Student Grievances

If you have a complaint about the school, faculty or staff, you must initially follow and complete the institution’s Student Grievance and Complaint Procedures, which can be found on Page 12 of the Elyon College 24-25 Catalog. Please use the following link to review the Student Grievance and Complaint Procedures

Elyon College participates in NC-SARA. The student has a right to lodge a complaint or grievance about the school, faculty, or staff.

SARA consumer protection provisions require the institution’s home state, through its SARA State Portal Entity, to investigate and resolve allegations of dishonest or fraudulent activity by the state’s SARA-participating institutions, including the provision of false or misleading information.

Examples of Consumer Protection Issues

Examples of issues that may arise in regard to alleged fraudulent activity, violations of SARA policies or more general complaints about improper activities include, but are not limited to:

Veracity of recruitment and marketing materials;
Accuracy of job placement data;
Accuracy of information about tuition, fees and financial aid;
Complete and accurate admission requirements for courses and programs
Accuracy of information about the institution’s accreditation and/or any programmatic/specialized accreditation held by the institution’s programs;
Accuracy of information about whether course work meets any relevant Professional Licensing requirements or the requirements of specialized Accrediting Agencies;
Accuracy of information about whether the institution’s course work will transfer to other institutions; and
Operation of distance education programs consistent with practices expected by institutional accreditors (and, if applicable, programmatic/specialized accreditors) and/or the C-RAC Guidelines for Distance Education.

For general information regarding the NC-SARA complaint process, please use the following link: https://www.nc-sara.org/sara-student-complaints-0

Every student deserves a positive educational experience. Sometimes a student’s experience may not be what they anticipate, and the student may have a concern or a complaint.

A student has the right to lodge a complaint or grievance. The institution should ensure that all concerns and complaints of students are addressed fairly and are resolved promptly. Student complaints relating to consumer protection laws offered under the terms and conditions of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), must first be filed with the institution to seek resolution.

The student should begin the complaint process with the institution (Elyon College’s Student Grievance and Complaint Procedures can be found on Page 12 of the Elyon College 24-25 Catalog) and if resolution is not found, the student should follow the institution’s home state complaint process. Since Elyon College is located in New York State, please use the following link to file a complaint about Elyon College: https://www.nysed.gov/college-university-evaluation/complaints

SARA policies cover complaints related to consumer protection and distance education concerns, such as the provision of false or misleading information about program completion time or costs. More information can be found in Section 4 of the SARA Policy Manual(link is external). The time limit for filing a SARA complaint is two years from the incident in question. Complaints about grades and student conduct are not covered by SARA policies.

SARA – Student Complaint Process

The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) is an agreement among member states, districts, and territories that establishes comparable national standards for the approval of interstate postsecondary distance education courses and programs. New York State joined SARA on December 9, 2016.

As the SARA State Portal Entity, the Office of College and University Evaluation reviews and evaluates student complaints regarding distance learning programs offered by New York State institutions that are members of SARA.

SARA Complaints are those that pertain to distance (online) education provided by New York State SARA participating institutions(link is external) to students residing in another SARA participating state(link is external). If you are located in New York and studying via distance education at a New York institution, your complaint does not fall under SARA; please see the Filing a Complaint about a College or University webpage

The SARA complaint process is as follows:

Students must first attempt to resolve their complaint using internal administrative procedures offered by the SARA participating institution.
Students attending a State University of New York (SUNY) or a City University of New York (CUNY) campus must also exhaust the complaint process at the system administration level:

State University of New York

Central Administration

State University Plaza

Albany, NY 12246

Web: Student Concerns (link is external)

City University of New York

Office of Student Advocacy and Referral

205 East 42nd Street

New York, NY 10017

studentaffairs@cuny.edu

Student Conduct, Advocacy & Referral – The City University of New York (link is external)

If not satisfied with the result of the institution’s complaint process, the student may file an appeal with the SARA State Portal Entity in New York State by completing the Office of College and University Evaluation Complaint Form.
Complainants should include documentation of the institution’s complaint determination, and if applicable the results of a complaint appeal to CUNY or SUNY System Administration.
In reviewing a student complaint under SARA, OCUE may consult with other offices and agencies as appropriate and will share the complaint and supporting documentation with the institution involved. OCUE must report a SARA complaint to the student’s home State Portal Entity

NOTE: OCUE must provide aggregate data on complaints to the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). The public may view the NC-SARA Complaint Reports by State(link is external).

For more information on the NC-SARA Complaint policies, please visit the Section 4 of the SARA policy Manual using the following link https://nc-sara.org/resources/sara-policy-manual-251

MSCHE – Students and other interested parties may also put a comment or file a complaint with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.