The Kutenai Art Therapy Institute (KATI) is committed to maintaining a respectful, ethical, and supportive learning environment. The Institute recognizes that concerns and disagreements may arise during graduate education and encourages their timely, fair, and constructive resolution.
This policy establishes a transparent process for addressing student complaints while ensuring procedural fairness, confidentiality, and protection from retaliation.
This policy applies to complaints relating to any aspect of the Institute's operations, including but not limited to:
This policy does not replace procedures required by law or those established under other Institute policies where a specific complaint process already exists.
Student complaints will be addressed according to the following principles:
Students who submit complaints in good faith will not experience retaliation or adverse academic consequences solely because they have exercised their right to raise a concern.
Whenever appropriate and where safety, power imbalance, or legal considerations do not make this unsuitable, students are encouraged to first attempt to resolve concerns informally.
Informal resolution may include:
Participation in informal resolution is voluntary and does not prevent a student from initiating a formal complaint.
Students may request the presence of a support person during any meeting. The support person may provide advice and emotional support but may not participate unless agreed upon by all parties.
Where informal resolution is unsuccessful, inappropriate, or not reasonably possible, a student may submit a formal written complaint.
The complaint should include:
Formal complaints should normally be submitted within 30 calendar days of the event giving rise to the complaint.
Complaints submitted after this period may be considered where there is a reasonable explanation for the delay or where fairness requires consideration of the complaint.
Complaints shall normally be submitted to the Executive Director and Academic Director.
If either the Executive Director or Academic Director is the subject of the complaint or has an actual or perceived conflict of interest, the complaint shall be submitted directly to the Chair of the Board or the Chair of the Human Resources Committee, who will appoint an impartial investigator. The appointed investigator will make a recommendation to the board, who will make the final decision.
Upon receiving a complaint, the Institute will:
The Institute may use facilitated discussion or mediation where appropriate and where all parties voluntarily agree. In appeals of a student dismissal, mediation is not appropriate.
The Institute may appoint an independent investigator or mediator where the nature or complexity of the complaint warrants external review.
A written decision will normally be issued within 21 calendar days of receipt of a complete formal complaint.
Where additional time is required because of the complexity of the matter or the availability of participants, the student will be informed of the reason for the delay and provided with an anticipated decision date.
The written decision will include:
At any stage of the complaint process, students may be accompanied by a support person, advocate, or legal representative.
Where mediation is appropriate and all parties voluntarily agree, the Institute may engage an external mediator.
Unless all parties expressly agree otherwise in writing, mediation is voluntary and any recommendations arising from mediation are submitted to the board for final approval.
The Board may approve funding for external mediation where it considers mediation to be in the best interests of the parties and the Institute.
If the student remains dissatisfied after the Institute's internal complaint process has concluded, they may submit a complaint to the Private Training Institutions Regulatory Unit in accordance with provincial requirements.
The Institute will maintain records of complaints and their resolution in accordance with applicable privacy legislation and the Institute's records retention policies.