Appendix M - Student Funeral and Bereavement Policy

A. To initiate a Funeral and Bereavement Appeal, the student must request a review of funeral and bereavement conflict by contacting (in person, by phone, or by letter) the faculty member, or in his or her absence the department chairperson. Students are strongly encouraged to request the review as soon as the funeral and bereavement conflict becomes apparent, but must request the review no later than ten (10) school days after the start of the next academic (fall, spring, or summer) semester following the semester or summer session in which the funeral and bereavement conflict occurred. The faculty member, or in his or her absence the department chairperson, must respond to the student’s request within ten (10) school days after receipt of the request.

B. If the matter cannot be resolved with the faculty member, the student must inform the department chairperson of the disagreement with the faculty member and present the student’s side of the dispute. The department chairperson will then attempt to resolve the dispute by consulting all affected parties.

C. If the department chairperson cannot resolve the dispute to the student’s satisfaction, the student may continue with the appeals process by contacting the Dean of the College in which the department resides. The Dean will then attempt to resolve the dispute by consulting all affected parties. If the Dean of the College cannot resolve the dispute to the student’s satisfaction, the student may appeal to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, who will consult all affected parties. The decision of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs is final.

D. In the case that the faculty member involved in the appeal is the administrator next in the line of the appeal process, then the appeal will move directly to the next level.