Student Advocacy Policy

1. Policy statement

Vanier College is committed to fair practices and the respect of rights and obligations of all members of its community. The College provides Advocacy Services to inform students about their rights and responsibilities, rules and procedures, existing policies and to advise students on the appropriate channels for any concerns or complaints that they may have. This applies to both academic and non-academic matters.

2. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to outline the available Advocacy Services, their scope of application and the roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders.

3. Scope of application

This policy is in keeping with the College mission and the collective interest of the Vanier community. It applies to all Vanier students, including those registered as full-time, part-time, Regular Day or Continuing Education at Vanier College.

This policy calls for the cooperation and goodwill of faculty, staff, and administration. As such, requests for information from the Student Advocate should be addressed in a collaborative fashion.

The Student Advocate shall have no authority to impose remedies or sanctions, or to enforce any policy, rule or procedure. However, he/she will have the right to be recognized in carrying out his/her functions, and may make any recommendations that he/she deems appropriate with regard to resolving complaints or improving policies, rules or procedures. While the Student Advocate can guide a student through the complaint process, meeting with the Advocate is not to be confused with filing an official Complaint, as outlined in other college policies.

4. Definitions

Complaint: A statement of dissatisfaction with something and/or a feeling of having been treated unfairly. Complaints can be both academic and non-academic, official and informal.

Conflict of interest: A set of circumstances that creates a risk that professional judgment or actions may be influenced by other interests.

Conflict resolution: The methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful solution of a disagreement between two or more parties.

Student advocate: Individual who acts in an intermediary role to provide students a consistent, centralized point of contact for questions, concerns and/or problems they may be experiencing on campus, in turn, providing support and guidance to students in order to facilitate their resolution.

5. Mandate of the student advocate

The functions of the Student Advocate shall be to:

1. provide independent, objective, and confidential guidance through which students may seek the just, fair and equitable resolution of complaints or perceived infringement of policy or procedure which falls under the jurisdiction of the College;
2. advise students of their rights and responsibilities;
3. inform and provide guidance to students and, upon request, to members of the Vanier community on institutional policies and procedures and their application;
4. advise students about the various informal and formal administrative channels available for addressing an issue that may become the object of a complaint;
5. promote a constructive informal approach to conflict resolution until such time as formal steps become necessary. The Advocate will guide the student through these steps and may act as a support person and speak on their behalf at any related meetings;
6. use discretion to determine type of support offered by the Advocacy Services and the internal priority that a case is given;
7. serve on relevant College committees and participate in the review of pertinent College policies, guidelines and procedures as requested by the College;
8. promote and disseminate information on Student Advocacy Services to the Vanier College community;
9. maintain records of all formal actions;
10. submit an annual report to the Director, Services for Students by November 1st of each year, covering the previous academic year, including relevant statistics, dominant themes and recommendations. The report will be made available to the Vanier College Community.

6. Recusal

In the event that the Student Advocate must recuse himself/herself from a complaint or other matter because of a conflict of interest, bias or because the Student Advocate is the subject of a complaint, the Director, Services for Students or his/her delegate may be called upon to assume the role of the Student Advocate, for this individual case and, in such a role, be governed by this policy.

7. Complaint about student advocacy services

If a member of the Vanier Community wishes to register a concern or complaint about Student Advocacy Services, with respect to any matter to which the member has been a party, the member may submit a written complaint, detailing the issue, to the Director, Services for Students. The Director will investigate the complaint and inform the member of the results of the investigation within 15 working days of receiving the complaint.

If the member remains unsatisfied, he/she may request that the Director General of the College review the complaint. This request must be made, in writing, within 15 working days of receiving the response from the Director, Services for Students. The Director General will respond within 15 working days of receiving the request. This decision is final and without appeal.

8. Reporting structure

The Student Advocate will report directly to the Coordinator of Professional Services, Services for Students, under the authority of the Director, Services for Students.

9. Policy revision

This policy will be reviewed yearly for three years following its enactment. Subsequently, it will be reviewed every five years.

10. Related policies and procedures

Listed below is a sample of policies and procedures pertaining to student rights and responsibilities. The Student Advocate is available to respond to inquiries related to their content and application. The documents can be found in full on the Vanier College website.

• By-law #8, Academic Success Code of Conduct
• Harassment and Discrimination, Prevention and Resolution Policy
• Inclusion Policy for Students with Disabilities
• Institutional Policy on the Evaluation of Student Achievement (IPESA) and associated policies
• Sexual Violence Prevention & Response Official Policy & Procedural Document
• Student Professional Unsuitability for Career and Technical Programs
• Student Misconduct in the Classroom