Purpose:

To outline the process for addressing grievances in compliance with APA continuing education guidelines.

Definitions:

Activity Director – Person ultimately responsible to the overall design, development and implementation of continuing education activities.

Procedure:

The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) is fully committed to conducting all activities in strict conformance with the APA continuing education guidelines MCW will comply with all legal and ethical responsibilities to be non-discriminatory in promotional activities, program content and in the treatment of program participants. The monitoring and assessment of compliance with these standards will be the responsibility of the Activity Director in consultation with the members of the meeting planning committee and the MCW Office of Continuing Professional Development (OCPD). While MCW goes to great lengths to assure fair treatment for all participants and attempts to anticipate problems, there will be occasional issues which come to the attention of the meeting staff which require intervention and/or action on the part of the meeting staff or an officer of MCW. This procedural description serves as a guideline for handling such grievances.

When a participant files a grievance orally or in written format and expects action on the complaint, the following actions will be taken.

1. If the grievance concerns a speaker, the content presented by the speaker, or the style of presentation, the individual filing the grievance will be asked to put his/her comments in written format. The Activity Director responsible for the course will then pass the comments on to the speaker, assuring the confidentiality of the grieved individual.
2. If the grievance concerns a workshop offering, its content, level of presentation, or the facilities in which the workshop was offered, the Activity Director responsible for the course will mediate and will be the final arbitrator. If the participant requests action, the Activity Director will:
   • a. attempt to move the participant to another workshop or
   • b. provide a registration fee credit for a subsequent year's workshop or
   • c. provide a partial or full refund of the workshop fee 

Actions 2b and 2c will require a written note, documenting the grievance, for record keeping purposes. The note need not be signed by the grieved individual.

     3. If the grievance concerns a MCW continuing education program in a specific regard that the Activity Director cannot address, or the grievance concerns the Activity Director, the OCPD will attempt to arbitrate. 

Please contact the OCPD at 10000 Innovation Drive, Suite 270, Milwaukee, WI 53226

cme@mcw.edu, 414-456-4900, to submit a complaint, or if you have additional questions.