enough to overturn a Dean's Resolution.  You will have to demonstrate that the Dean's Resolution was insufficient in resolving your complaint. There are specific steps and timelines you must follow to file.  To file a Grievance, click below. 

Click here to file a Grievance.  Please note you must have  Dean's Resolution in order to file.. Be sure to check email for a response which should come within 24-hours unless you are filing over the weekend or during a holiday.  In such cases, the College will respond on the next business day.

Back to top

Step 5: Participate in the Grievance Hearing

Step 5 is the final step in LSCC's Complaint Process.  After you file an official Grievance at the College, a Grievance Committee will be formed by the one of the Vice Presidents and a Hearing will be conducted either virtually or in person depending on availability of all parties involved.  Grievance Committee Decisions are final and end the complaint process at Lawson State Community College.  Either party, the party who issued a complaint or the party who may have been involved in the complaint, can file a grievance.  Once a final decision has been rendered as it relates to your complaint by a Grievance Committee, the matter is considered resolved at the college level.  If there is disagreement over the Grievance Committee Hearing's decision, a complaint can be filed at the Alabama Community College System Office, not before.

Back to top

How to File an External Complaint Against the College.  Before filing an external complaint, you must go through Lawson's full Complaint Process (Steps 1-5).

Lawson State takes all complaints seriously and will work diligently to resolve any and all matters.  If an individual, though, is dissatisfied with the outcome of a fully vetted complaint, he or she should report the complaint to the proper external agency that governs the college.

Lawson State, as are all community colleges in the state of Alabama, are governed by the Alabama Community College System (ACCS). Thus, if an individual goes through the entire complaint process at Lawson State (including the grievance hearing process) and is still dissatisfied with the handling of their complaint, he or she can file a complaint in the Chancellor's Office with the ACCS.  External complaints should never be sought if the individual has NOT allowed the college to properly investigate and take action against a complaint in order to resolve such a complaint. 

Thus, Step 6 (reporting of an external complaint) should only be sought after the College has vetted the complaint and issued a resolution to the complaint.  The final step to all complaints at Lawson State is a Grievance Hearing.  For matters that are related to specific accrediting issues, individuals can report such matters to SACS.COC (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges).  Again, the same stipulation holds in this case as well.  All complaints should first be reported to the College in order for the College to respond and settle all complaints first before reporting matters to an external agency.     

How to File a Complaint at the Alabama Community College System or Lawson's Accrediting Agency:  Do not complete this step unless you have completed Lawson's full Complaint Process (Steps 1-5)

Note: Lawson State falls under the Alabama Community College System.  To file a complaint at the System level, be sure you have completed all of Lawson State's internal complaint processes /steps first, including the grievance hearing process.  If still dissatisfied, click here to access the steps to file a complaint with the Alabama Community College System: 

Alabama Community College Complaint Steps: Click here to view steps.  

Note:  Before filing an external complaint, be sure you have completed all of Lawson State's internal complaint processes (to resolve your complaint) before filing an external complaint.  

Click the provided link below for information on how to file a complaint against an institution with its accreditation agency--SACS.COC (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges). ComplaintPolicy-1.pdf (sacscoc.org)

Back to top