Disability Grievance Procedures
Â鶹´«Ã½ prohibits discrimination based on disability in admissions, employment, housing, services, and educational programs. The Director of ADA Compliance/ADA Coordinator is designated as the Section 504 Coordinator, responsible for ensuring compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and applicable federal and state regulations. The purpose of a disability grievance is to alert the proper overseers of a failure to accommodate, assess, and apply remedies.
Disability grievances should be filed as soon as possible after the grievant becomes aware of the alleged violation.
In the case of a grievance involving academic accommodations, students are encouraged to first follow AccessibleNU's informal appeal process before filing a grievance with OCR. However, students may opt to go straight to OCR.
What is a Disability Grievance for?
The University has established grievance procedures to address complaints of failure to accommodate, disagreement with accommodation determinations, and/or discriminatory treatment during the accommodation process.
These procedures apply to staff, faculty, students, applicants, vendors, contractors, and third parties.
A complaint is referred to as a "grievance," and the individual filing the grievance is the "grievant," while the individual against whom the grievance is made is the "respondent." These procedures aim to protect the rights of all parties, ensure due process, and ensure compliance with the ADA and Section 504.
Who can file a Disability Grievance?
If the person experienced discrimination or harassment and would like to pursue an investigation into conduct, they may report the alleged violation to the university. Students, faculty, or campus visitors who experience the following may file a disability grievance with the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance (OCR):
- Failure to accommodate – namely, an approved accommodation is not properly implemented or implemented at all;
- Disagreement with a determination made by an office handling accommodations;
- Concerns about discriminatory treatment during the interactive accommodation process.
Steps in Grievance Procedure
1. File a Grievance
A grievance must be filed as soon as possible after the grievant becomes aware of the alleged violation. A grievance must be filed in writing, contain the name and address of the person filing it, and briefly describe the alleged violation.
For Students (Academic, Housing and Dining Accommodations)
ADA Coordinator, Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance
1800 Sherman Ave., Suite 4-500
Evanston, IL 60201
Phone: 847-467-6165
Fax: 847-589-5222
Email: OCR@northwestern.edu
Online Report:
For Employee and Job Applicant Grievances
Vice President for Human Resources
1800 Sherman Ave., Suite 4100
Evanston, IL 60201
Phone: 847-467-1466
Fax: 847-467-2688
Email: officeofhumanresources@northwestern.edu
For Grievances About the Section 504 Coordinator
Vice President for Human Resources
1800 Sherman Ave., Suite 4100
Evanston, IL 60201
Phone: 847-467-1466
Fax: 847-467-2688
Email: officeofhumanresources@northwestern.edu
For Pregnancy and Related Conditions (Students and Employees)
Emily Babb, Associate Vice President for Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance
1800 Sherman Ave., Suite 4500
Evanston, IL 60201
Phone: 847-467-6165
Email: OCR@northwestern.edu / titleixcoordinator@northwestern.edu
Online Report:
2. Grievance is Received
The receiving office will acknowledge receipt of grievances promptly.
3. Initial Inquiry Begins
The receiving office will gather information from the grievant, and other offices as needed, to assess appropriate next steps for addressing the grievance. Possible next steps include: closure of the grievance; informal response; or a formal response (an investigation). Grievances will be assessed promptly, typically within 30-60 days, depending on the scope of the issue and availability of witnesses. The grievance process will be confidential to the extent possible, but full confidentiality cannot be guaranteed. All participants in a grievance will be advised that they should keep the grievance process confidential.
4. Resolution
If a grievance is upheld, the University will determine corrective actions based on the severity of the conduct. Actions may include disciplinary measures, up to and including termination of employment or expulsion. Steps will be taken to prevent recurrence and correct any discriminatory effects.
5. Appeals
Either party may request reconsideration of the decision within 10 business days of receiving the outcome. The appeal must be in writing and specify the basis for appeal. The final decision will be issued within 90 days of receipt of the appeal.
For Employee Appeals
Vice President for Human Resources
720 University Place
Evanston, IL 60208
Phone: (847) 491-7505
Fax: (847) 467-2688
For Student Appeals
Vice President for Student Affairs
633 Clark Street, Rebecca Crown Center
Evanston, IL 60208
Phone: (847) 491-5360
Fax: (847) 467-2523
vpsa@northwestern.edu
For Faculty Appeals
Provost
633 Clark Street, Rebecca Crown Center
Evanston, IL 60208
Phone: (847) 491-5117
Fax: (847) 467-1630
nu-provost@northwestern.edu
Retaliation
Retaliation against anyone involved in the grievance process is strictly prohibited. Retaliation can lead to disciplinary action, regardless of whether the underlying grievance is upheld. Those experiencing retaliation should report it to the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance or the ADA Coordinator.