Texas Administrative Code › Title 19 - EDUCATION › Part 1 - TEXAS HIGHER EDUCATION COORDINATING BOARD › Chapter 1 - AGENCY ADMINISTRATION › Subchapter E - STUDENT COMPLAINT PROCEDURE › Section 1.116 - Agency Investigation of Student Complaint

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) If a student complaint form concerns
				  compliance with the statutes and regulations that the Agency administers and
				  the Agency has not referred the complaint to another entity, the Agency will
				  initiate an investigation, as described in subsections (b) - (h) of this
				  section.
(b) Prior to initiating an
				  investigation, the Agency shall require the complainant to exhaust all
				  grievance and appeal procedures that the institution has established to address
				  student complaints. Complainants will be encouraged to consult the
				  institution's website and student handbook, or to contact the institution's
				  student ombudsman, Office of Student Affairs, Office of the General Counsel, or
				  other appropriate administrative official, for information regarding the
				  institution's processes for resolving complaints. Upon exhaustion of the
				  institution's procedures, the complainant shall inform the Agency of the
				  outcome of the grievance and appeal procedures and provide all documentation
				  concerning same.
(c) As part of the
				  Agency's investigation of the complaint, Agency staff may contact the
				  complainant to obtain additional information regarding the complaint.
(d) Agency staff, as appropriate, will
				  request a written response to the complaint from the institution. Along with a
				  request for response, the Agency will transmit to the institution a copy of the
				  student complaint form and any attachments thereto. The institution has thirty
				  days from receiving the request for response to provide a written response to
				  the complaint. Agency staff, in its discretion, may contact the institution to
				  obtain additional information upon the Agency's receipt of the institution's
				  response or at any time during the investigation of the complaint.
(e) As part of its investigation, the Agency
				  may also contact other persons or entities named in the student's
				  complaint.
(f) The Agency shall
				  provide the complainant, the institution, and each person who is a subject of
				  the complaint a copy of the Agency's policies and procedures relating to
				  complaint investigation and resolution.
(g) The Agency, at least quarterly until
				  final disposition of the complaint, shall notify the complainant, the
				  institution, and each person who is a subject of the complaint of the status of
				  the investigation, unless the notice would jeopardize an undercover
				  investigation.
(h) The Agency shall
				  maintain a file on each student complaint form filed with the Agency. The file
				  shall include:
(1) the name of the
				  complainant;
(2) the date the
				  complaint is received by the Agency;
(3) the subject matter of the
				  complaint;
(4) the name of each
				  person contacted in relation to the complaint;
(5) a summary of the results of the review or
				  investigation of the complaint; and
(6) an explanation of the reason the file was
				  closed, if the Agency closed the file without taking action other than to
				  investigate the complaint.