A student has the right to bring forward a complaint or an item of concern regarding any aspect of his or her educational experience including misapplication of campus policies, rules, regulations, and procedures, or unfair treatment, such as coercion, reprisal, or intimidation by an instructor or other campus employee. Students should initially discuss the complaint or concern with their instructor or program director immediately.
A grievance is the escalation of the complaint to a next level authority. If the issue is about an academic decision such as a grade, please see the academic appeals process.
A student has the right to submit a grievance with respect to
- Disciplinary action taken for a violation of student conduct standards.
- Admissions decisions
- Tuition and fees
- Financial awards or policies, including satisfactory academic progress.
- Educational policies, procedures, and grading concerns
Concerns about academic matters should first be addressed through the Student Appeal Process; concerns about non-academic matters should first be addressed directly to the head of the department or departments involved.
A student wishing to escalate his or her complaint should follow the steps listed below:
- The first step in the process is to address and resolve the dispute with the person involved through discussion. A student with a grievance or complaint needs to communicate their concerns as soon as possible to achieve a resolution in a timely fashion. If the issue cannot be resolved at this level, with the Dean of Education.
If the dispute has not been resolved through addressing the Dean of Education the next step is to submit the issue or concern in writing (e-mail) to the Campus President. The written (e-mail) complaint must be submitted within ten calendar days of the incident or notification of termination. The documentation should include a description of the disputed items, the date, or dates when the issue occurred, the reason why the student is requesting a review of the decision and the steps the student has taken to resolve the issue. When submitting the documentation, the student should include the relevant factual evidence, such as evidence of extenuating circumstances.
The Campus President will investigate the student’s concern, including gathering additional data about the issue or incident as necessary. The Campus President will then convene the Campus Review Committee which will consist of the Campus President and the heads of the relevant departments. It will be at the discretion of the Campus Review Committee to determine if a meeting with the student is appropriate to address the grievance and develop a plan to achieve a resolution.
A response from the Campus Review Committee will be provided to the student within ten calendar days. All decisions will be provided in writing (e-mail) and may be delivered to the student in person if the student is on campus as well as to the student’s mailing address (e-mail) of record with acknowledgement of receipt required.
- If the dispute has not been resolved or if the student is still unsatisfied with the response in Step 2, the student may take a third step and file the appeal to the Regional Vice President of Education Affiliates. This appeal must also be in writing and must be received in the corporate office (5026-D Campbell Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21236) within seven calendar days of being notified of the Campus Review Committee’s decision. The appeal to the Regional Vice President may also be submitted by e-mail. The Regional Vice President will conduct an investigation of the issue and will respond to the student within seven calendar days of receiving the escalated grievance. All decisions will be provided in writing (e-mail) and will be delivered to the student in person if the student is on campus and will also be sent to the student’s official school e-mail and the mailing address of record with acknowledgement of receipt required.
- If the dispute has not been resolved the student may submit a request for reconsideration of the decision to the appropriate individual/s (depending on the student’s program of study). Non-nursing students will submit the request for reconsideration to the Chief Transformation Officer at Education Affiliates. This request for reconsideration must be submitted in writing (e-mail) to the appropriate person within ten calendar days of being notified of the Regional Vice President’s decision. The Chief Transformation Officer will conduct his or her own investigation of the issue and will respond to the student within seven calendar days of receiving the request for reconsideration. All decisions will be provided in writing and delivered to the student in person if the student is on campus or to the student’s official e-mail address or mailing address of record with acknowledgement of receipt required.
- If the dispute remains unresolved after evaluation by the Chief Transformation Officer of Education Affiliates, the student may choose to address his or her concerns by directing them to the State Licensing Authority, the School’s accrediting body, and/or any other agencies to which a student may file a complaint such as any Programmatic Accrediting/Approving Agencies, see list below. Students who reside out of state may contact any of the agencies listed below or contact the Campus President for information about agencies in their local area.
The title and address of the state licensing authority is:
Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC)
217 E Redwood St, Baltimore, MD 21202
800-974-0203
Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Affairs
200 St. Paul Place Baltimore, MD 21202
888-743-0023
410-528-8862
The title and address of the institutional accrediting commission is:
Accrediting Commission of Career Schools & Colleges (ACCSC)
STUDENT COMPLAINT PROCEDURE
Schools accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges must have a procedure and operational plan for handling student complaints. If a student does not feel that the school has adequately addressed a complaint or concern, the student may consider contacting the Accrediting Commission. All complaints reviewed by the Commission must be in written form and should grant permission for the Commission to forward a copy of the complaint to the school for a response. This can be accomplished by filing the ACCSC Complaint Form. The complainant(s) will be kept informed as to the status of the complaint as well as the final resolution by the Commission. Please direct all inquiries to:
Accrediting Commission of Career Schools & Colleges
2101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 302
Arlington, VA 22201 (703) 247-4212
www.accsc.org | complaints@accsc.org
A copy of the ACCSC Complaint Form is available at the school and may be obtained by contacting complaints@accsc.org or at https://www.accsc.org/Student- Corner/Complaints.aspx.
If the student has been dismissed, the student will remain dismissed until the matter is resolved. If the matter is resolved in the student’s favor the student will be reinstated at the next available course start date.
If the student’s eligibility for Financial Aid has been suspended, the student may remain in school during the Appeals process.
Pennsylvania Residents
To file a formal complaint against a postsecondary institution, students will have to fill in a complaint form provided by the department according to the type of institution that they are enrolled in. The complaint form can be found on their website at https://www.education.pa.gov/Postsecondary-Adult/CollegeCareer/Pages/Students-Complaints.aspx.
Virginia Residents
In accordance with § VAC 40-31-100 of the Virginia Administrative Code, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) is responsible for investigating all written and signed student complaints against postsecondary educational institutions operating in Virginia. Students can proceed with submitting a complaint electronically once they have exhausted all available grievance procedures established by the institution; and they are not satisfied with the resolution provided by the institution and are contacting SCHEV as a last resort in the grievance process. The Student Complaint Form can be accessed at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/StudentComplaintForm.
DC Residents:
District of Columbia Higher Education Licensure Commission Consumers who have experienced a violation of the Higher Education Licensure Commission (HELC) statute or regulations should complete the complaint form provided by the Licensure Commission and submit all supporting documents. The form and mailing address can be found on their website at: https://osse.dc.gov/publication/specialized-education-state-complaints-form.