Other Complaint Options
Students are encouraged to resolve concerns by contacting the campus office responsible for the area relevant to the complaint. If dissatisfied with the response, the student may contact the relevant area supervisor, director, department chair, or dean for resolution. The Ombudsman's role is to serve as a resource and designated neutral party for those who may have a college-related concern or grievance. The Ombudsman does not impose solutions, but does identify options and strategies for resolution by providing contact with appropriate college resources or serving as a mediator, among other roles.
If a student has exhausted all review rights at Monroe Community College, they may pursue a concern or complaint with the SUNY System. The address for such complaints is as follows:
State University of NY (SUNY)
System Administration
State University Plaza
Albany, NY 12246
A final level of complaint review by the New York State Education Department will only be considered if it is demonstrated that reviews at the campus and SUNY system levels have been exhausted.
Online Student Concerns
Monroe Community College is a member of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). SARA is a voluntary agreement among its member states that establishes comparable national standards for interstate offering of postsecondary distance education courses and programs. The purpose of SARA is to make it less challenging for students to take online courses and programs offered by post-secondary institutions based in another state. As a SARA participating institution, the College can enroll residents of other SARA participating states in its distance education courses and programs. To learn more about this program, please visit the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) website. For an overview of the SARA complaint process, visit SARA Student Complaints | NC-SARA.
SARA policies do not cover complaints related to grades or student conduct violations. These matters are fully addressed via our campus processes, not through the NC-SARA complaint resolution procedures.
Consumer protection complaints resulting from distance education courses, activities, and operations are also submitted through MCC’s Internal Complaints and Incident Reporting process.
The complaint process follows:
- Step 1: Start with the Institutional Complaint Process: MCC’s Internal Complaints and Incident Reporting process
- Step 2: If you continue to face challenges, you can submit a complaint to SUNY: Student Concerns - SUNY System
- Step 3: If your complaint is unresolved, you can submit a complaint to NYSED SARA: SARA – Student Complaint Process | New York State Education Department
Note that in-state distance education students must access the Filing a Complaint About a College or University | New York State Education Department but NC-SARA enrolled students must access SARA – Student Complaint Process | New York State Education Department.
Students must appeal the institution’s decision through this process within two years of the incident about which the complaint is made.
Unresolved complaints may also be filed with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the College’s institutional accreditor, once all other avenues have been exhausted. For more information about filing a complaint with Middle States, including the criteria for complaint, see: