Guttman Community College has been approved to participate in the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). Several 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. SARA policies do not cover complaints related to grades or student conduct violations. A student may appeal the institution decision to the SARA State Portal Entity in New York State within two years of the incident about which the complaint is made after it has exhausted the internal processes.
NC-SARA Mission
Internal Complaint Procedures
Guttman Community College distance education students based outside of New York State who have a consumer-protection-based complaint regarding a distance education program should first seek to resolve such a complaint within Guttman Community College and The City Unversity of New York (CUNY).
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On September 13, 2016, the New York State Board of Regents adopted new regulations requiring out-of-state institutions of higher education to seek and obtain New York State Education Department (NYSED) approval to offer distance education to New York State residents and to permit the Department to enter into the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA). New York State joined SARA on December 9, 2016.
New York State institutions participating in SARA are authorized to conduct distance education activity in other SARA member states under the terms and provisions of SARA. Please refer to the NC-SARA homepage for more information about SARA eligibility, coverage, and procedures. A list of states and institutions participating in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement is available on the NC-Sara directory.
Under NC-SARA (National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements) 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.
Students should refer to the Manual of Students Rights and Responsibilities link below when submitting complaints: Manual of Students’ Rights and Responsibilities – Guttman Community College
- The distance education complaint process does not govern complaints regarding grades and general student conduct issues.
- Consumer-protection-based complaints should be made during the semester of occurrence but no later than the last day of the following academic semester. The school offering the relevant distance courses or degree program will acknowledge receipt of the complaint within fifteen (15) days.
- If the student’s attempt at resolution is unsuccessful, the student may appeal the College’s decision regarding the student’s complaint to the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost Provost@guttman.cuny.edu within fifteen (15) days of being informed of the decision.
- A decision on the appeal will be issued within sixty (60) days with any proposed remedy, where applicable.
- Please note that anonymous complaints will not be addressed through this process.
Interregional Guidelines for the Evaluation of Distance Education
- Online learning is appropriate to the institution’s mission and purposes.
- The institution’s plans for developing, sustaining, and, if appropriate, expanding online learning offerings are integrated into its regular planning and evaluation processes.
- Online learning is incorporated into the institution’s systems of governance and academic oversight.
- Curricula for the institution’s online learning offerings are coherent, cohesive, and comparable in academic rigor to programs offered in traditional instructional formats.
- The institution evaluates the effectiveness of its online learning offerings, including the extent to which the online learning goals are achieved, and uses the results of its evaluations to enhance the attainment of the goals.
- Faculty responsible for delivering the online learning curricula and evaluating the students’ success in achieving the online learning goals are appropriately qualified and effectively supported.
- The institution provides effective student and academic services to support students enrolled in online learning offerings.
- The institution provides sufficient resources to support and, if appropriate, expand its online learning offerings.
- The institution assures the integrity of its online offerings.
Guttman Community College Internal Complaint Procedures
Guttman Community College distance education students based outside of New York State who have a consumer-protection-based complaint regarding a distance education program should first seek to resolve such a complaint within Guttman Community College.
- Students should refer to the Guttman Manual of Students Rights and Responsibilities for the process and procedures related to submitting complaints: Manual of Students’ Rights and Responsibilities – Guttman Community College
- Complaints regarding grades and general student conduct issues are not governed by the distance education complaint process.
- Consumer-protection-based complaints should be made during the semester of occurrence but no later than the last day of the following academic semester. The College will acknowledge receipt of the complaint within fifteen (15) days.
- If the student’s attempt at resolution is unsuccessful, the student may appeal the College’s decision regarding the student’s complaint to the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost (Provost@guttman.cuny.edu) within fifteen (15) days of being informed of the decision.
A decision on the appeal will be issued within sixty (60) days with any proposed remedy, where applicable.
Please note that anonymous complaints will not be addressed through this process.
Requests for Appeal
If the complaint is not resolved satisfactorily by the College, a request for further appeal can be addressed to the City University of New York:
City University of New York
Office of the General Counsel
205 East 42nd Street, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10017
646-664-9200
ogc@cuny.edu
CUNY Legal Affairs website
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.
Office of College and University Evaluation
89 Washington Avenue
Room 960 EBA
Albany, NY 12234
Telephone: (518) 474-1551
IHEauthorize@nysed.gov
NYSED complaint procedures webpage
Should a complaint not be resolved through the above-referenced entities, the student may contact the City University of New York’s regional accreditor (Middle States Commission on Higher Education) using the information below.
Middle States Commission on Higher Education
1007 North Orange Street
4th Floor, MB #166
Wilmington, DE 19801
(267) 284-5011
info@msche.org
Additional information on Consumer Protection Complaint Procedures – can be found in Section 4 of the SARA Policy Manual 24.1.
NC-SARA Student Complaint Process
NC-SARA students have an avenue for filing complaints related to consumer protections and/or NC-SARA Policy with the institution. Note: NC-SARA complaints do NOT include complaints related to grades or student conduct violations. Additional information for filing complaints related to consumer protections can be found in the SARA Policy Manual (NC SARA RESOURCES/GUIDES).
Consumer protection complaints, as outlined by the NC SARA Policy Manual, may be filed internally with the Office of Academic Affairs. Students should follow all internal processes, as guided by Academic Affairs, prior to filing a complaint with a state agency.
If the situation is not resolved internally, students may contact the entities below to file a complaint. You may also learn more about student complaints and NC-SARA by visiting this site: NC-SARA
- If a student is unable to reach a resolution with Guttman Community College, the first step is to file a complaint with the City University of New York Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs.
- The Student Conduct, Advocacy & Referral can assist students with the complaint process.
- The City University of New York (CUNY)
Office of Student Advocacy and Referral
205 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10017
studentaffairs@cuny.edu
Student Conduct, Advocacy & Referral – The City University of New York
- Students must file a complaint with CUNY before filing a complaint with the New York State Education Department, Office of Higher Education: NYSED Filing a Complaint About a College or UniversityThe deadline for filing a SARA-related complaint with NYSED is two years.
- If a person bringing a complaint is not satisfied with the outcome of the institutional process for handling complaints, the complaint (except for complaints about grades or student conduct violations) may be appealed, within two years of the incident about which the complaint is made, to the SARA Portal Entity in the home state of the institution against which the complaint has been lodged.” (SARA Policy Manual/.
- Guttman Community College is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the MSCHE complaint process is available via this link: MSCHE.
Professional Licensure Disclosures
Effective July 1, 2024, federal regulation requires institutions of higher education to make a determination whether a Title IV eligible academic program that leads to professional licensure or certification meets the educational requirements for licensure/certification in the U.S. State where the institution is located and the U.S. States where “distance education” students are located at the time of initial enrollment in the program, as well as U.S. States where the program is advertised as meeting such requirements, and if applicable, the U.S. State where students attest they intend to be licensed/certified.
Guttman Community College does not currently offer any programs that lead directly to professional licensure.