COE seeks to provide a complaint review process that is “timely, fair, and equitable” as is required by the Department of Education.

COE reviews certified complaints regarding allegations of institutional conditions “that raise significant questions about the institution’s compliance with the Accreditation Standards, Objectives, and Criteria”.

Complaints that do not relate to the Commission’s Standards, Criteria, Conditions, Policies, and/or Procedures are referred to the appropriate federal or state agency.

Please note that the scope of our ability to get involved in complaints against member institutions is focused on Accreditation Standards and Policies. We know your time is valuable, and we want to be sure you understand the limits to our authority on these matters before filing a complaint.

The Commission determines its own methods of review and action.  COE is not responsible for settling disputes between an individual and an institution.  We do not act as a court of appeals following decisions made by an institution on matters such as:

Admission - Granting or transfer of academic credits – Grades - Fees - Financial Aid - Student discipline - Collective bargaining - Faculty appointments, promotion, tenure, dismissals, hiring, or similar matters.

BEFORE completing the Certified Complaint Form, please review the following:

Accreditation Standards, Objectives, and Criteria (Accreditation Standards (Section VI in our Handbook of Accreditation)

Complaint Procedures of the Commission (Section V, B 2 e. in our Handbook of Accreditation)

All institutions accredited by the Commission are required to have published and fairly administered grievance policies and procedures. It is the responsibility of the individual filing a complaint to have attempted, prior to submitting a complaint to COE, to resolve the matter through the institution’s established procedures and processes.  Evidence that such effort has been made needs to be uploaded with this complaint form.

All items specified on the complaint form are required.  Incomplete forms will be returned.

All institutions accredited by COE are required to have grievance policies for handling student complaints. These policies are to be published in the institution’s catalog or student handbook. COE recommends that complainants first attempt to resolve complaints through the institution’s established policies and procedures.

Once the institution’s procedures have been exhausted, the complainant may file certified complaint to COE describing the nature of the grievance and the preliminary steps taken to resolve the problem.

The Council staff will then send a copy of the original letter of complaint and a copy of the certification form to the institution. The institution will have 21 days to submit a formal response to the Council. After the institution’s response has been received by COE, the Council will send a copy of the institutional response to the complainant, who has 7 days to comment on the response.  After that, the complaint letter, certification form, and institutional response is sent to members of the Commission and they will have 21 days to render a judgment on the complaint.

The Commission may rule that:

(a) the institution has responded adequately to the complaint;

(b) the institution has not responded adequately and must take appropriate action to resolve the issue; or

(c) more information is needed from either the complainant or the institution in order for a judgment to be rendered.

Complainants should allow at least 42 days for the Commission’s decision on a complaint once the Council has received a signed Complaint Certification form. The Commission attempts to resolve all complaints within 60 days. Please note that the institution’s response will be reviewed only by the Commission and members of the COE staff.