Complaint Procedures College of Law
Student Complaint Processes
Jacksonville University College of Law (COL) fosters a culture of care, concern, and support for students and student concerns. The COL strives to maintain open communications with students to optimize student success and the student experience. Students are encouraged to share issues or concerns with the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, and/or other administrators, as those matters arise.
The COL encourages students to resolve issues or concerns through informal means. When informal resolution is not achievable or practicable, students may choose to submit a formal complaint. A formal complaint is a request for the resolution of a problem, conflict, concern, or issue that negatively impacts students and their experience. The COL has two formal complaint processes, and both are initiated through specific electronic forms.
Complaint Procedure for General Issues or Concerns
“General” complaints may include, but are not limited to, issues regarding policies, procedures, services, and offices. The COL encourages resolution of formal complaints in an atmosphere of mutual respect. Any form of retaliation for bringing forward a formal complaint will not be tolerated.
Although anonymous formal complaints are permitted, doing so may limit the COL’s ability to investigate and respond. Information concerning the nature, scope, evaluation, and resolution of formal complaints shall be confidential to the greatest extent possible and will be shared only with those persons who need to know.
Formal complaints that involve gender discrimination and/or sexual misconduct are addressed under Title IX and are handled separately from the complaint processes described above and below. To report a Title IX related incident, please contact JU’s Title IX Coordinator, Dr. Kristie Gover at 904-256-7067 or Campus Security at 904-256-7585. You may contact the Student Counseling Center for a confidential reporting option at 904-256-7180. Learn more about Title IX.
Any student at the COL who wishes to bring a formal complaint to the law school administration when an informal resolution is not achievable or practicable should do the following:
A.) Submit the complaint in writing through the electronic form entitled JU College of Law General Complaint Form. The forms will be submitted to Associate Dean for Student Affairs Tom Taggart. If you prefer, you may email your complaint directly to Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs Courtney Barclay, using the Subject: COL Complaint Submission. Complaints received in this manner shall be addressed adhering to the same process and timeline for complaints received via the electronic form. All emailed complaints must include the information required on the form.
B.) The written summary should follow the prompts to describe in detail the behavior, program, process, policy, or other matter that is the subject of the complaint. The summary should also include the desired resolution and the steps already taken in any attempts to resolve the complaint.
C.) Although anonymous complaints are permitted, doing so may limit the COL’s ability to investigate and respond to the complaint.
D.) The Associate Dean for Student Affairs or designee will acknowledge the complaint within three business days of receipt of a non-anonymous complaint. Acknowledgement may be made by email, U.S. mail, or by personal delivery, at the option of the administrator.
E.) Within two weeks of acknowledgement of the complaint, the Associate Dean or designee shall either meet with the complainant or respond to the substance of the complaint in writing. In this meeting or in this writing, the student shall either receive a substantive response to the complaint or information about what steps are being taken by the law school to address or further investigate the complaint.
F.) If further investigation is needed, the student shall be provided either a substantive response to the complaint or information about what steps are being to address the complaint within two weeks of completion of the investigation.
G.) Students may appeal decisions made on complaints. Appeals should be delivered in writing to the Dean of the law school while referencing the specific details of the original complaint.
H.) Any decision made on the appeal by the Dean shall be final. The Dean’s decision will be documented in writing and shared with the student by email, U.S. mail, or by personal delivery.
I.) A record of the complaint and a summary of the process and resolution of the complaint shall be kept by the administration in the COL Dean’s Suite for a period of ten years from the date of the final resolution of the complaint.
Complaint Procedure in Cases Implicating Compliance with ABA Standards
As an institution seeking accreditation by the American Bar Association (ABA), Jacksonville University College of Law (COL) recognizes and respects the ABA Standards for Approval of Law Schools. Moreover, the COL elected to operate in compliance with ABA Standards since its inception. The ABA Standards may be found on the American Bar Association website.
As outlined in ABA Standard 510, any student at the COL who wishes to bring a formal complaint to the administration of the law school for a significant problem that directly implicates the school’s program of legal education and its compliance with ABA Standards should do the following:
A.) Submit the complaint in writing through the electronic form entitled JU College of Law ABA Standard 510 Complaint Form. The forms will be submitted Vice Dean Tom Taggart. If you prefer, you may email your complaint directly to Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs Courtney Barclay, using the Subject: COL ABA 510 Complaint Submission. Complaints received in this manner shall be addressed adhering to the same process and timeline for complaints received via the electronic form. All emailed complaints must include the information required on the form.
B.) The written summary should indicate that this is an ABA Standard 510 complaint and describe in detail the behavior, program, policy, process, or other matter that is the subject of the complaint. The summary should also explain how the matter implicates the law school’s program of legal education and its compliance with a specific, identified ABA Standard(s).
C.) The writing must provide the name, official law school email address, and a street address of the complaining student, to allow further communication with the complainant.
D.) The Vice Dean or designee will acknowledge the complaint within three business days of receipt of the written complaint. Acknowledgement may be made by email, U.S. mail, or by personal delivery, at the option of the administrator.
E.) Within two weeks of acknowledgement of the complaint, the Vice Dean or designee shall either meet with the complainant or respond to the substance of the complaint in writing. In this meeting or in this writing, the student shall either receive a substantive response to the complaint or information about what steps are being taken by the law school to address or further investigate the complaint.
F.) If further investigation is needed, the student shall be provided either a substantive response to the complaint or information about what steps are being taken to address the complaint within two weeks of completion of the investigation.
G.) Students may appeal decisions made on complaints. Appeals should be delivered in writing to the Dean of the law school while referencing the specific details of the original complaint.
H.) Any decision made on the appeal by the Dean shall be final. The Dean’s decision will be documented in writing and shared with the student by email, U.S. mail, or by personal delivery.
I.) A copy of the complaint and a summary of the process and resolution of the complaint shall be kept by the administration in the COL Dean’s Suite for a period of ten years from the date of the final resolution of the complaint.
Accreditation Information
Consistent with accreditation protocol dictated by the American Bar Association (ABA), the Jacksonville University College of Law began the accreditation process in the spring of 2023. Our goal and highest priority is to achieve provisional accreditation by the time our first class of students graduates. The College of Law is not currently approved by the American Bar Association (Council of the American Bar Association Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, 321 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654, 312-988-6738) and makes no representation to any applicant that it will receive approval from the Council before the graduation of any matriculating student.
Jacksonville University
General Counsel
2800 University Blvd N, Jacksonville, FL 32211
904-256-7549