Student Complaints

Procedure for Student Complaints Concerning the Program of Legal Education

As an ABA-accredited law school, the University of Kansas School of Law is subject to the ABA Standards for Approval of Law Schools. The ABA Standards may be found here. Any student at the School of Law who wishes to bring a formal complaint to the administration of the law school of a significant problem that directly implicates the school’s program of legal education and its compliance with the ABA Standards should do the following:

1. Submit the complaint in writing to the Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs via email, U.S. mail, or personal delivery. The written complaint must be signed and must also include the student’s contact information including name, home and email addresses, and phone number.
2. The writing should describe in detail the behavior, program, process, or other 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).
3. The Associate Dean to whom the complaint is submitted will acknowledge the complaint within three business days of receipt by e-mail, U.S. mail, or by personal delivery.
4. Within two weeks of acknowledgment of the complaint, the Associate Dean shall either meet with the complaining student, or respond to the substance of the complaint in writing. In this meeting or in this writing, the student should either receive a substantive response to the complaint, or information about what steps are being taken by the law school to address the complaint or further investigate the complaint. If further investigation is needed, when the investigation is completed, the student shall be provided either a substantive response to the complaint or information about what steps are being taken by the law school to address the complaint within two weeks after completion of the investigation. Any prior resolution of the factual basis of the complaint under the University of Kansas School of Law Dispute Resolution Procedure shall be deemed final and shall preclude further action under this policy.
5. Appeals regarding decisions on complaints may be taken to the Dean of the law school. Any decision made on appeal by the Dean shall be final.
6. A copy of the complaint and a summary of the process and resolution of the complaint shall be kept in the office of the Dean for a period of 11 years from the date of final resolution of the complaint.