Comments and Complaints

The Commission has two means of hearing from students, faculty, staff, and members of the public about its member institutions: (1) Public Comments and (2) Complaints. Both offer important opportunities for the Commission to hear from individuals about the quality of affiliated institutions.

Neither the Public Comment nor the Complaint process is designed to offer a remedy for personal grievances. In no case are anonymous submissions accepted.

PUBLIC COMMENTS
Public Comments consist of observations, positive or negative, about the quality of a member institution and its programs, based on an individual’s experiences. They must be substantive but need not include evidence. Comments may be written or emailed; there is no prescribed format for submitting the information.

In keeping with federal regulations, Public Comments must be solicited by the Commission and the institution during an institution's comprehensive evaluation. Those received are forwarded to the institution’s president, who has the opportunity to respond. The Public Comment and institutional response, if any, are then sent to the Commission, which considers them as part of its decision on the institution’s evaluation for accreditation. (Consult the schedule of Upcoming Evaluations to see a list of institutions undergoing comprehensive evaluations.)

Public Comments may also be submitted outside the comprehensive evaluation cycle to be handled at the discretion of Commission staff.

COMPLAINTS
Complaints are more formal expressions of concern regarding an institution’s compliance with the Standards for Accreditation. A required Complaint Form exists to help organize complicated information. Complaints must meet five criteria to be accepted for consideration:

Focus on institutional conditions, not individual experiences;
Cite specific Standards and provide substantial evidence beyond general allegations that the standard may have been violated;
Indicate that a serious effort has been made to resolve the issue through the institution's internal procedures.
Be signed and include permission to forward the complaint to the institution. (Anonymous complaints or requests to keep complaints confidential cannot be accepted.)
Be submitted in a timely manner (Normally, the Commission will not consider matters that occurred more than three years prior to the filing of the complaint.)

Complaints are reviewed to ensure that they meet the Commission’s criteria listed above. Consult the FAQs About Complaints to ensure that your concern meets the criteria. Individuals with concerns that do not meet the criteria for complaints are encouraged to submit those concerns as Public Comments.

If the complaint meets the Commission’s five criteria for consideration, it is forwarded to the institution’s president, who is asked to respond within 30 days. At its next regularly scheduled meeting, the Commission considers both the complaint and the institution’s response and determines whether or not further action is required. The complainant and the institution are notified in writing of the Commission’s decision in the matter.

For further information, consult the policy and procedures for Public Comments or the policy on Consideration of Complaints Against Affiliated Institutions. For guidance on filing either a Public Comment or Complaint, email cihe@neasc.org.

REGISTERING A COMPLAINT WITH A STATE

For information on registering a complaint against an institution with an agency within the student’s state of residency, refer to the contact information below:

Connecticut

Connecticut Office of Financial and Academic Affairs for Higher Education
61 Woodland Street
Hartford, CT 06105-2326
(860) 947-1800

Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection
165 Capitol Avenue
Room 110
Hartford, CT 06106
Trade.practices@ct.gov

Maine

Maine Department of Education
Alisa Johnson
23 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0023
Telephone: (207) 624-6600
Fax: (207) 624-6841

Maine Attorney General
Consumer Protection Division
6 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
consumer.mediation@maine.gov.
http://www.maine.gov/ag/consumer/complaints/complaint_form.shtml

Massachusetts

Massachusetts Board of Higher Education
One Ashburton Place
Room 1401
Boston, MA 02108
617-994-6950
http://www.mass.edu/forstudents/complaints/complaintprocess.asp
http://www.mass.edu/forstudents/complaints/complaintform.asp

Office of the Attorney General
Public Inquiry and Assistance Center
One Ashburton Place, 18th Floor
Boston, MA 02108
Public Inquiry & Assistance Center Hotline: 617-727-8400.
http://www.mass.gov/ago/consumer-resources/consumer-assistance/consumer-complaint.html

New Hampshire

New Hampshire Department of Education
Stephen Berwick
Coordinator, Dispute Resolution and Constituent Complaints
101 Pleasant Street
Concord, NH 03301
(603) 271-2299
Stephen.Berwick@doe.nh.gov

Rhode Island

Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education
Shepard Building
80 Washington Street
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 456-6000
ribghe@ribghe.org

Rhode Island Department of Attorney General
Consumer Protection Unit
150 South Main Street
Providence, RI 02903
http://www.riag.state.ri.us/documents/consumer/ConsumerComplaintForm.pdf

Vermont

Vermont Department of Education
State Board of Education
120 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05620-2501
(802) 828-3135

Vermont Attorney General’s Office
109 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05609-1001
(802)-828-3171

Consumer Assistance Program
146 University Place
Burlington, VT 05405
consumer@uvm.edu
Fax: (802) 656-1423
Consumer Hotline: Toll free in Vermont: (800) 649-2424 or (802) 656-3183

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