ccswpadmin – Page 8 – Staff Handbook

Complaint Procedure

If an employee faces a problem relating to his/her work, the College wants the employee to have every possible opportunity to resolve it. An employee should always first attempt to resolve the problem by meeting with his/her supervisor. If this approach is not successful, you should discuss the matter with the Director of Human Resources, or the supervisor’s Dean or Vice President. If the complaint relates to a dean or vice president, you should discuss it with the Director of Human Resources. You are strongly encouraged to provide the College with a written complaint as early as possible that details the issues of concern. Written complaints prepared by you ensure that the complaint is accurately documented.

All employee problems at every step of this process will be confidential to the extent the College can do so without compromising its investigatory obligations. There will be no discrimination, recrimination or penalty against any employee for his/her good faith participation in this process.

Employment of Relatives

The College may hire relatives of current employees, based on their qualifications for the job. However, an employee may not directly supervise an immediate family member. An immediate family member under this policy is your spouse, parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, in-law, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece or a domestic partner. Further, an immediate family member of a current employee will not be hired (or transferred into a position) where this would have the potential for creating an adverse impact on work performance or create an actual or apparent conflict of interest.

Performance Appraisal

It is CCS’s goal to evaluate the performance of each full-time administrative staff member annually. The purpose of the evaluation is to provide the immediate supervisor and the staff member an opportunity to review the administrative staff member’s work during the past year, to outline the strengths and weaknesses in the staff member’s performance, to share concerns and criticisms, to lay out a plan for the staff member’s work in the coming year, and generally to provide support, encouragement, and direction to the administrative staff member in the pursuit of excellence.

Annual performance appraisal meetings are customarily scheduled during the month of July. The performance appraisal form is prepared by the supervisor, reviewed by the second level supervisor, and then presented to the employee during a performance appraisal meeting. Employee feedback concerning job satisfaction, position responsibility and career goals is encouraged during the appraisal and any time during the year.

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees is the legal governing body of the College for Creative Studies and its final institutional authority. The Board’s responsibilities include policy-making, stewardship of the institution’s financial and physical resources, appointment and supervision of the institution’s chief executive officer, long-range planning, and representation of the institution to external communities. It delegates day-to-day management of the institution to the President.

The full Board ordinarily meets four times a year. Much of the Board’s work is conducted through its committees, which include the Executive; Education; Facilities; Finance and Audit; Investment; Advancement; and Nominating Committees. The Executive Committee meets about five times a year, and the other committees meet two to four times each year.

Table of Organization

Legal Organization

The College for Creative Studies is a Michigan non-profit corporation. CCS is an educational institution as described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code. CCS is authorized by the Michigan State Department of Education to grant undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Grade Change Forms

An instructor may change a student’s grade. The reason for this change may be due to completion of work from the previous semester (grade of “I” being changed to a letter grade) or a review of the student’s work which resulted in a better grade. A student who receives an “I” grade has one semester (Fall or Winter) to complete the work and receive the appropriate grade. After the one semester deadline, the “I” grade will be changed to an “F”. Instructors and Program Managers can obtain the Grade Change form from the Academic Advising and Registration Office (AARO). The instructor and Department Chair must sign the form, and it is then sent to the Office of Academic Affairs who return the approved form to the AARO. Instructors must provide complete and accurate information to ensure quick processing.

Students may appeal a grade up to 60 days after the last day of the semester in which the student was enrolled in the course. Appealing students should submit a written request to the Office of Academic Affairs identifying the course, instructor, and an explanation of the circumstances and reason for the request. The request will be reviewed and decided upon by the Academic Performance Committee.