TEXAS RESCUE MED | INSTITUTIONAL POLICIES

Complaint, Grievance & Appeals Policy

A fair and transparent process for reporting concerns, requesting administrative review, and appealing decisions related to Texas Rescue Med programs and operations.

Original Effective Date: June 2026  |  Last Approved Revision: June 2026

Important: Your Right to Report Concerns

This policy establishes the process for submitting complaints, grievances, and appeals related to Texas Rescue Med programs, policies, academic decisions, conduct concerns, clinical or field education, financial decisions, discrimination or harassment concerns, student safety, and other administrative actions. Retaliation against any individual who submits a complaint, participates in an investigation, provides information, requests an appeal, or supports another person in using this process is strictly prohibited.

Policy Statement

Texas Rescue Med takes complaints, grievances, and appeals seriously. Concerns will be reviewed in a fair, timely, and objective manner. Texas Rescue Med will make reasonable efforts to resolve concerns at the lowest appropriate level while preserving student rights, program integrity, patient safety, regulatory compliance, and EMS education standards.

Retaliation against any individual who submits a complaint, participates in an investigation, provides information, requests an appeal, or supports another person in using this policy is strictly prohibited.

Scope of This Policy

This policy applies to complaints, grievances, or appeals involving:

• Admissions or enrollment decisions.
• Academic decisions.
• Grades, exams, assignments, or course progression.
• Skills evaluations, practical evaluations, or scenario evaluations.
• Clinical, field, internship, externship, or capstone experiences.
• Professional conduct or affective evaluations.
• Remediation decisions.
• Administrative withdrawal.
• Dismissal or removal from a course, program, clinical site, or field site.
• Tuition, payment, refund, financial hold, or collection decisions.
• Accessibility or accommodation decisions.
• Discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct, or retaliation.
• Safety concerns, exposure concerns, or patient safety concerns.
• Instructor, staff, preceptor, or student conduct concerns.
• Alleged policy violations.
• Program operations, instructional quality, or regulatory compliance concerns.

Definitions

Informal Resolution

Whenever appropriate, students are encouraged to first attempt to resolve routine concerns directly with the instructor, course coordinator, clinical coordinator, Director of Student Success, or other appropriate Texas Rescue Med representative.

Informal resolution may be appropriate for concerns such as:

• Clarification of assignments or course expectations.
• Scheduling questions.
• Communication concerns.
• Routine grading questions.
• LMS access concerns.
• General student support needs.
• Non-urgent clinical or field coordination questions.

When a Formal Complaint or Grievance Should Be Submitted

A formal written complaint or grievance should be submitted when:

• Informal resolution has not resolved the concern.
• The concern involves a serious policy, safety, conduct, academic, clinical, financial, or compliance issue.
• The student believes a policy was applied incorrectly or unfairly.
• The concern involves discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or sexual misconduct.
• The concern may affect progression, completion, clinical eligibility, field eligibility, certification recommendation, or student status.
• The concern requires documentation in the student or program record.
• The student is requesting a formal response from Texas Rescue Med administration.

Complaint Routing

Students should submit concerns to the appropriate contact whenever possible.

Texas Rescue Med Contact Information

The following contacts are provided to help direct concerns to the appropriate administrative representative.

For general telephone inquiries, contact the Texas Rescue Med administrative office at 512-710-9132.

Required Information for a Formal Complaint or Grievance

A formal complaint or grievance should be submitted in writing and should include:

• Student or complainant name.
• Contact information.
• Course level, cohort, or program, if applicable.
• Date or date range of the concern.
• Names of individuals involved, if known.
• Description of the concern.
• Policy, decision, or action being challenged, if applicable.
• Steps already taken to resolve the concern, if any.
• Requested resolution.
• Supporting documentation, screenshots, emails, records, or witness information, if available.

Texas Rescue Med may request additional information if needed to evaluate the complaint.

Timeframe for Submitting Complaints

Students should submit complaints or grievances as soon as possible after the concern occurs. Prompt reporting allows Texas Rescue Med to review the matter while information is current and available.

Complaints involving safety, patient care, exposure incidents, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, clinical site removal, or privacy concerns should be reported immediately.

Appeals of specific decisions must be submitted within the applicable appeal deadline described in this policy or the applicable course, program, or handbook policy.

Appeal Deadline

Scope of this deadline: This 15-day period governs TRM’s internal administrative appeals unless a more specific written policy applies. It does not shorten or replace any legally applicable filing period or restrict complaints to Texas DSHS or other competent external authorities.

Decisions That May Be Appealed

Students may submit a written appeal related to:

• Withdrawal status.
• Refund decisions.
• Charges or account decisions.
• Financial holds.
• Collection-related decisions.
• Administrative withdrawal.
• Dismissal.
• Clinical or field removal.
• Affective evaluation outcomes.
• Remediation outcomes.
• Academic decisions.
• Skills or scenario evaluation outcomes.
• Accommodation decisions.
• Professional conduct decisions.
• Other administrative decisions affecting student status, progression, or completion.

Appeal Submission Requirements

An appeal must include:

• Student’s full name.
• Course level and cohort.
• Decision being appealed.
• Date the student received notice of the decision.
• Requested resolution.
• Explanation of the basis for the appeal.
• Supporting documentation, if any.

The appeal must be submitted in writing through the grievance reporting channel above. If the original decision was made by the Program Director or another ordinarily designated reviewer, request an alternate unconflicted reviewer rather than routing the appeal solely to the decision-maker.

Appeal Review Standard

An appeal is not a rehearing of the entire matter. The appeal review may consider whether:

• Texas Rescue Med policy was followed.
• The decision was supported by the available documentation.
• The student was given required notice or opportunity to respond when applicable.
• New relevant information is available that was not reasonably available at the time of the original decision.
• The decision was arbitrary, inconsistent, discriminatory, retaliatory, or substantially disproportionate.
• The requested resolution is reasonable and consistent with program standards, patient safety, and regulatory requirements.

When practical and consistent with applicable requirements, an appeal should be reviewed by an administrator or reviewer who did not make the original contested decision. Individuals with a material conflict must be recused from final review. When TRM lacks an appropriate internal reviewer, an appropriate external reviewer may be assigned.

Complaint and Grievance Review Process

After receiving a formal complaint or grievance, Texas Rescue Med may take one or more of the following steps:

TRM will acknowledge identifiable formal submissions, communicate the appropriate review channel and any additional information needed, and provide a written outcome or procedural update as appropriate. If review takes longer due to interviews, records, third-party partners, or other complexities, TRM will provide an update when reasonably practicable. The reviewer should consider relevant information from affected parties fairly and document the reason for the outcome.

Possible Outcomes

Depending on the nature of the concern, possible outcomes may include:

• No action when the complaint is unsupported.
• Clarification of policy or expectations.
• Academic advising or student success support.
• Grade review or correction if an error is confirmed.
• Skills or scenario reevaluation when warranted.
• Remediation or reassessment.
• Affective improvement plan.
• Professional behavior contract.
• Clinical or field reassignment when available and appropriate.
• Removal from a clinical or field site.
• Administrative withdrawal.
• Dismissal.
• Refund or account adjustment when warranted.
• Financial appeal approval or denial.
• Accommodation modification.
• Instructor coaching or faculty development.
• Program process improvement.
• Reporting to Texas DSHS, NREMT, clinical partners, law enforcement, or other entities when required or appropriate.

Financial Appeals

Students may submit a written appeal related to charges, refunds, account balances, financial holds, payment plans, collection referral, or other financial decisions.

Financial appeals must include:

• Student name.
• Course level and cohort.
• Account or charge being appealed.
• Date of the decision or charge.
• Requested resolution.
• Explanation of the basis for appeal.
• Supporting documentation, if any.

Academic Appeals

Academic appeals may involve grading errors, exam administration concerns, assignment scoring disputes, progression decisions, remediation outcomes, skills evaluation concerns, scenario evaluation concerns, or dismissal based on academic performance.

Academic appeals must identify the specific decision being appealed and must include supporting information. General dissatisfaction with a grade, course difficulty, testing standard, evaluation standard, or program requirement is not sufficient by itself to overturn an academic decision.

Texas Rescue Med may deny an academic appeal when the record shows that the published evaluation standard was applied appropriately and consistently.

Clinical and Field Appeals

Students may appeal decisions related to clinical or field removal, clinical placement concerns, preceptor evaluation concerns, documentation disputes, field internship decisions, capstone progression, or clinical eligibility decisions.

Clinical and field appeals are reviewed with patient safety, clinical site policy, preceptor feedback, documentation integrity, and student scope of practice as primary considerations.

Dismissal Appeals

A student dismissed from a Texas Rescue Med course or program may submit a written appeal within fifteen (15) calendar days of receiving notice of dismissal unless another written policy establishes a different deadline.

Dismissal appeals should include:

• Student name.
• Course level and cohort.
• Date of dismissal notice.
• Reason for dismissal stated by Texas Rescue Med.
• Student’s explanation of why the dismissal should be reconsidered.
• Requested resolution.
• Supporting documentation.

Temporary safety removal versus final dismissal: TRM may remove a student from patient-facing or other activities immediately when necessary to address a credible safety risk. A temporary precautionary removal is not, by itself, a final finding of misconduct. Any resulting dismissal and appeal are handled under the applicable published policy and requirements, with an appropriate opportunity to respond when required.

Reinstatement Requests

A dismissed student may request reinstatement only when allowed by applicable Texas Rescue Med policy. Reinstatement is not guaranteed and is granted solely at the discretion of Texas Rescue Med administration.

A student may be considered for reinstatement only when:

• The reason for dismissal is resolvable.
• The student submits a written request within the required timeframe.
• A corrective plan can be established.
• The student can meet all program, clinical, field, financial, and conduct requirements.
• Clinical partners are willing to accept the student, if clinical access is involved.
• Texas Rescue Med determines that reinstatement does not compromise patient safety, program integrity, or regulatory compliance.

Students dismissed for cheating or falsification of records, HIPAA violations involving patient data disclosure, drug or alcohol use during program activity, violent or abusive conduct, or dishonesty related to patient care may be ineligible for reinstatement.

Discrimination, Harassment, Sexual Misconduct & Retaliation

Texas Rescue Med is committed to maintaining a safe, respectful, and nondiscriminatory educational environment. Discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct, or retaliation based on sex, gender, race, religion, national origin, disability, or any protected class is prohibited.

Concerns involving discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct, or retaliation should be reported promptly to the designated Civil Rights & Misconduct Contact. If that person is named in the complaint, request an alternate reviewer through the complaint intake channel described above.

Confidentiality will be maintained to the extent possible. Information may be shared only with individuals who have a legitimate need to know in order to review, investigate, respond to, or resolve the concern.

Retaliation against any individual who makes a report, participates in an investigation, provides information, or supports another person in reporting a concern is strictly prohibited.

Safety, Exposure, and Patient Care Concerns

Concerns involving immediate safety, patient care, exposure incidents, unsafe clinical conduct, unauthorized procedures, scope-of-practice violations, or serious preceptor/site concerns must be reported immediately.

Students should notify the appropriate on-site supervisor or preceptor and Texas Rescue Med as soon as possible. Exposure incidents must be reported according to Texas Rescue Med exposure control and reporting procedures and applicable clinical site policy.

Texas Rescue Med may remove a student from a classroom, lab, clinical site, field site, internship, capstone assignment, or other learning environment while a safety or patient care concern is being reviewed.

Confidentiality

Texas Rescue Med will handle complaints, grievances, appeals, and related documentation with appropriate confidentiality. Information will be shared only with individuals who have a legitimate educational, operational, compliance, safety, legal, or administrative need to know.

Confidentiality cannot be guaranteed when disclosure is necessary to investigate the concern, protect patient or student safety, comply with law, respond to regulatory requirements, enforce policy, or provide due process to involved parties.

Protect patient information: Do not submit patient names, identifying medical records, or protected health information using public web forms or ordinary email. If sensitive clinical records are needed, request instructions for an approved secure submission method.

Anonymous Complaints

Texas Rescue Med may review anonymous complaints when sufficient information is provided to evaluate the concern. However, anonymity may limit Texas Rescue Med’s ability to investigate, verify facts, communicate outcomes, or take corrective action.

Anonymous complaints involving patient safety, student safety, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, fraud, falsification, or regulatory compliance will be reviewed to the extent practical based on the information available.

False or Bad-Faith Complaints

Texas Rescue Med encourages good-faith reporting of concerns. A complaint does not have to be proven to be submitted in good faith.

Knowingly false complaints, intentionally misleading statements, falsified evidence, or complaints submitted for harassment, retaliation, or bad-faith purposes may result in disciplinary action.

Recordkeeping

Texas Rescue Med will maintain records of formal complaints, grievances, appeals, reviews, decisions, and corrective actions according to program policy and applicable record retention requirements.

Records may include:

• Complaint or appeal submission.
• Supporting documentation.
• Interview notes or summaries.
• Relevant academic, clinical, field, financial, or LMS records.
• Written decision or outcome.
• Corrective action or remediation.
• Student acknowledgment or response.

Records may be maintained in the student record, administrative record, compliance file, Title IX file, financial record, or other appropriate location depending on the nature of the concern.

Effect of Complaint or Appeal on Deadlines and Program Requirements

Submitting a complaint, grievance, or appeal does not automatically suspend:

• Financial responsibility.
• Payment deadlines.
• Academic deadlines.
• Attendance requirements.
• Clinical or field requirements.
• Internship or capstone requirements.
• Remediation requirements.
• Disciplinary action.
• Administrative withdrawal.
• Dismissal.
• Collection activity.

External EMS Complaint Option

Students may file a complaint directly with the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) about matters within its EMS jurisdiction, including EMS education programs, EMS course coordinators, and EMS instructors. Students are not required to complete TRM’s internal complaint or appeal process before contacting DSHS.

DSHS provides an official online EMS Complaint Intake Form and may also be contacted through its EMS Complaints office. DSHS determines whether a reported matter falls within its authority; routine tuition, billing, and refund disagreements may fall outside EMS enforcement jurisdiction.

External reporting is available at any time within the rules and jurisdiction of the appropriate agency. TRM will not retaliate against anyone for contacting DSHS or another lawful oversight authority. Reporting to an outside agency does not automatically suspend TRM course obligations or an agency’s own deadlines.

Relationship to Other Policies

This policy should be read together with the Texas Rescue Med Student Handbook & Program Manual, Program Disclosures, Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, Refund and Cancellation Policy, Accessibility & Accommodation Policy, Clinical Eligibility Policy, course syllabus, enrollment agreement, clinical site requirements, and official written communications.

If a more specific written document applies to a student, course, clinical placement, payment plan, or signed agreement, the more specific written document may control unless otherwise required by law.

Questions

Questions about this policy or the complaint, grievance, or appeal process may be directed to info@texasrescuemed.com or to the administrative office at 512-710-9132.

CONTACT OUR ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM

Texas Rescue Med, LLC

404 S. CM Allen Parkway, San Marcos, TX 78666

Phone: 512-710-9132

Grievances: info@texasrescuemed.com

Website: www.texasrescuemed.com