Contact Information for Filing Complaints

With Accreditation and State Higher Education Authorities

Owner: Provost

Contact Information for Filing Complaints

Owner: Vice Provost for Academic Planning and Global Affairs

With Accreditation and State Higher Education Authorities

Teachers College provides both informal and formal grievance and dispute resolution procedures. For additional information about procedures, please refer to the policy on Grievance Procedures: http://www.tc.columbia.edu/policylibrary/diversity-and-community-affairs/grievance-procedures/.

Pursuant to 34 CFR § 668.43(b) (Code of Federal Regulations), Teachers College must provide students ….”with contact information for filing complaints with its accreditor and with its State approval or licensing entity and any other relevant State official or agency that would appropriately handle the student’s complaint”,

Notice for Students Enrolled in Online Courses and Programs
After going through the institutional grievance process, students in State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) states may appeal the complaint resolution with the SARA Portal Agency, New York State Education Department. Additional information about the SARA process is on the NC-SARA website:

https://www.nc-sara.org/student-complaints

Middle States Commission on Higher Education

3624 Market Street

Philadelphia, PA 19104

complaints@msche.org

New York

New York State Education Department

Office of College and University Evaluation

http://www.nysed.gov/college-university-evaluation/filing-complaint-about-college-or-university

New York for Distance Learning Students in a SARA state

(SARA Portal Agency)

New York State Education Department

Office of College and University Evaluation

http://www.nysed.gov/college-university-evaluation/filing-complaint-about-college-or-university

Alabama

Alabama Commission on Higher Education

https://www.ache.edu/wp-content/Sara/StudentComp.pdf

Alaska

Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education

https://acpe.alaska.gov/ConsumerProtection

Arizona

Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education

https://ppse.az.gov/resources/student-complaint

Arkansas

Arkansas Department of Higher Education

https://adhe.edu/students-parents/student-grievance-form

California

Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education

https://www.dca.ca.gov/consumers/complaints/oos_students.shtml

Colorado

Colorado Department of Higher Education

https://highered.colorado.gov/filing-student-complaint

Connecticut

Office of Higher Education

http://www.ctohe.org/StudentComplaints.shtml

Delaware

Delaware Department of Education

http://www.doe.k12.de.us/sara

District of Columbia

Office of the State Superintendent of Education

https://helc.osse.dc.gov/topic/helcadmin/community-stakeholders/public-complaints

Florida

Florida Department of Education Commission for Independent Education

https://www.fldoe.org/policy/cie/student-concerns.stml

Georgia

Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission

https://gnpec.georgia.gov/student-complaints

Hawaii

Hawaii Post-Secondary Education Authorization Process

http://cca.hawaii.gov/hpeap/forms/student-forms/

Idaho

Idaho State Board of Education

https://boardofed.idaho.gov/priv_col_univ/student_complaint.asp

Illinois

Illinois Board of Higher Education

https://complaints.ibhe.org/

Indiana

Indiana Commission for Higher Education

http://www.in.gov/che/2744.htm

Iowa

Iowa College Student Aid Commission

https://www.iowacollegeaid.gov/StudentComplaintForm

Kansas

Kansas Board of Regents

http://kansasregents.org/academic_affairs/private_out_of_state/complaint_process

Kentucky

Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education

http://cpe.ky.gov/campuses/consumer_complaint.html

Louisiana

Board of Regents

https://regents.la.gov/student-complaint-process/

Maine

Maine Department of Education

https://www.maine.gov/doe/learning/highered/sara

Maryland

Maryland Higher Education Commission

https://mhec.maryland.gov/institutions_training/Documents/acadaff/MHECStudentComplaint.pdf

Massachusetts

Massachusetts Department of Higher Education

http://www.mass.edu/forstufam/complaints/complaints.asp

Michigan

Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs

https://www.michigan.gov/leo/-/media/Project/Websites/leo/Documents/WD/WD_PROGRAMS_SERVICES/PSS/Post-Secondary_Complaint_Instructions_FINAL_032020_685912_7-%2834%29.pdf?rev=d9354bf5247548a6bd9751a8aa4e178d

Minnesota

Minnesota Office of Higher Education

http://www.ohe.state.mn.us/mPg.cfm?pageID=1078

Mississippi

Mississippi Commission on College Accreditation

http://www.mississippi.edu/mcca/student_complaint_process.asp

Missouri

Missouri Department of Higher Education

https://dhewd.mo.gov/DistanceEducation.php

Montana

Montana Department Board of Regents

http://www.mus.edu/MUS-statement-of-complaint-process.asp

Nebraska

Nebraska’s Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education

https://ccpe.nebraska.gov/student-complaints-against-postsecondary-institutions

Nevada

Nevada Commission on Postsecondary Education

http://cpe.nv.gov/Students/Students_Home/

New Hampshire

New Hampshire Department of Education

https://www.education.nh.gov/pathways-education/higher-education-new-hampshire

New Jersey

Office of the Secretary of Higher Education

http://www.state.nj.us/highereducation/OSHEComplaintInstructions.shtml

New Mexico

New Mexico Higher Education Department

https://hed.state.nm.us/students-parents/student-complaints

New York

New York State Education Department

Office of College and University Evaluation

http://www.nysed.gov/college-university-evaluation/filing-complaint-about-college-or-university

North Carolina

University of North Carolina General Administration

https://www.northcarolina.edu/post-secondary-education-complaints/

North Dakota

North Dakota University System

http://www.ndus.edu/system/state-authorization/

Ohio

Ohio Department of Higher Education

https://highered.ohio.gov/students/current-college-students/student-complaints/student-complaints

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education

http://www.okhighered.org/current-college-students/complaints.shtml

Oregon

Higher Education Coordinating Commission

http://www.oregon.gov/highered/institutions-programs/private/Pages/private-p

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Department of Education

https://www.education.pa.gov/Postsecondary-Adult/CollegeCareer/Pages/Students-Complaints.aspx

Rhode Island

Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner

https://riopc.edu/policies/student-complaint-procedures/

South Carolina

South Carolina Commission on Higher Education

https://che.sc.gov/sites/che/files/Documents/Institutions%20and%20Educators/Complaint_Procedures_and_Form.pdf

South Dakota

South Dakota Board of Regents

https://www.sdbor.edu/administrative-offices/academics/SD-SARA/Pages/default.aspx

Tennessee

Tennessee Higher Education Commission

https://www.tn.gov/thec/for-students-and-families/transcript-requests-and-institution-complaints.html

Texas

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

https://www.highered.texas.gov/student-complaints/

Utah

Utah System of Higher Education

https://ushe.edu/office-of-commissioner/state-authorization-ut-sara/

Vermont

Vermont Agency for Education

http://education.vermont.gov/documents/postsecondary-program-complaint-resolution

Washington

Washington Student Achievement Council

http://education.vermont.gov/documents/postsecondary-program-complaint-resolution

West Virginia

West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission

http://www.wvhepc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Student-Complaint-Process-re

Wisconsin

Department of Safety and Professional Services

https://dsps.wi.gov/Pages/Programs/EducationalApproval/EAPFileAComplaint.aspx

Wyoming

Wyoming Department of Education

https://edu.wyoming.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Wyoming-Department-of-Education-Student-Complaint-Process.pdf

Responsible Office: Vice Provost for Academic Planning and Global Affairs

Effective Date:

Last Updated: March 2023

Last Edited: 2023