How to File a Complaint

The College offers a variety of avenues for formal complaint procedures, depending on the nature of the complaint. First, it is important to remember that if a situation can be managed through classroom management techniques, that is preferable since it enables you to give the student timely feedback about their behavior, and reinforces the standards you have already provided. If you address a low-level incident and you just want it documented somewhere in case the behavior continues, you can always report that as an informational incident so that the Student Conduct Officer is aware of it. However, If the situation is egregious (involves a threat to physical safety or significant disruption that can't be managed), consider one of the following:

If the incident requires an immediate response, contact the Harper College Police Department at 847-925-6330. Examples include:
- A person or student with a weapon
- A person or student who appears intoxicated or in a similarly altered state of mind
- An unknown person who is a significant disruption to the campus
- To report a crime
Other concerns can be reported online for review and response by the College. The information will be reviewed and routed to the appropriate College entity: possible threats will be forwarded to HEAT and all other incidents of student behavior will be reviewed by the Student Conduct Officer. Examples of incidents to report include:
- A person who jokes about bombing the College or shooting someone
- A student who is not complying with your clearly provided instructions
- Harassment or aggressive behavior
- Students who engage in theft, disruption, or other policy violations
If the complaint pertains to academic dishonesty, you can file an academic dishonesty report after you speak to the student.
If the complaint pertains to sexual or gender-based harassment or misconduct, you are encouraged to review the College's Title IX/Sexual Misconduct website and file a report online.

Review the Tips for Documenting Incidents for more information about what you should report. It is most helpful for reports to be made in first-person and in a timely fashion. Please feel free to consult with your Chair/Dean about the incident, but please remember that the timeliness of the report may be critical to investigation and/or resolution of the issue.