Consumer Complaint Procedure

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For all types of complaints concerning colleges and universities in New York State, the first course of action must be to try to resolve the complaint directly with the administration of the college or university involved. The Office of College and University Evaluation will not review a complaint until all grievance procedures at the institution have been followed and all avenues of appeal exhausted and documentation provided that such procedures have been exhausted. Please note: Every New York State college and university is required to establish, publish, and enforce explicit policies related to redress of grievances. 

The Ombuds Officer provides resources for confidential complaint handling and neutral, informal conflict resolution to all Alfred University faculty, students, and employees. The Ombuds Officer aims to facilitate communication and collaborative dispute resolution, either by offering options for self-help or by mediating to resolve grievances. For more information, visit the Ombuds Officer website. 

For general incident complaints, bias related incidents, student of concern incidents, COVID concerns or hazing incidents, please submit a report through AU Report It. 

See the “Academics” section of this catalog for policies on grades and grading and the process to petition for a change of grade. A complaint involving discrimination or sexual harassment should be directed to the Title XI Coordinator/EEO Officer at 607-871-2975 or 703-859-1215 after hours. A complaint involving consumer fraud or financial aid should be directed to the Director of Financial Aid at 607-871-2159. 

Please do not send a complaint to the Office of College and University Evaluation until you have read all of the information below. This will assure that you are sending your complaint to the appropriate agency/office. The Office of College and University Evaluation handles only those complaints that concern educational programs or practices of degree-granting institutions subject to the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, with the exceptions noted below.

  • The Office does not handle anonymous complaints.
  • A complaint involving discrimination against enrolled students on the part of an institution or faculty, or involving sexual harassment, should be filed with the U.S. Office for Civil Rights, 75 Park Place, New York, NY 10007. Complaints about two-year colleges concerning sexual harassment/discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender and disabilities may also be reported to the Office of Equity and Access, VATEA Program, 10th Floor, Education Building Addition, Hawk Street, Albany, NY 12234.
  • A complaint of consumer fraud on the part of the institution should be directed to the Office of the New York State Attorney General, Justice Building, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223.
  • The Office of College and University Evaluation does not intervene in matters concerning an individual’s grades or examination results, as these are the prerogative of the college’s faculty.
  • The Office does not handle complaints concerning actions that occurred more than five years ago.
  • The Office does not intervene in matters that are or have been in litigation.
  • For a complaint about state student financial aid matters, contact the Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) Customer Communications Center at 1-888-NYS-HESC.
  • Complainants should be aware that the Office of College and University Evaluation does not conduct a judicial investigation and has no legal authority to require a college or university to comply with a complainant’s request.

Complaints not excluded by any of the issues above should be sent to: 

New York State Education Department
Office of College and University Evaluation
Education Building
5 North Mezzanine
89 Washington Avenue
Albany, New York 12234

 

Online Student Consumer Protection

Alfred University participates in the National Council’s State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (NC-SARA), which allows AU to provide distance education to students residing in other NC-SARA states. For a list of participating states and institutions, you may visit the SARA Directory.

How SARA Impacts Out-of-State Distance Education Students with Respect to Consumer Protection Complaints

Provisions of the SARA Policy Manual, including those for consumer protection and the resolution of complaints, apply to interstate distance education offered by participating SARA institutions to students in other SARA states. Only those complaints resulting from distance education courses, activities, and operations provided by SARA-participating institutions to students in other SARA states come under the coverage of SARA. Complaints about a SARA institution’s in-state operations are to be resolved under the state’s normal provisions, not those of SARA (SARA Policy Manual).

NC-SARA requires AU to provide distance education students residing in other NC-SARA states with the opportunity to file grievances. A student may file a grievance if they feel they have been misled, or did not receive the educational experience they expected. Out-of-state distance education students may have their complaints investigated in accordance with SARA policies. The following grievance procedure must be followed:

  1. The student must first file the complaint at the institutional level, with the University Ombuds Officer. Information on the handling of internal grievances is available on AU's Ombuds Officer web page.
  2. If a student is not satisfied with the result of the institutional complaint process, they may file a complaint with NYSED, which is the NC-SARA State Portal Entity. NYSED will investigate and resolve allegations of misleading or false information. Students may appeal the institution's decision to the State Portal Entity in New York State within two years of the incident about which the complaint has been made.

Additional information on the SARA Student Complaint Process and recommended procedure is available from NC-SARA.

Any complaints made by students residing within New York State are not subject to NC-SARA involvement, and should be directed to the University Ombuds Officer. Any complaints made regarding grades or student conduct are governed by Alfred University policy and are not subject to NC-SARA involvement.

Any individuals interested or involved in Alfred University programs leading to professional licensure are encouraged to visit AU's web page on Professional Licensure Disclosures.

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