Student Complaints

Policy on Student Complaints Relating to
ABA Program of Legal Education Standards

Under ABA Standard 512, The American Bar Association requires that accredited law schools provide students with the opportunity to submit complaints to the Law School administration "of a significant problem that directly implicates the school’s program of legal education and its compliance with the ABA Standards." Florida A&M University College of Law invites students to share any concerns they might have about the Law School’s program of legal education as it relates to matters that directly connect to ABA Standards.

Any person may make a complaint alleging a violation of this Standard by:

1. Filing a written complaint with the Associate Dean for Student Services and Administration or the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
2. Every such complaint must be signed and must identify the program, process or matter that is the subject of the complaint, and should explain how the matter implicates the law school’s program of legal education and its compliance with a specific, identified ABA Standard(s).

Upon receipt of the complaint, the relevant Associate Dean:

1. Acknowledge receipt of the complaint within three business days of its receipt.
2. Within two weeks of acknowledging receipt of the complaint, the relevant Associate Dean will either meet with the complaining student and/or respond to the complaint in writing informing the student of the steps being taken to address the complaint, or the steps being taken to further investigate the complaint. 
3. If further investigation is necessary, the relevant Associate Dean will conduct and complete that investigation within a reasonable time.

If the student is dissatisfied with the response to, or resolution of, the complaint, the student may file an appeal by:

1. Filing a written appeal with the Dean of the Law School. The appeal must be filed no later than three weeks after being advised of the Associate Dean’s response to the complaint or of the steps being taken to address the complaint.
2. The Dean’s decision regarding the appeal will be communicated to the student within three weeks of receipt of the appeal. The Dean’s decision shall be final.

To further comply with the standard, the College of Law shall maintain a complete written record of each complaint and how it was investigated and resolved. Written records shall be maintained in a confidential manner in the Office of Student Services for eight years.