Complaint Procedures
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Students in University of Louisville (UofL) online programs who have complaints, grievances or concerns should follow the complaint procedures on the Dean of Students’ website. These steps help ensure issues are resolved in an expeditious, fair, and amicable manner.
Students should first seek to resolve their complaints through informal discussion and administrative channels. This is the same process for all students enrolled at UofL.
In the unlikely event that the issue is not resolved internally at the UofL, students enrolled in online programs may file complaints with other agencies. The process will depend upon where a student resides:
- Current Residents of Kentucky
- Out-of-State Students residing in a "SARA" state* – all states (except California) and including Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
- Out-of-State Students residing in a non-"SARA" state* – California and U.S. territories not listed in #2 above
*The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) is a voluntary agreement that allows states and institutions to offer distance education in other participating states so long as the institution adheres to certain quality and consumer protection standards. More information on SARA can be found by visiting nc-sara.org. Kentucky is a member of SARA and UofL participates in SARA.
The Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) is the agency in Kentucky that handles complaints about the University of Louisville and has the ability to act on those complaints from students residing in Kentucky. Students should attempt to resolve the complaint through the established protocol at the University of Louisville before contacting CPE.
Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education
100 Airport Road, Third Floor
Frankfort, KY 40601-7512
Telephone: (502) 573-1555
Email: cpeconsumercomplaint@ky.gov
http://cpe.ky.gov/campuses/consumer_complaint.html
As the designated portal agency under SARA, the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) is the agency that handles complaints about the University of Louisville and has the ability to act on those complaints from students enrolled in online programs residing in SARA-member states. Though the final resolution of complaints will be through the CPE, the student’s home state portal agency may also work with the CPE to resolve the complaint. To view a list of SARA portal agencies, please visit nc-sara.org for a list of State Portal Entity (SPE) contacts.
Students who live in a SARA state (Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and all states except California) should follow the procedures listed here to initiate complaints pursuant to SARA policy.
- Follow the University’s complaint procedure
- If the complaint cannot be resolved at the University, file a complaint with the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, the state SARA portal agency:
Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education
100 Airport Road, Third Floor
Frankfort, KY 40601-7512
Telephone: (502) 573-1555
Email: cpeconsumercomplaint@ky.gov
http://cpe.ky.gov/campuses/consumer_complaint.html
Note: In accordance with 13 KAR 4:010, a non-resident student attending a Kentucky college or university operating through the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) must first exhaust all internal procedures for complaint resolution offered by the college or university before filing a complaint. In addition, the incident giving rise to the complaint must have occurred within two years of filing.
Per the SARA Policy Manual, "the regional compact(s) administering SARA may consider a disputed complaint as a “case file” if concerns are raised against a SARA member state with regard to whether that state is abiding by SARA policies, as promulgated in the SARA Policy Manual. The regional compact may review such institutional concerns in determining whether a state under its SARA purview is abiding by SARA policies. Similarly, a complaint “case file” may also be reviewed by NC-SARA in considering whether a regional compact is ensuring that its SARA member states are abiding by the SARA policies required for their membership in SARA. See Section 4.5, Process for Resolving Complaints, in the SARA Policy Manual.
Southern Regional Education Board
592 10th St. N.W.
Atlanta, GA 30318-5776
Telephone: (404) 875-9211
Website: https://www.sreb.org/contact
Therefore, if there are concerns that the SREB is not ensuring that Kentucky is abiding by SARA standards, a complaint may be made to NC-SARA:
National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements
3005 Center Green Drive, Suite 130
Boulder, Colorado 80301
Telephone: 303.848.3275
Email: info@nc-sara.org
Website: https://www.nc-sara.org/
Students who live in a non-SARA state (currently just California and a few of the U.S. Territories) may file a complaint with an agency in the student’s state of residence. Below is a list of agencies where complaints for non-SARA states or territories may be filed. Please note: University of Louisville (UofL) does not maintain these agency websites, and information may change without UofL's knowledge. Students should attempt to resolve the complaint through the established protocol at UofL before contacting their home state/territory agency.
State
- California
California Department of Consumer Affairs
Consumer Information Center
1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N-112
Sacramento, California 95834
Telephone: (833) 942-1120
Email:dca@dca.ca.gov
Website: https://www.dca.ca.gov/consumers/complaints/oos_students.shtml
U.S. Territories
- American Samoa
American Samoa Department of Education
Website: http://www.doe.as/ - Guam
Guam Department of Education
Website: https://www.gdoe.net/ - Northern Mariana Islands
Office of the Attorney General
Administration Building
P.O. Box 10007
Saipan, MP 96950-8907
Telephone: 670.237.7500
Website: https://www.cnmioag.org/
Other Possible Complaint Options
In addition to the possibilities listed above, online students have the option to file complaints with other agencies when appropriate based on the student’s particular situation. See below for more options.
To file a complaint with University of Louisville’s accrediting agency – the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) – review the Commission’s complaint policy, procedures, and complaint form. The SACSCOC contact information is below.
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
1866 Southern Lane
Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097
Phone: (404) 679-4500
http://www.sacscoc.org
Additionally, students enrolled in a program that has specialized programmatic accreditation may be able to file academic complaints to that program’s specialized accreditor. To see a list of the University of Louisville's programmatic accreditors, please visit the Academic Program Accreditations page.
Active duty military receiving Tuition Assistance or Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts Scholarship recipients may be eligible to file complaints through the Postsecondary Education Complaint System. Military OneSource provides helpful information about the process.
Veterans using the Montgomery or the Post-9/11 GI Bill may be eligible to file a complaint through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
For other types of consumer complaint process options, please visit the University of Louisville’s Consumer Information page.