File a Complaint
The Commission reviews complaints that an accredited institution is not meeting our standards. Before you file, it helps to know what we can review — and what we cannot.
Before You File
Almost all complaints must go through the institution’s own process first. Colleges and universities are required to have a procedure for handling student grievances, and the Commission expects that process to be used and completed before we become involved.
If you have not yet done that, start with your institution’s grievance or student complaint procedure. It is usually in the student handbook or on the institution’s website. In most cases, it will resolve the matter faster than we can.
What The Commission Can Review
- Whether an accredited institution is meeting the Commission’s standards
- Whether an institution followed its own published policies and procedures
- Patterns that suggest a broader problem with academic quality or institutional integrity
What We Cannot Review
- Individual grades, academic decisions, or degree requirements
- Employment matters, including hiring, discipline, and termination
- Admissions or financial aid decisions about an individual
- Disputes over transfer of credit between institutions
- Matters in litigation, or that have been decided by a court
The Commission does not act as an appeals board. We cannot change a grade, reinstate a student or an employee, award a degree, order a refund, or require an institution to reverse a decision about an idividual.
Where Else to Go
If your concern falls outside what we can review, these may be able to help.
- Your institution’s grievance or student complaint process — for most academic and administrative concerns
- Your state’s higher education agency — for consumer protection matters and for institutions operating in your state
- The U.S. Department of Education — for federal financial aid concerns
- The Department’s Office for Civil Rights — for discrimination complaints
- Your state attorney general’s office — for consumer fraud concerns
- A licensed attorney — for matters that may be legal disputes
How to File a Complaint
Complaints must be submitted in writing, signed, and include supporting documentation. We cannot act on anonymous complaints.
- Complete your institution’s own complaint process and keep documentation of the outcome.
- Download and complete the complaint form.
- Attach supporting documentation, including correspondence with the institution.
- Sign and submit the form as directed on it.
What Happens After You File
We review each complaint to determine whether it falls within our scope and whether it raises a question about the institution’s compliance with our standards. If it does, the institution is notified and asked to respond.
Complaints are not confidential from the institution. In most cases the institution will see your complaint and the materials you submit, because it cannot respond otherwise.
The Commission’s role is to determine whether the institution is meeting our standards — not to resolve your individual situation. Even when a complaint leads to action, that action addresses the institution’s compliance rather than your particular case.
Comments about an Institution Under Review
Separately from the complaint process, The Commission accepts third-party comments about institutions currently undergoing review. These are handled differently from complaints and follow their own timeline.