NC-SARA Student Complaint Process
NC-SARA Student Complaint Process
Medgar Evers College has been approved to participate in the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). A number of U.S. states and territories have entered into a voluntary agreement called the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) that establishes one set of national standards and regulations for offering certain out-of-state activities.
The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (SARA) aims to improve the educational experience for out-of-state distance education students by ensuring consumer protection and promoting high standards of accountability and transparency among institutions. Overall, SARA enhances the educational experience for out-of-state distance education students by providing a structured approach to consumer protection and ensuring that institutions maintain high standards of accountability and transparency.
Medgar Evers College Internal NC-SARA Complaint Procedure
Under NC-SARA rules, students have the right to lodge a complaint or grievance if that student’s experience in an online program is not what they anticipate. 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 college to seek resolution. SARA consumer protection provisions require the college, through its SARA State Portal Entity, to 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 and are not governed by this distance education complaint process. All student complaints must be filed with the Office of Academic Affairs and/or the Ombuds Office at:
Office of Academic Affairs
Medgar Evers College
1650 Bedford Avenue, Rm. 3010
Brooklyn, NY 11225
E-mail: oaa@mec.cuny.edu
and/or
Ombuds Office
Medgar Evers College
1650 Bedford Avenue, Rm. 2015N
Brooklyn, NY 11225
Attn: Professor Gregorio Mayers, Esq.
E-mail: ombudsman@mec.cuny.edu
Note: all complaints must be e-mailed or hand-delivered to the office.
If the complaint is not resolved satisfactorily by the college, a request for further appeal can be addressed to:
City University of New York
Office of the General Counsel
205 East 42nd Street, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10017
E-mail: ogc@cuny.edu
Website: https://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/legal-affairs/
Students with complaints that have not been resolved through the college’s internal complaint process 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
Should a complaint not be resolved through the above-referenced entities, the contact information for CUNY’s regional accreditor (Middle States Commission on Higher Education) is provided below.
Middle States Commission on Higher Education
1007 North Orange Street
4th Floor, MB #166
Wilmington, DE 19801
Telephone: (267) 284-5011
E-mail: info@msche.org
For more information on the student complaint process, please see:
Additional information on Consumer Protection Complaint Procedures – can be found in Section 4 of the NC-SARA Policy Manual.