CALES Procedure for Graduate Student Issues

The Graduate College oversees the Graduate Faculty policy and policies guiding graduate education; in many cases it is appropriate for the Graduate Student, Graduate Faculty, or Graduate Staff (Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), Graduate Coordinate (GC)) to directly reach out to the Graduate College. However, in some cases, it is more appropriate to first reach out to the Program Chairs (Department Head/School Director) or the College (Assistant Dean, Associate Dean, and Dean) before contacting the Graduate College. Below we provide some guidance on the recommended procedures for different issues that may occur.

1. A graduate students has questions about degree journey, academic success, graduate mentoring, or graduate committee

The graduate student should first reach out to their faculty advisor, then the GC or the DGS within their Department/School. The graduate student can also reach out to graduate student services in the Graduate College to learn more about their degree milestones, including submitting a plan of study and committee composition through GradPath.

2. A graduate student may be in violation of academic integrity or code of academic conduct.

The faculty advisor, DGS, or GC should reach out to the Dean of Students.

3. A graduate student has issues related to research integrity.

The faculty advisor, GC, or DGS should reach out to the Associate Dean of Research in CALES and the Research Integrity Program through Research, Innovation, and Impact (RII).

4. A graduate students has issues with their faculty advisor/DGS/Program Chair.

1. The graduate student should have a discussion with their faculty advisor to explain the situation. If that is not an open channel of communication, or the conversation does not resolve the issue, then see "b" below.
2. The graduate student should reach out to the DGS to explain the situation.
3. Depending on the nature of the situation, the DGS should then reach out to the Program Chair. If the issue cannot be resolved at the Department/School level, then the DGS should reach out to the Assistant Dean of Graduate Education in CALES.  If requested by the faculty member, the DGS can also reach out to the Associate Dean of Faculty Advancement. Finally, if needed, the DGS can also reach out to the Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Career Development.
   
   1. If the issue is between the graduate student and their faculty advisor who is also the Program Chair, then the DGS should reach out to the Assistant Dean for Graduate Education in CALES. The DGS needs to communicate with the faculty advisor that the graduate student has filed a grievance.
   2. If the issue is between the graduate student and their faculty advisor who is also the DGS, then the Program Chair should be consulted first. If there is no resolution, then the Program Chair should reach out to the Assistant Dean for Graduate Education in CALES. The DGS needs to communicate with the faculty advisor that the graduate student has filed a grievance.
4. At any point, the Deans of CALES may reach out to the Graduate College for guidance. The DGS and Program Chair may also reach out directly to the Graduate College at any time, but this must be communicated with the Deans in CALES to ensure collaborative and informed decisions are made. 

Here is the formal grievance policy of the Graduate College: https://grad.arizona.edu/policies/academic-policies/grievance-policy, which provides a decision tree. However, we note that each case is unique and may require more than one unit to help support a student.