Undergraduate Catalog

Comments and Complaints

Participants in the Title IV Federal Financial Aid under the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, are required to direct students to a state agency for assistance with unresolved complaints. Related regulations require all Title IV participating institutions, regardless of the origin of their state authorization to operate, to comply with state agency complaint process and to communicate such information publicly. Under Federal rule 34 CFR §600.9 and §668.43(b), Title IV eligible institutions must make available to students or prospective students, upon request, a copy of the documents describing the institution’s accreditation and state authorization. The institution must provide its students or prospective students with contact information for filing complaints with the University, its accreditor, and the state.

Student and graduate comments and complaints are addressed separately for discrimination, ethics, police conduct, and/or all other institutional issues. University policy, procedure, and contact information for each type of complaint are described below.

All student complaints should first be addressed at the local level (the level at which the complaint arises). If it cannot be resolved at the local level, the complainant should express the complaint to the head of the academic department or administrative unit after referring to the University Organizational Chart or the University Directory to determine the appropriate contact. If the complaint is not resolved at this level, the following individual(s) should be contacted:

Complaint Type Contact Information Telephone Fax Email
Discrimination Ms. Joani Wilson
Director, Equal Opportunity and Access
Sherman Hall 312		 (309) 298-1977 (309) 298-3455 eoa-office@wiu.edu
Ethics Ms. Victoria Smith
Chief Ethics Officer
Office of the General Counsel
Sherman Hall 208		 (309) 298-3070 N/A ethics@wiu.edu
Police Conduct Mr. Derek J. Watts
Director, Office of Public Safety
Mowbray Hall		 (309) 298-1949 (309) 298-2884 DJ-Watts@wiu.edu
Student Success—Macomb Mr. Justin L. Schuch
Interim Vice President, Student Success
Sherman Hall 321		 (309) 298-1814 (309) 298-2558 VPSS@wiu.edu
All Other—Macomb Dr. Mark A. Mossman
Interim Provost and Academic Vice President
Sherman Hall 211		 (309) 298-1066 (309) 298-2021 provost@wiu.edu
Quad Cities Ms. Audrey Adamson
Executive Director, Outreach and Quad Cities Operations
3420 QC Complex C		 (309) 762-9481 N/A ANW-Adamson@wiu.edu

State of Illinois: The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) maintains the master plan which guides development of the state’s system of public and private colleges and universities, and it maintains an online complaint system for registering institutional complaints at https://complaints.ibhe.org. This website includes step-by-step instructions and key information regarding the complaint process.

State of Iowa: Western Illinois University is certified by the State of Iowa to provide educational certificates and degree programs in Museum Studies and distance education in Iowa. In serving students from Iowa, the Iowa College Student Aid Commission maintains a system (information available at iowacollegeaid.gov/StudentComplaintForm) to document concerns, questions, and complaints related to post-secondary educational institutions.

Out-of-State Distance Learning Students: Students enrolled in distance learning classes who live outside Illinois are protected by the State Authorization and Reciprocity Act (SARA) consumer protection provisions. These provisions require the investigation and resolution of allegations of dishonest or fraudulent activity, including the provision of false or misleading information. The SARA Student Complaints process and directions are available at nc-sara.org/student-complaints.