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.
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. Note that complaints regarding grades and general student conduct issues 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
Students with complaints that have not been resolved through the college’s internal complaint process may seek advice from the New York State Education Department.
Supervisor of Higher Education Programs
New York State Education Department
Office of College and University Evaluation
89 Washington Avenue, Room 960 EBA
Albany, NY 12234
Telephone: (518) 474-1551
E-mail: 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 filing complaints with NC-SARA and New York State Education Department, please see:
Additional information on Consumer Protection Complaint Procedures – can be found in Section 4 of the NC-SARA Policy Manual.