Policy SR510: Frivolous, Spurious, or Vexatious Complaints and Excessive Contacts by Non-Affiliates

In order to carry out UCLA Extension's mission of providing quality continuing education, protecting program integrity, and preserving administrative resources, we establish this policy to address complaints and excessive communications submitted by non-affiliates.

(See section statement above)

• Complaint: an oral or written complaint that alleges an inappropriate action or violation of policy or law by a UCLA Extension student, employee, or program.
• Days: University business days, not including Saturdays, Sundays, or days on which the campus is closed.
• Excessive Contact: Submitting a high volume of communications within a short time period and refusal to desist when directed; attempting to repeatedly log identical or substantially similar complaints after an official decision has already been reached; submitting harassing, abusive, intimidating, or threatening communications without a legitimate business purpose. Excessive contact may also be subject to UCLA Policy 132: Workplace Violence Prevention.
• Frivolous*: Claims made entirely without legal or factual merit, regardless of intent.
• Incident Reporting Form (IRF): the official form to report and log incidents of concern and complaints; this form may be utilized by Extension students, instructors, academic and administrative staff, and community members.
• Non-affiliate: Any person who is not any of the following: a student, officer, official volunteer, employee, Regent, or emeritus of the University of California or a member of a household authorized to reside in University Property, as defined in UC Regents Regulations Governing Non-Affiliates.
• Respondent: the person or people against whom a complaint is made, or the person or entity accused of prohibited conduct or policy violation.
• Sender: Non-affiliated individual or entity from which the communications or complaint originated. Communications clearly originating from the same source will be considered a single sender regardless of whether they are submitted through multiple venues or under multiple aliases.
• Spurious*: Documentation containing intentionally fabricated or deceitful information, or which mischaracterizes the program record.
• Student: an individual for whom UCLA Extension maintains student records and who is enrolled through or registered in a UCLA Extension course or academic program, or who has completed the immediately preceding term, is not presently enrolled and is eligible to enroll again. An Extension student may make a complaint or file a grievance regarding an incident that occurred while they were enrolled in an Extension course or program, or thereafter, in accordance with the statute of limitations outlined in Policy SR508.
• Student Conduct Code: UCLA Extension Policy SR507 Student Rights & Responsibilities, which outlines rights, responsibilities, and the conduct code for Extension students.
• Vexatious*: Complaints made in bad faith or for the purposes of abusing processes/causing unnecessary delay, submitted for an improper purpose such as targeted harassment or anticompetitive disruption, or repeatedly seeking to re-open a previously settled issue after an official decision has already been reached. Circumstances in which the sender has raised essentially similar unsuccessful complaints in other venues may be reviewed for the purposes of determining merit.

*Claims by a non-affiliate meeting one or more of these definitions may also be reviewed under the UC Abusive Conduct in the Workplace Policy

A. Delegations and Responsibilities

UCLA Extension's departmental Deans are delegated responsibility to resolve non-affiliate complaints. Exception to this fundamental delegation requires prior approval of the Dean. Authority to make initial communications and efforts at resolution is delegated to departmental Directors. These key stakeholders shall mediate the following types of complaints made by non-affiliates:

1. Academic Directors: for complaints related to academic/instructional quality or regarding an action or failure to act by an instructor, proctor, program staff or advisor/counselor, such as a demand for reconsideration of an adverse admissions decision or mistreatment in an admissions process, the waiving of an academic requirement, any claimed failures or misdirection in academic counseling; or a claim of theft of intellectual property.
2. Administrative Directors: for complaints related to an alleged service failure, action or failure to act by the administration, such as matters regarding financial aid counseling, billing and payment disputes, or matters of international students' continuing status.
3. Dean: Reversal of any enforcement action is at the sole discretion of the Dean of Continuing Education and UCLA Extension.
4. Director for Student Resilience: for claims of prohibited discrimination and misconduct made against a student, in coordination with the responsible campus office(s).
5. Registrar: for complaints regarding access to or correction of students' records; violations of the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) student records, or a failure or mishandling of an enrollment, permission to enroll (PTE), or waitlist transaction.
6. Extension People Operations: for complaints of discrimination and misconduct against an Extension staff employee or instructor, in coordination with the responsible campus office(s).

Complaints directed to the Extension Dean's Office, or received at the Dean's office having been redirected by the Chancellor's or President's offices, will be forwarded to the Student Rights &Responsibilities Center for review.

B. Reporting Complaints and Threshold

Extension considers any complaint to warrant timely response and resolution. Often, a concern or complaint may be addressed by staff immediately in real-time with clarification of information, explanation of policy, and responsive customer service. Informal feedback about a former or prospective student's experience can be made via email at feedback@uclextension.edu or via the instructor evaluation form.

In cases when a complaint alleges violation of policy, malfeasance, and harm incurred as a result, the sender is required to report the complaint in writing to Extension. For complaints regarding discrimination, as stated in section III.A, students may choose to report directly to the campus Civil Rights Office.

1. Reporting an Incident

Incidents and complaints may be reported to Extension with the centralized Incident Reporting Form (IRF). Access to the IRF will be made available via Extension's communication avenues including public-facing sites, intranet sites, and the help center.

This form logs an incident of concern and enables Extension to document and resolve the matter. Senders may report a complaint anonymously, but are advised that this may limit the ability to respond to and resolve the matter. A person who may require reasonable accommodation in reporting an incident may contact the SRRC for assistance.

2. Timeframe for Reporting

Senders may file a complaint any time when an incident of concern occurs, and are encouraged to report sooner rather than later so that the matter may be resolved in a timely manner.

Grievances alleging ADA/disability discrimination are legally mandated to be filed within 180 days from the time a student could have reasonably expected to have knowledge of the alleged violation. Allegations of conduct defined and prohibited by the Anti-Discrimination and SVSH policies have no time limit for reporting.

3. Evidence Threshold

Supporting documentation submitted by a non-affiliate must include firsthand, verifiable factual evidence (e.g. specific dates, quotes, screenshots). Complaints and communications absent this information, or considered to be in abuse of the reporting procedures outlined in Policies SR507 and SR508, will be dismissed.

C. Determination and Dismissal

1. Initial Review

Complaints reported via the IRF will be reviewed by an investigator to determine the circumstances, type of complaint, and respondent's role.

If a complaint alleges discrimination, Extension works in coordination with responsible offices in the campus Civil Rights Office in accordance with University policy.

Disability discrimination complaints based on physical or mental disability or perceived physical or mental disability, as regulated by the ADA and policy, are mediated by the SRRC, in consultation with the ADA/504 Compliance Office.

Complaints made against an instructor who is also an Extension student or employee shall be addressed according to the role in which the person was functioning at the time of the incident, and are mediated by People Operations.

• To ensure the integrity of the instructor-student relationship, Extension instructors are held to the standard of conduct expressed in their contract terms and conditions, interpreted, in accordance with the Academic Personnel Manual (APM) policy. The APM outlines unacceptable conduct and states the responsibility of instructors to conduct their pedagogical relationship with students from an understanding of University policies. Extension instructors may not enter into romantic or sexual relationships with students for whom they have academic responsibility (instructional, evaluative, or supervisory).
• A complaint filed regarding a case that is in the resolution process may not be used to impede or remedy a current open case. A complaint or grievance cannot be used to re-open outcomes of conduct cases that have been closed. Parties who fabricate information or knowingly provide false information may be disciplined under applicable policy.

2. Dismissal

If the complaint is determined to be frivolous, spurious, or excessive, Extension reserves the right to summarily close the matter without further investigation, response, or appeal option. Potentially vexatious complainants will be provided notice of intent to dismiss and an opportunity to present evidence that meets the threshold within ten (10) days of service. If none is received within the given timeframe, the complaint will be dismissed without further investigation, response, or appeal option.

As an academic division within the UC and UCLA, Extension may only exercise jurisdiction in matters concerning UCLA Extension affiliates. Cases in which the alleged respondent is affiliated with UCLA will be referred to the UCLA department with delegated authority.

D. Enforcement Measures

The following enforcement measures may be imposed upon a non-affiliate found to be in violation of this policy:

• Tracking Cessation: The organization will cease logging, tracking, or responding to communications from the sender.
• Access Restrictions: Permanent loss of enrollment or employment privileges (dismissal). As a component of this action or as a separate restriction, the sender will be restricted or blocked from accessing registration, user accounts, and/or physical spaces as appropriate to the circumstances.
• Revocation of Prior Status: Previous benefits of sender's affiliation (e.g. alumni status) revoked.
• Stay-Away Order: Senders who fail to comply with instructions to cease and desist will be served with a campus stay-away order, signed by the Vice Chancellor. Senders who have been formally dismissed through an institutional process may also be served information regarding Section 626.2 of the California State Penal Code, thus providing notice that a willful violation of the condition could be treated as a misdemeanor leading to arrest and prosecution, and punishable by fine or imprisonment.

E. Data Management and Record-Keeping

The SRRC is responsible for maintaining and tracking data on complaints and grievances for the purpose of institutional compliance and reporting requirements. A permanent administrative record of the communications/complaints and associated files leading to dismissal or other enforcement action will be securely retained within the institution's case management software. All other records will be maintained in accordance with the UC Records Retention Schedule. This data is subject to confidentiality and privacy policies and may inform the development and improvement of Extension student services.

This policy will be publicly listed. Questions and comments are welcomed by the Student Rights & Responsibilities Center, (310) 825-0953; SRRC@uclaextension.edu.

See also:

• UCLA Extension Policy SR507 Student Rights & Responsibilities, February 2026
• UCLA Extension Policy SR508 Grievance and Dispute Resolution for UCLA Extension Students, January 2026
• UCLA Administrative Policy 132 Workplace Violence Prevention, July 29, 2024
• UCOP Policy Abusive Conduct in the Workplace, July 10, 2025
• UCOP California Code of Regulations, Title 5, Division 10, Regulations Governing Conduct of Non-Affiliates in the Buildings and on the Grounds of the University of California
• CA State Penal Code Section 626.2 Title 15 Ch 1, July 19, 2022