Grievances

Effective summer 2026, Student Conduct and Integrity is no longer accepting grievance reports about faculty or staff. This page is designed to assist students in navigating to the correct resources to directly address their grievance or concern. 

Complaints about a Campus Employee

When a student has a complaint about a campus employee, Employee & Labor Relations may be the best office to field your concerns. You can file complaints about employee conduct by emailing [email protected]. Alternatively, if you know the department the employee represents, you can contact that department directly to share your concerns or file a complaint. 

Complaints about an Instructor

For students with a grievance or complaint about an instructor, the following resources are available:

  • Serious Misconduct – If an instructor is alleged to have engaged in serious misconduct, a grievance may be made to Academic Affairs.
  • Harassment/Discrimination – Complaints involving alleged unfair treatment based on a protected class may be made to HDAPP.
  • Grading Errors – The Grade Change Committee addresses grading concerns involving clerical or procedural errors in the recording of a grade. Questions should be directed to the Grade Change Deputy in the Office of the University Registrar, at [email protected].
  • Teaching or Grading – If a student feels that the instructor’s teaching has been inadequate or the grading has been unfair (unrelated to clerical or procedural errors), students are directed to contact their course department chair to discuss their concern. The chair will determine how they would like to address the grievance.

Complaints about a Registered Student Organization

The Center for Student Involvement (CSI) serves as the primary contact for registered student organizations and may be helpful to you in determining whether and under what circumstances a student organization can block a student from their social media accounts and from attending events.

Disability-related Concerns/Accommodations

UC Davis is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for its students. The campus maintains a comprehensive website dedicated to disability information and resources. 

Students may also contact the campus ADA Coordination Officer to report architectural or structural barriers on campus, or to discuss informal resolution of concerns or mechanisms for filing a complaint. The campus takes complaints seriously and acts promptly to resolve concerns and provide remedies where appropriate. 

If you feel you were discriminated against because of a disability, this should be reported to the Harassment & Discrimination Assistance and Prevention Program (HDAPP).

Academics 

  • The Student Disability Center provides information and addresses concerns about academic accommodations and support services for students with disabilities. 

Housing and Dining Services 

Employment 

Discrimination 

The University is committed to creating and maintaining a community where all individuals who are part of the University community can work and learn together in an atmosphere free from all forms of discrimination and harassment. You can find the campus' policy on Discrimination and Harassment here. 

Hate, Bias, Discrimination or Harassment 

If you believe you have experienced or witnessed an act of hate, bias, discrimination or harassment, please report it so the University can take appropriate action. Anonymous reporting is an option. To learn more, visit the website Report Hate and Bias, maintained by the UC Davis Harassment & Discrimination Assistance and Prevention Program (HDAPP). 

Financial Disputes between Students 

You might be able to address financial disputes between students through small claims court in Yolo County. You don't need to be a United States citizen to file or defend a case in small claims court. See these pages for more information: 

  1. Basic Considerations and Questions About Small Claims Court - This page has information about small claims advisers, who provide free, individual, personal advisory services to small claims disputants. 
  1. Plaintiffs and Defendants ... Making the Best of Your Day in Court - If you think it might be helpful to have an interpreter, this page has information on your options. 

Ombuds Office 

If you would like help identifying policies that might apply to your situation, explore additional resources, or discuss communication strategies for navigating a conflict or concern, the Ombuds Office might be useful to you. They are a confidential resource on campus. Due to their confidential nature, you can reach them by phone at 530-754-7233 since they cannot maintain anonymity/confidentiality via email.

Online Posts/Comments

Posts that are hurtful and upsetting without a direct threat are usually protected speech. For more information on what constitutes a direct threat, see What does the First Amendment protect? 

If individuals are posting false or hurtful comments on social media, each social media platform has a process for reporting users who are engaging in harassing behaviors, making threats or impersonating you. Most platforms act quickly on these reports, especially if they receive more than one report. Once verified that the offending actions are against platform harassment policies, the platform will take action to delete the user comments and accounts per their policies. In extreme cases, users can be banned outright from using the platforms. You can activate your support network and ask them to also file a report on the content or profile in question. These reports are also used for any police case filings or warrants. 

Additional resources and guidance: 

  • Keep documenting these types of posts in case you need that documentation later, such as for a police report. You can and should report this to the police if you feel there is a genuine threat to your safety.