Student-complaint website launched
Baldev Pooni
Camosun has launched a new service on its website advising students of the steps they can take if they have a complaint against the college, its faculty, or staff.
Baldev Pooni, Camosun’s vice president of education and student services, says a new college web page (located at camosun.ca/about/student-complaint.html) helps spell out and streamline the complaint process.
“There’s an informal process to try and solve problems, and probably 99.9 percent of the problems get solved this way,” explains Pooni. “But there are some situations where the student, as much as they try, and as much as the instructor, chair, or even associate dean, try to solve the problem, they can’t reach an agreement.”
In situations like this, says Pooni, students can begin a formal complaint process. If, after that process, students are still not satisfied, they can present the case directly to Pooni’s office.
“It’s in everyone’s interest that if the student has some concerns, we look to address those concerns,” he says.
Pooni says a big part of the complaint process is that each student has a different learning process and this can create issues between students and instructors.
“It could be, ‘The way this material is presented is not as helpful for me, with past instructors I’ve had this opportunity to do things this way, would it be possible to do this?’’’ says Pooni. “And I think for the most part, you’ll find that people want to help students to succeed.”
Another issue the complaint website hopes to address, besides learning issues, is interpersonal difficulties within the college.
Pooni says that any issue that impedes a student’s learning needs to be dealt with, and hopes the college atmosphere can make students feel comfortable discussing their concerns openly.
“If it genuinely is something that really bothers someone, and it really affects their learning, I think it’s not frivolous to have that conversation,” says Pooni. “People are adults; in the college you can have the conversation one-on-one, privately, and not make it a win-and-lose situation. My experience is, unless it’s a really, really sensitive issue, students will basically have the conversation directly with the instructor themselves.”
Michael Glover, student services coordinator at the Camosun College Student Society (CCSS), agrees with Pooni that a big hurdle for students is the fear of punishment for speaking out, but hopes the publication of the complaint process will alleviate those concerns.
“Students don’t necessarily want to make waves because they’re afraid their grades will go down, or they don’t want to make personal animosity,” says Glover. “But I don’t think that complaint process will create that; I think it’s really positive. I and others have been asking the college for this for some time, they’ve seen the logic to that in the last couple of years and they’ve developed this policy to deal with it.”
What’s important to Glover is that students know they have a process to deal with concerns beyond teaching styles or grades.
“For years, students have had more general complaints that aren’t necessarily grade appeals,” says Glover. “And there’s been no policy to deal with them.’“
Glover says the CCSS offices are always a good place to turn when students have problems, and they will listen, advise, and act on behalf of the student.
“If students do feel uncomfortable, they can come to the student society, they can see the college ombudsperson; there are people in their court that can advise them on what to do and give them options, confidentially, until they’re ready to confront that person or not,” says Glover. “Counselling is another resource. There are lots of resources at the college to deal with their issues.”
Glover emphasizes that any issues students have should be dealt with right away.
“We’re all human; sometimes we cross lines and stuff happens,” says Glover. “If we can talk about it than maybe we can defuse the situation first. Maybe it could be a miscommunication. If somebody is doing something inappropriate and someone needs help, the sooner that’s dealt with, the better.”
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