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 office management techniques, that is preferable since it enables you give the student timely feedback about their behavior. 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 communicated instructions
- Harassment or aggressive behavior
- Students who engage in theft, disruption, or other policy violations
- Students who engage in sexual misconduct

If the complaint pertains to sexual or gender-based misconduct or harassment, review the College's Title IX/Sexual Misconduct website, where you can also report an incident online.

Review the Tips for Documenting Incidents for more information. It is most helpful for reports to be made in first-person and in a timely fashion. Feel free to consult with your supervisor, but please keep in mind that the timeliness of the report may be critical to investigation and/or resolution of the issue.