Team Grievance for Graduate Students

Teams are meant to simulate the experiences people face in the professional world. Students must work together in their teams to collaborate on group projects, debate ideas, and to overcome difficulties. Teams and/or team members who experience an internal conflict and/or issue must first come together to discuss and resolve the conflict/issue as a team. In the event that a team feels that it has exhausted all internal team options to resolve the conflict/issue, and needs outside help in facilitating a resolution; students must follow the team grievance for graduate students procedures outlined below:

1. The team member(s) should seek acceptable resolution through a discussion with the instructor of the course.
2. If a satisfactory resolution is not reached, the team member(s) must complete the Team Grievance for Graduate Students form and provide supporting documentation. The supporting documentation should include minutes from team meetings, attendance records, project assignments and/or any other documentation that is relevant to the grievance.
3. The form and supporting documentation must then be submitted to the director for graduate programs. The director for graduate programs, in consultation with the faculty director, may choose to call a meeting of the team members to gather additional information, and try to facilitate a resolution. Every attempt to schedule this meeting within three business days of receiving the grievance form. Teams are expected to make a good faith effort to reach an acceptable resolution during this meeting.
4. Following the meeting, the director for graduate programs, in consultation with the faculty director, will communicate a resolution to the members of the team.

Be aware:

• Under no circumstances does a team or member of a team have the authority to remove or limit the participation and/or interaction of fellow team members without following the procedure outlined above. If an individual student’s behavior is deemed as sufficiently egregious and/or irresponsible to warrant removal from a team by the director for graduate programs, that student may be asked to work individually for the rest of the term.
• Teams should not attempt to resolve any issues where safety of a fellow team member(s) is in question including, but not limited to, potential harm to themselves or others. These issues should be reported to the appropriate authority including, but not limited to, GW University Police, GW Counseling Services, the Metropolitan Police Department, the director for graduate programs, and/or the assistant dean for graduate programs.