When submitting complaints, there are different avenues for students completing their education in the state of New York and those completing their education outside of New York State through distance education (e.g. online courses or programs).

As required by the NC-SARA student complaint process, a student must first attempt to resolve and file their complaint at the institution.  For complaints not resolved at the institutional level, a student may file an appeal in one of the following ways (dependent on their state residence):

Student complaints not resolved at the institutional level who have followed all grievance procedures and protocols defined by the University, and reside in the state of New York, have the right to file a complaint with the NYS Office of College and University Evaluation. The contact information can be found on the New York State Education Department website.

Rochester Institute of Technology operates under the approval of “NC-SARA” (National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements).  Students based outside of New York State who have a consumer-protection-based complaints regarding a distance education program should first seek to resolve such a complaint within the school in which the student is registered.

Note that complaints regarding grades and general student conduct issues are not governed by this distance education complaint process.

For those student complaints not resolved at the institutional level who have followed all grievance procedures and protocols defined by the University, and reside in a SARA member state outside of New York, pursuant to the SARA Complaint Process, please contact the New York SARA State Portal Agency.

NC-SARA State Portal Contact: Andrea Richards
Supervisor of Higher Education Programs
New York State Education Department
89 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12234
518.474.1551
IHEauthorize@nysed.gov

For those student complaints not resolved at the institutional level who have followed all grievance procedures and protocols defined by the University, and do not reside in a SARA member state, they may seek advisement from the appropriate office in the student’s state of residence, listed below.

Note: This list includes contact information for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories and should not be construed as informative of what agencies regulate the institution or in what states the institution is authorized to operate. States, through the relevant agencies or Attorneys General Offices will accept complaints regardless of whether an institution is authorized to operate in that state.  Also, the University does not maintain the state and territory websites, and information may change without the University’s knowledge.

California Department of Consumer Affairs
Consumer Information Center
1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N-112
Sacramento, CA 95834
Phone: 833-942-1120

American Samoa Office of Protection & Advocacy
Attn: Dr. Peter Tinitali
Executive Office Building
Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799
Phone: 684-699-2441

Guam Office of Attorney General
287 W O’Brien Dr.
Hagatna, Guam 96910
Phone: 671-475-3324

State Higher Education Agency, Northern Marianas College
POB 501250
Saipan MP 96950-1250

Northern Mariana Islands Alternate Contact:

Northern Mariana Islands Office of the Attorney General
Juan A Sablan Memorial Bldg.
Capital Hill
Caller Box 10007, Saipan, MP 96950
Phone: 670-234-5498