Augustana Department of Athletics Complaint Process
Augustana College and the Department of Athletics aims to provide student-athletes with a tremendous experience. Student-athletes should expect to be inserted into competitive environments where students will be pushed and challenged to reach their full potential and make a positive impact on the team while continually being supported as students and teammates. Augustana Athletics is grounded in the desire for every student-athlete to grow as people, students and athletes.
It is important for student-athletes to have avenues to express concerns with their intercollegiate athletics experience. It is a priority of the Department of Athletics to promote an atmosphere that demands fairness, growth, inclusion, respect and support.
The primary goals of the complaint process outlined below includes providing student-athletes agency and ownership over their experience, for the Department of Athletics to hear and respond to concerns accordingly, and to ensure concerns are addressed as necessary.
Student-athletes considering sharing a concern should assess the degree of the concern in order to navigate the concern process accordingly:
Defining Concerns:
Minor Concern: Matters that should be able to be addressed following one conversation. Matters that are troubling but not inhibiting a student-athlete from enjoying their experience. For example, communication issues, scheduling conflicts, questioning training plans or X’s and O’s.
Moderate Concern: Matters that likely require a small number of touchpoints before closure. Matters that negatively impact a student-athlete enjoying their experience and is something that the student-athlete thinks about on a regular basis. For example, playing time issues they deem unfair, repetitive questionable comments or language, or a feeling of being treated differently.
Major Concern: Matters that require formal, process-oriented follow-up. Matters that have the student-athlete considering leaving the program. Matters that are illegal. Matters that do not align with Community Principles like openness/respect and care, or do not embody Augustana’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. For example, matters of discrimination, harassment, inappropriate comments, abusive team culture/environment, or concerning decision-making as it relates to health and safety.
Staff Mentioned Below:
AD: Director of Athletics
SWA: Senior Women’s Administrator
ALT: Athletics Leadership Team
TIX: Title IX Coordinator
VP: Vice President and Dean of Students
HR: Human Resources
Process:
Step 1. Complainant should determine the appropriate initial step.
- Minor Concern*: Address with Team Captain, Assistant Coach, or Head Coach
- Student-athlete is encouraged to visit with someone mentioned above. The student-athlete will need to determine the appropriate communication approach. The athletic department encourages student-athletes to speak face-to-face when addressing minor concerns. Alternative communication methods may include phone calls, emails, or text messages, but in-person is always encouraged.
- Moderate Concern*: Address with AD, SWA, or Head Coach in person.
- Student-athlete is encouraged to visit with someone mentioned above. The student-athlete should consider providing a written account of the concern at the time of the initial meeting.
- Major Concern: File a formal complaint through an online reporting system.
Form allows complainant to request desired overseer of the complaint…AD, SWA, Title IX Coordinator, Vice President and Dean of Students or HR. Complaints that are filed anonymously may not be able to be addressed in their entirety or followed up on.
*Minor and Moderate concerns may not result in any further steps of this process being executed.
**Depending on the details of the complaint, the student-athlete’s requested overseer may not be the person managing the process.
Step 2. Overseer of the complaint will inform the complainant in writing that their complaint has been received.
Step 3. Complaint will be reviewed by the Athletics Leadership Team at the next ALT meeting (no longer than 2 weeks). If a complaint warrants quicker review, ALT will meet as necessary. Overseer of the complaint can choose to include other relevant people in the ALT meeting, if necessary, such as HR or VP.
Step 4. Overseer or designee will meet with the complainant, ask a series of questions, and document in writing the concerns more thoroughly.
Step 5. ALT, under the leadership of the overseer, will determine the appropriate next step such as conducting interviews, reviewing footage, documenting the complaint but pursuing nothing further, etc. These next steps are shared with the Vice President and Dean of Students.
Step 6. Conduct whatever action steps are necessary to appropriately address the complaint. After each step of the determined process such as interviews, observing future practices, etc. the overseer should provide updates in writing to the complainant.
Step 7. ALT, under the overseer's leadership, will determine consequences, if any, deliver those consequences, and close the complaint. After addressing and closing the complaint, written notice of the closed complaint must be shared with the complainant.
