Student Grievance Procedures
Procedures for General Student Complaints
Hartwick College and its employees strive to improve student services and welcome input regarding our policies and procedures. This policy provides procedures to address any type of grievance that is not considered under a separately defined College policy.
The College encourages all student concerns or complaints to be addressed informally by discussing the matter first with the parties involved. If the matter cannot be resolved informally at this level, then the student may file a written, formal complaint according to the following procedures.
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A student complaint originating in any academic or administrative unit is handled by the department manager in which the complaint originates (i.e. department chair, director, etc.). Should the complaint allege a violation of a preexisting policy, the department manager, will refer the complaint to the relevant policy.
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Students that wish to make a formal complaint, must submit in writing the formal complaint to the applicable manager. The formal compliant should include, to the extent possible, a detailed description of the violation, the name(s) of the individual(s) involved, relevant dates, the identity of any witnesses, and any documentation supporting the report.
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The complaint will be considered by the appropriate manager on an individual basis and is decided based on the facts that pertain to the particular student’s situation. When it is appropriate and feasible, the manager may consult with the individual(s) involved, and other college officials, before making a final decision.
Pre-Existing College Policies
The following is a non-exhaustive list of College policies and process for handling student complaints:
Student Complaint Procedures – External Processes
In the unlikely event that an issue cannot be resolved by the College, students may file a complaint with their respective State Licensing Authority. For registered students taking courses on-campus, the New York Office of Higher Education would be the applicable agency.
New York State Education Department
89 Washington Avenue
Room 969 EBA
Albany, NY 12234
518-474-1551
Information about the New York State Education Department complaint process can be found at: www.nysed.gov/college-university-evaluation/filing-complaint-about-college-or-university
Unresolved complaints may also be filed with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the College’s regional accrediting agency, once all other avenues have been exhausted.
Middle States Commission on Higher Education
3624 Market Street
2nd Floor West
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Telephone: (267) 284-5000
E-mail: info@msche.org Spanish: españolinfo@msche.org
General Link: www.msche.org
Information about the Middle States Commission on Higher Education complaint process can be found at: www.msche.org/complaints/
Hartwick College is a member of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). As a member of NC-SARA, Hartwick College is authorized to deliver distance education programs in other NC-SARA member states. Note that California is not a member state of NC-SARA.
Should students have consumer-related issues concerning distance education programs we invite you to please address them with the College first, though the Procedures for General Student Complaints. Should the College be unable to resolve the matter, the student can contact the institution’s home state SARA Portal Entity to seek further resolution. NC-SARA maintains a directory of State Portal Entities (www.nc-sara.org/state-portal-entity-contacts). Information about the NC-SARA Student Complaint Process is here https://nc-sara.org/student-complaints.
- As detailed in the NC-SARA Policy Manual, consumer-related issues may 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.