Online Programs – NC-SARA Student Complaint Process
Queensborough Community College (QCC) of the City University of New York (CUNY) is an approved member of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA), a voluntary agreement, the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), that establishes one set of national standards and regulations for offering out-of-state activities like distance education.
SARA is intended to improve the educational experience for out-of-state distance education students by providing a structured approach to consumer protection and by ensuring that institutions maintain high standards of accountability and transparency.
Under NC-SARA rules, students have the right to lodge a complaint or grievance if the students’ experience in an online program does not conform to expectations. QCC wants to ensure that all student complaints are addressed fairly and resolved promptly.
Student complaints relating to consumer protection laws offered under the terms and conditions of SARA must first be filed with the college to seek resolution. SARA consumer protection provisions require that the college, through its SARA State Portal Entity, investigate and resolve allegations of dishonest or fraudulent activity, including the provision of false or misleading information.
Students have two years to submit a SARA-related complaint. SARA policies do not cover complaints related to grades, and student conduct issues are not governed by this distance education complaint process. All student complaints must be filed with the Office of Academic Affairs, by email or hand-delivered, at:
Office of Academic Affairs
Queensborough Community College
222-05 56 Avenue
Bayside, NY 11364
Email: OfficeofAcademicAffairs@qcc.cuny.edu
If a student feels that the complaint has not been adequately resolved through Academic Affairs, that student may then appeal to:
City University of New York
Office of the General Counsel
205 East 42 Street, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Email: ogc@cuny.edu
Website: https://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/legal-affairs/
Students with complaints that have not been resolved through the complaint processes described above may appeal the complaint decision to the New York State Education Department. Please refer to the New York State Education Department’s Complaint Process.
New York State Education Department
Office of College and University Evaluation
Supervisor of Higher Education Programs
Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12234
518.474.1551
Email: IHEAuthorize@nysed.gov
Under SARA policies, the State Portal Entity has the obligation to investigate and resolve student complaints. NYSED would only address a complaint after it had already exhausted the QCC and CUNY processes.
Should a complaint not be resolved through the processes described above, the contact information for CUNY’s institutional accreditor, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, is:
Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
1007 North Orange Street
Fourth Floor, MB #166
Wilmington, DE 19801
267.284.5011
Email: info@msche.org
For more information, students may access the NC-SARA Student Complaint Process.
Information about the students’ right to appeal may be found at the New York State Education Department’s complaint procedures.
