The Student Association Academic Affairs Committee is composing a proposal to the NIU provost about the academic grievance process.

SA Academic Affairs Adviser Willie Fowler said he feels the present system is ineffective because too little has been done. The actual grievance process is not instituted yet, but is planned to be processed through NIU Provost Kendall Baker within seven to ten days, Fowler said.

NIU Ombudsman Bertrand Simpson said students are concerned about their education and use the grievance process and the ombudsman to solve any academic problems.

Currently, students file a complaint by talking to their professors, departmental chairman and finally to the deans or the provost, he said.

The suggested proposal involves the use of academic grievance forms to solve problems with grade appeals, Fowler said. The forms ask about the type and area of a problem, information about course content, professors, teacher assistants, the name of the department and a brief description about the situation.

Drop boxes for the academic grievance forms, formerly only in the SA office, soon will be placed in most academic buildings.

Fowler said more drop boxes will provide better access to student complaints. Prior to the installation of the dropboxes, he said, “I have received many forms with a large response.”

“When students complain to their departmental chairmen, they (the chairmen) don’t want to hurt their colleagues’ feelings, so students received unsolved responses, and students are very upset about it,” Fowler said.