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Student Complaint and Resolution Process

Bank Street Graduate School of Education is a member of NC-SARA (National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement). Initial responsibility for the investigation and resolution of complaints resides with Bank Street Graduate School of Education. Further consideration and resolution, if necessary, is the responsibility of the SARA Portal Entity, and other responsible agencies for Higher Education in New York State. Student complaints may be resolved utilizing the following two-step process.

Step 1 – All Students:

Bank Street makes every effort to resolve student complaints internally using policies and procedures outlined in the current College Catalog. The institutional complaint process for distance learning students is the same for all students regardless of physical location. It is expected that students will fully utilize all such administrative procedures to address concerns and/or complaints in a timely manner and according to timeframes outlined in the College Catalog. Resources including academic grievance procedures and other student complaint processes can be found at:

https://graduate.bankstreet.edu/academics/academic-catalogs/

Complaints must be submitted in writing (email is acceptable), but there is no specific form to complete.

For questions about the student complaint and grievance process for online programs at Bank Street, please contact the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at 212-875-4467 or graduateschool@bankstreet.edu.

Difficulties with program structures, schedules, or other issues should first be discussed informally with the student’s advisor or Program Director. If such difficulties are unresolved, they should then be communicated in writing to the student’s Program Director, with copies to the Department Chair and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Written responses documenting the complaint and its resolution will be shared with the student within 30 days and records will be maintained by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, who will also create an annual summary of these formal complaints and the responses to them.

Faculty members in the Graduate School work very closely and effectively with their students. Occasionally, differences occur between graduate students and their advisors or course instructors about, for example, course grades or evaluation of supervised fieldwork/advisement. Students are encouraged to resolve such problems directly with the individual advisor or instructor.

If the difficulty cannot be resolved in this way, the following formal grievance procedure should be followed:

  • The student discusses the problem with the Program Director or Department Chair (if discussed with the Program Director, the Program Director informs the Chair).
  • The Program Director or Chair discusses the issue with the faculty member involved (and with the student’s advisor, if appropriate). The Program Director or Chair prepares documentation and notifies the student in writing of the recommendation.
  • If the student deems the problem still unresolved, the student may write a report and submit it to the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, along with any pertinent information. This report must be submitted by June 1 of the following year for a fall semester course or by January 1 of the following year for a spring or summer term course.
  • The Committee on Academic Standing reviews the report and the issue with the student (and an outside person if desired) and, either together or separately, with the faculty member.
  • The Committee on Academic Standing makes a decision and shares it with the student, the faculty member, the Program Director, the Department Chair, and the Dean of the Graduate School. The decision of the Committee on Academic Standing is final.
  • Once a degree is awarded and posted to a student’s record, the student’s academic transcript cannot be amended or changed, with one exception: After the degree is posted, should a student wish to appeal a grade earned in the final semester, the student will have 30 days from the degree grant date to file an appeal with the Committee on Academic Standing.

Policies and Procedures for grievances are available here.

The National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) was established to help expand students’ access to educational opportunities and ensure more efficient, consistent, and effective regulation of distance education programs.

Two critical components of SARA’s mission are:

  1. to assure students are well-served in a rapidly-changing education landscape, and
  2. to increase the quality and value of higher education credentials earned through distance education programs.

To do so, SARA participating institutions must meet certain requirements – many of which are focused on ensuring appropriate consumer protections for students.

Key NC-SARA Student Consumer Protections include:

All SARA institutions:

  • must be accredited.
  • must have U.S. oversight.
  • must demonstrate healthy finances.
  • are accountable for third-party providers.
  • must adhere to high standards.
  • must uphold stringent reporting and accountability requirements.
  • are required to have transparency around professional licensure.
  • must find ways to meet obligations to students.

Student complaints are taken seriously. Compliance is non-negotiable. To learn more about each of these protections, click here.

Step 2 – Your Residency Determines Your Next Step:

Out-of-State Students: If your complaint is not resolved at the institutional level (Step 1), then out-of- state students residing in NC-SARA (National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement) states, which includes all states except California, may appeal the complaint to the SARA state portal entity in New York within two years of the incident about which the complaint is made.

The contact information for the SARA state portal entity in New York is:

Andrea Richards

Supervisor of Higher Education Programs

New York State Education Department

89 Washington Avenue

Albany, NY 12234

518.474.1551

IHEauthorize@nysed.gov

New York State Residents: If your complaint is not resolved at the institutional level (Step 1), then you may refer your complaint to the New York State Education Department through the complaint form located at:

http://www.nysed.gov/college-university-evaluation/filing-complaint-about-college-or-university

Further information can be obtained through the following contact information:

A complaint of consumer fraud on the part of the institution should be directed to the Office of the New York State Attorney General, Justice Building, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223.

The NC-SARA complaint procedures can be found at https://www.nc-sara.org/student-complaints.

For a complaint about state student financial aid matters, contact the Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) Customer Communications Center at 1-888-NYS-HESC.

State Portal Entity Contacts. NC-SARA provides a complete list of relevant agencies with contact information for each NC-SARA state.

National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity

3005 Center Green Drive, Suite 130

Boulder, Colorado 80301

Phone: 720.680.1600

Email: info@nc-sara.org

Contact: https://nc-sara.org/directory