General Grievance Procedure
The Southwestern Institute for the Advancement of Psychotherapy (SIAP)is fully committed to conducting all activities in strict conformance with the American Psychological Association's Ethical Principlesof Psychologists. The Southwestern Institute for the Advancement of Psychotherapy (SIAP)will comply with all legal and ethical responsibilities to be non-discriminatory in promotional activities, program content and in the treatment of program participants. The monitoring and assessment of compliance with these standards will be the responsibility of the Program Director in consultation with the presenters of the continuing education program.
While The Southwestern Institute for the Advancement of Psychotherapy (SIAP)goes to great lengths to assure fair treatment for all participants and attempts to anticipate problems, there will be occasional issues which come to the attention of SIAP staff which require intervention and/or action on the part of the SIAP staff or Program Director of The Southwestern Institute for the Advancement of Psychotherapy (SIAP). This procedural description serves as a guideline for handling such grievances.
1. When a participant, either orally or in written format, files a grievance and expects action on the complaint, the following actions will be taken.
If the grievance concerns a speaker, the content presented by the speaker, or the style of presentation, the individual filing the grievance will be asked to put his/her comments in written format. The Program Director will then pass on the comments to the speaker, assuring the confidentiality of the grieved individual.
2. If the grievance concerns a workshop offering, its content, level of presentation, or the facilities in which the workshop was offered, the Program Director will mediate and will be the final arbitrator. If the participant requests action, the Program Director will provide a partial or full refund of the workshop fee.
3. If the grievance concerns The Southwestern Institute for the Advancement of Psychotherapy (SIAP) CE program, in a specific regard, a neutral arbitrator agreed by the Program Director and the complainant will attempt to arbitrate.
NMSU GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES
It is hoped that as students participate in classes offered by the Southwestern Institute for the Advancement of Psychotherapy or in classes cosponsored with other organizations, they will feel free to openly discuss any concerns that they may have with the Director of the SIAP. As is suggested by the American Psychological Association(APA) Professional Code of Ethics, as professional psychologists, we should first attempt to work through any difficulties by communicating in a collegial fashion.
However, at times, issues do arise that are difficult to resolve on an informal or individual manner. In such cases, the SIAP ascribes to the following grievance procedure:
For Continuing Education Courses Offered or Cosponsored By SIAP
Under normal circumstances, the student should discuss the issue with the instructor/adviser.
If the student is unable to resolve the issue through consultation with the faculty member, the student should submit a written memorandum detailing the grievance to the Director of SIAP. The Director will meet with the student and faculty member to resolve the issues.
For Courses Offered By New Mexico State University
The grievance procedure from the graduate school at NMSU is followed:
1. Under normal circumstances, the student should discuss the issue with the instructor/adviser.
2. If the student is unable to resolve the issue through consultation with the faculty member, the student must submit a written memorandum detailing the grievance to the course instructor or adviser within 30 calendardays of the beginning of the following full (i.e., fall or spring) semester. The person to whom the memorandum is addressed must respond in writing within 30 calendar days to the student.
3. If the student is not satisfied with the response from Steps 1-2, he or she must submit a written appeal to the department head of the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology within ten working days of the initial decision. If the student is initiating the appeal at the departmental level, he or she must do so, in writing, within 30 calendar days of the beginning of the following full (i.e., fall or spring) semester. The department head must respond in writing within ten working days to the student, the instructor or adviser (if one is involved), and the Dean of the Graduate School.
4. If after the third step the student or any of the other parties involved is still not satisfied with the response, he or she must present to the Dean of the Graduate School within ten working days a written complaint detailing the nature of the grievance and requesting a Graduate Student Appeals Board hearing. After receiving a written complaint, the Dean of the Graduate School will determine whether the complaint has merit. If the graduate dean determines that the appeal does not have merit, he or she will inform the appellant and other parties, in writing, within ten working days of receiving the appeal. If the graduate dean decides that the appeal does have merit, he or she will convene the Graduate Student Appeals Board, normally within three weeks. The Graduate Student Appeals Board will conduct, within 60 days of their convening, whatever investigations and deliberations are necessary, and will forward to the Dean of the Graduate School a recommendation to resolve the grievance.
5. After reviewing the recommendation of the Graduate Student Appeals Board, the Dean of the Graduate School will, within ten working days, inform all parties involved of his or her decision in writing.
The decision of the Dean of the Graduate School is final.
The Dean of the Graduate School may waive the normal time framefor grievances when either party presents compelling evidence justifying such a delay, but grievances must be launched within one year.
Please contact Elaine S. LeVine, Ph.D., 1395 Missouri Avenue, Las Cruces, New Mexico, 88001; 575-522-5466; eslevine@hotmail.comto submit a complaint, or if you have additional questions.