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Penn State Law | University Park, Pa.
Lewis Katz Building, University Park, PA
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Law Student Complaint Resolution Policy

Preface

As an American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law school, Penn State Law is subject to the ABA Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools (see:http://qa.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/standards.html). Any law student may bring a formal complaint to the law school’s administration of a significant problem that directly implicates the law school’s program of legal education and its compliance with ABA Standards by following the steps described below.
 

Procedure for Submitting Complaints

  1. Complaints must be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean of Academic and Student Affairs.
     
  2. The writing should describe in detail the behavior, program, process or other matter that is the subject of the complaint, and should explain how the matter implicates the law school’s program of legal education and its compliance with a specific, identified ABA Standard(s).
     
  3. The administrator to whom the complaint is addressed shall acknowledge the complaint within three business days of receipt.

Procedure for Resolving Complaints

  1. Within ten business days of acknowledgement of the complaint, the administrator to whom the complaint was addressed, or his or her designee, shall either meet with the complaining student or provide a substantive response to the complaint in writing. 
     
  2. In this meeting or writing, the student shall be provided with information about what steps are being taken by the law school to address or further investigate the complaint.
     
  3. Within ten business days of completing its investigation, the law school shall communicate its findings and, if appropriate, its intended actions to the complaining student.

Procedure for Appeals

  1. If a student is dissatisfied with the outcome or resolution of the law school’s investigation, that student has a right to appeal to the Dean. 
     
  2. The appeal must be submitted in writing within ten business days after communication to the student of the findings of the investigation. 
     
  3. The Dean’s decision shall be communicated to the student within ten business days and shall be final.

Maintenance of Records

A copy of the complaint and resolution shall be maintained in a confidential manner in the Office of the Assistant Dean of Academic and Student Affairs.
 
Rev. 10/2011