Student Complaint Procedures

A. The Dean's Procedure for Student Complaints¹

The Dean’s Procedure for Student Complaints may be used in any case in which a student has a complaint, including but not limited to a complaint of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation,² color, religion, national or ethnic origin, or disability, against a member of the faculty or administration of Yale College. Teaching fellows and freshman counselors may be named in such a complaint.

¹ This procedure is listed as appendix A on this Web site.
² A complaint of harassment on the basis of sex or sexual orientation is to be pursued as indicated in section D below.

B. The Provost's Procedure for Student Complaints

The Provost’s Procedure for Student Complaints is available in any case in which a student has a complaint, including a complaint of sexual harassment or a complaint of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, or disability, against a faculty member who is not a member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, or against an employee who is not an administrator in Yale College or who is not subject to discipline by the dean of Yale College. A copy of the complete procedure is available from the Yale College Dean’s Office, 110 SSS.

C. Complaints of racial or ethnic harassment

Any student in the University who believes that he or she has been harassed on account of race or ethnic origin by any member of the Yale community may bring a complaint through the President’s Procedure for Addressing Student Complaints of Racial or Ethnic Harassment. For the purposes of this procedure, racial or ethnic harassment is considered to occur when any individual is subjected to arbitrary, capricious, or discriminatory treatment on the basis of race or ethnic origin. A student complaint of racial or ethnic harassment against another undergraduate may also be brought to the Yale College Executive Committee;³ such a complaint may be forwarded to the chairman of the Executive Committee only in conjunction with the complainant’s residential college master or residential college dean, a member of the Yale College Dean’s Office, a human relations counselor, or a member of the President’s Committee on Racial and Ethnic Harassment. Copies of the President’s Procedure for Addressing Student Complaints of Racial or Ethnic Harassment are available in the Yale College Dean’s Office, 110 SSS.¹

³ See appendix B, The Disciplinary Procedures of the Yale College Executive Committee, section E, “Procedures for complaints of harassment, intimidation, coercion, or assault.”
¹ See appendix B, The Disciplinary Procedures of the Yale College Executive Committee, section E, “Procedures for complaints of harassment, intimidation, coercion, or assault.” See also the Sexual Harassment and Assault Resources & Education (SHARE) Web site.

D. Complaints of sexual harassment

The Yale University Sexual Harassment Statement applies to members of Yale College as well as to the larger University.

Yale University Statement on Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is an affront to human dignity and fundamentally at odds with the values of Yale University. Because the University is committed to maintaining a community for study and work that is free from sexual harassment, the University will not tolerate any member of that community sexually harassing another.

Sexual harassment is antithetical to academic values and to a work environment free from the fact or appearance of coercion. It is a violation of University policy and may result in serious disciplinary action. Sexual harassment consists of nonconsensual sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature on or off campus, when:

submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a condition of an individual’s employment or academic standing; or
submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as the basis for employment decisions or for academic evaluation, grades, or advancement; or
such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work or academic performance or creating an intimidating or hostile academic or work environment.

Sexual harassment may be found in a single episode, as well as in persistent behavior. Conduct that occurs in the process of application for admission to a program or selection for employment is covered by this policy, as well as conduct directed toward University students, faculty or staff members.

The Yale College Grievance Board for Student Complaints of Sexual Harassment receives complaints of sexual harassment of an undergraduate by another undergraduate, a member of the Faculty of Yale College, an administrator, an employee in Yale College, a teaching fellow, or a freshman counselor. A student may also seek informal and confidential advice from any member of the Grievance Board. A student complaint of sexual harassment against another undergraduate may be brought to the Yale College Executive Committee;¹ such a complaint may also be forwarded to the chairman of the Yale College Executive Committee only in conjunction with the complainant’s residential college master or residential college dean, a member of the Yale College Dean’s O¤ce, or a member of the Sexual Harassment Grievance Board. Copies of the grievance procedure are available on The Sexual Harassment Grievance Board Web site.

Questions about these procedures and questions about which procedure is applicable in a given case may be addressed to the dean of Student Affairs at the Yale College Dean’s Office, 110 SSS.

¹ See appendix B, The Disciplinary Procedures of the Yale College Executive Committee, section E, “Procedures for complaints of harassment, intimidation, coercion, or assault.”