Should I file a formal complaint or not?

[Teacher41]

I have verbal and email evidence of "employee misconduct" done by the department chair of my graduate program, which was witnessed by the academic dean during a recent a meeting I attended with them.

I need advice as to whether or not you think that filing a formal complaint now would jeopardize my program completion.

Should I contact the human resources department or the general counsel (university legal representative) for the answer?

[GemStone]

Think forward five years.

You'll be done with your graduate program by then, and it will be a distant memory IF you do not report the department chair. Any issues you have now will be a distant memory by then.

Or, if you report the department chair, five years from now you could really be regretting it.

My point is, finish out your program with as little drama as possible. Then move on. This is such a short time in your life that you don't want it to affect your future.

[Caesar753]

Originally Posted by GemStone

My point is, finish out your program with as little drama as possible. Then move on. This is such a short time in your life that you don't want it to affect your future.

This is excellent advice.

In general, I think that some people seem to have an excessive amount of drama in their lives. The OP seems to be one of those sorts of people.

[lucybelle]

Yeah I'd leave it alone. I had a professor I wanted to tell off so bad because he was a giant a-hole. But didn't.

Don't burn bridges my friend.

[ku_alum]

Move on.
Drama and/or stirring trouble will come back to bite you. Education is a tiny world. Getting a label of a "trouble maker" will be news that travels far and quickly.

[swansong1]

If the behavior does not personally affect you or would not be dangerous to someone, skip it. There may be some underlying issues that you don't know about.

[ciounoi]

If it involves you in particular, I might think about reporting it. However, if you were only a witness to a third party, and if nothing illegal was done, I wouldn't think too hard about it.

[dgpiaffeteach]

I think it depends on what the action is. As someone else mentioned, if it was dangerous or illegal, I'd probably report it.

[kpa1b2]

Originally Posted by GemStone

Think forward five years.

You'll be done with your graduate program by then, and it will be a distant memory IF you do not report the department chair. Any issues you have now will be a distant memory by then.

Or, if you report the department chair, five years from now you could really be regretting it.

My point is, finish out your program with as little drama as possible. Then move on. This is such a short time in your life that you don't want it to affect your future.

[bros]

Don't do it unless it is something major.

The only time I have raised a huge stink was when I filed a complaint against one of my professors alleging discrimination. I filed a complaint with the school and the state simultaneously (The state dismissed my complaint without prejudice).

The school granted me a withdrawal from the course in question (as withdrawal deadline had already passed) to remove me from the hostile environment.

Eventually, the determination was that there was not enough evidence to determine that the professor was discriminating for it be considered discrimination under the definition set forth by the laws the college had to follow.

There was also a secondary determination that the disability services office failed completely in its duty to help advocate for me and assist me in a timely manner in a time sensitive matter. My disability services "Mentor" was let go as a result of their findings and their entire office was restructured, but kept the same personnel. They had to revise all of their documents including the accommodation forms, to remove any reference to what the student's disability is, and adding to the form that the student is protected by the Americans With Disabilities Act. Their failure to advocate was evident after I received their records on me in a FERPA request, which showed multiple times in which the professor had communicated with my "Mentor" and my "Mentor" failed to tell me that she was communicating with her, which simply exacerbated the situation (as I assumed the professor was ignoring my concerns completely, rather than not understanding my disabilities at all), leading to my filing the complaint.