Section 494C(j) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, provides that a student, faculty member or any other person who believes he or she has been aggrieved by an institution of higher education has the right to file a written complaint.
Information for Online Out-of-state Students – Complaints & Grievances
The University at Albany is a member of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA), and we follow a comprehensive complaint resolution process outlined in the SARA Policy Manual. A summary of the SARA student complaint process is available online. Students 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.
SARA policies do not cover complaints related to grades or student conduct violations. These matters are fully addressed via our campus process, which is outlined below, not through the NC-SARA complaint resolution procedures.
Non-academic Grievances
If you have a non-academic complaint, please complete the student complaint form, which is accessible via the Dean of Students' Get Help webpage. If you have questions or need additional assistance with your grievance, please contact [email protected] or 518-442-5501.
If you are not satisfied with the University’s response and have exhausted all UAlbany review options, you may file a complaint with the State University of New York (SUNY) system via SUNY's Student Concerns webpage or by writing to:
State University of New York
System Administration
State University Plaza
Albany, NY 12246
If your concern remains unresolved after the SUNY review, you may submit the complaint and request a review by the New York State Education Department (NYSED). Note that NYSED will only consider cases that have already gone through both the UAlbany and SUNY review processes. Additional information and a link to the complaint form is available on NYSED's SARA-Student Complaint Process| New York State Education Department
Academic Grievances
The University at Albany has established academic grievance procedures for students seeking to contest an evaluation. The full procedures are detailed in this Graduate Bulletin on the Graduate Regulations and Degree Requirements page. The final level of possible University at Albany review of graduate level grievances is the Graduate Academic Council. As stated, a determination by the Graduate Academic Council is final and not subject to further formal review within the University at Albany.
Only students who have exhausted review rights at the University at Albany may pursue a concern or complaint with the SUNY System. The SUNY mailing address for such a purpose is State University of New York, System Administration, State University Plaza, Albany, NY 12246. More information regarding pursuing such concerns at the SUNY System level is available at the SUNY student concerns page.
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. For more information of filing such a complaint with NYSED, see NYSED's Filing a Complaint page.