Dean of Students

Student Success

Academic Success – Personal Success – Conflict Resolution

SCF’s Dean of Students office is committed to promoting the academic and personal success of students by focusing on their care, needs, and well-being. Our team is here to assist you with the resolution of problems or concerns. We are also dedicated to promoting initiatives that will help you grow and flourish as students.

Core Values

• Contribute positively to our students’ lives.
• Embrace diversity as an essential component of our institutional culture.
• Promote integrity and appropriate behavioral standards through the SCF Student Code of Conduct.
• Ensure that every student is treated with care and concern.
• Engage and educate our students to be better citizens by guiding them towards ethical decision-making and accountability.

We are so glad to have you at SCF!

Please feel free to reach out to our office about any difficulty you may be having as soon as it occurs and before it becomes too overwhelming.

Student Care

We understand how demanding and stressful college life can be.

Student care is the top priority of the State College of Florida’s Dean of Students office. Our team is here to assist students with information and referrals to campus and community resources. We strive to help students in the resolution of problems or concerns, and promote initiatives that address students’ care, needs, and well-being. We also serve as a resource for faculty and staff in supporting student success at SCF.

In addition to your College and Career Success Coach, you are strongly encouraged to contact the many other support services on campus that stand ready to assist you.

SCF Counseling Services

College can be stressful! Counseling Services at SCF work to provide our students with timely and effective mental health services that allow them to improve and maintain their mental well-being while meeting their educational, personal, emotional, and psychological goals.

If you are in crisis please call 9-1-1 for immediate assistance. 

• On Campus Counseling:
  • You can request counseling by completing this Counseling Referral Form and submitting it to SCFCare@SCF.edu.
    
• SCF Counseling & Support Line:
  • 941.752.5107 (auto attended number available 24/7)
    
• Counseling through SCF Campus Ministry:
  • 941.752.5607 (Bradenton & LWR)
  • 941.408.1523 (Venice)

SCF Students have access to Oasis! 

Oasis is a free mental health and wellness APP that all SCF Students can access and create an account by using your SCF Student Email.

You can also download the free Oasis APP available for Apple and Google Play. 

Student Complaint Process

What is a complaint?

A complaint is a statement that a situation is unsatisfactory or unacceptable. It can range from an experience with a college employee to a matter relating to college facilities. Complaints may be brought to the attention of the Dean of Students with the assurance that they will be reviewed in a fair and equitable manner.

To address grade disputes, course content and expectations, classroom management, etc. use the Academic Conflict Resolution Process. The first step is to contact your instructor or Department Chair. Their contact information can be found in the syllabus for your class in Canvas. Please download the procedure below for resolving these issues.

Students are encouraged to resolve complaints at the appropriate level of dispute; however, should this approach fail or be inappropriate, students may submit written complaints through an online complaint form. All pertinent information should be listed including date, time, location, parties involved, witnesses, any attempts to resolve the complaint, and desired resolution. Forms submitted without valid contact information will not be processed; anonymous complaints can be submitted through State College of Florida’s confidential and anonymous reporting tool or in writing to the Dean of Students Office at the address below. Once received, the complaint will be forwarded to the appropriate academic area or administrative unit for review.

Steps to File a Complaint

Students are encouraged to resolve complaints at the appropriate level of dispute; however, should this approach fail or be inappropriate, students may submit written complaints through an online complaint form. All pertinent information should be listed including date, time, location, parties involved, witnesses, any attempts to resolve the complaint, and desired resolution. Once received, the complaint will be forwarded to the appropriate academic area or administrative unit for review.

1. Seek direct conflict resolution whenever possible by communicating directly with the college employee responsible for the service or area of complaint. In most cases, you will be asked to speak directly with the department or staff member associated with the concern.
2. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the initial interaction or you are not comfortable approaching the SCF employee directly, submit your complaint to SCF using this online form. When submitting a complaint, please provide as much information as you can.

Written complaints should be addressed to:

Dean of Students
Building 1, Room 127
State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota 5840 26^th St. W.
Bradenton, FL 34207

What Happens Next?

1. Once you submit the complaint using the online form, you will receive a confirmation email verifying that your complaint was received.
2. The confirmation will include the contact information of the Dean/Assistant Dean/Director on campus that has been assigned to conduct an inquiry into the complaint.
3. You should contact the Dean/Assistant Dean/Director assigned to the inquiry to set up a meeting to discuss the complaint.
4. The complaint will be addressed by following the conflict resolution procedure that applies.

Dual enrollment students should visit the link below to address any complaints that they have.

No Reprisal Policy

Complaints are respected and honored. No reprisals or retaliation shall be invoked against any student for processing, in good faith, a complaint, either on an informal or formal basis, or for participating in any way in these complaint procedures. Every attempt is made to resolve complaints informally and at the lowest level possible. Students who choose to resolve the complaint informally still have the right to pursue a formal grievance.

Confidentiality

All submissions will be kept confidential to the extent possible given the need to investigate the complaint, maintain campus safety and comply with federal, state, or local mandates. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) requires each institution to have student grievance and public complaint policies and procedures that are reasonable, fairly administered, and well-publicized. The college is also required to maintain a log or a record of written student complaints received by the institution. This record is made available to the Commission upon request. This record will be reviewed and evaluated by the Commission as part of the institution’s decennial evaluation.