Student Problem Resolution Non-New York Residents

Students are encouraged to follow the college's student problem resolution process prior to filing a complaint with a state agency.

Empire State University is a member of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) and follows the complaint resolution policies and procedures outlined within the SARA Policy Manual and summarized in the Student Complaint Process. Consumer protection complaints resulting from distance education courses, activities, and operations may be submitted to studentsuccess@sunyempire.edu for investigation and resolution. If a student is dissatisfied with the campus-based resolution, a concern may be submitted to System Administration of the State University of New York as outlined under Student Concerns. And, if still not satisfied, a complaint may be submitted, within two years of the incident about which the complaint is made, to the New York State Education Department as outlined in Filing a Complaint About a College or University. Please note, this does not include complaints related to grades or student conduct violations, both of which are to be fully addressed via campus processes, not through the NC-SARA complaint resolution procedures.

The United States Department of Education requires each institution of higher education to provide all prospective and current out-of-state students with the contact information of the state agency or agencies that handle complaints against postsecondary education institutions offering distance learning within that state.

Information listed for each state is subject to change and will be updated on a routine basis.

Contact information is provided for each state. Your state department of higher education may also be contacted.

Last update: January 4, 2023

Contact Information by State

Alabama Commission on Higher Education
P.O. Box 302000
Montgomery, AL 36130-2000

Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education
P.O. Box 302130
Montgoemry, AL 36130

Alabama Secretary of State's Office
P.O. Box 5616
Montgomery, AL 26103-5616

Alabama Attorney General's Office

Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education
P.O. Box 110505
Juneau, AK 99811-0505

Alaska consumer protections and student complaints
request a complaint form by email to EED.ACPE-IA@alaska.gov

Alaska Attorney General’s Office

Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education
1400 W. Washington St.
Room 260
Phoenix, AZ 85007

Arizona complaint procedure

Arizona Attorney General’s Office

Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board
Arkansas Department of Higher Education
423 Main St.
Suite 400
Little Rock, AR 72201

Arkansas student grievance procedure PDF
email ADHE_Info@ashe.edu

Note: You will need Adobe Reader to read PDF documents. If it is not installed on your computer, download it for free from Adobe.

According to the Department of Education, the state of California at this time does not participate in the nationwide State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA). Further, the state of California does not have a process for managing complaints of California residents attending out-of-state public or non-profit institutions at a distance via online programs. Until such time that these items are resolved, students are encouraged to work with their institution regarding any complaints, or contact the California Attorney General's Office.

California Attorney General's Office

Updated: July 23, 2019

Note: You will need Adobe Reader to read PDF documents. If it is not installed on your computer, download it for free from Adobe.

Colorado Department of Higher Education
1560 Broadway
Suite 1600
Denver, CO 80202

Colorado online complaint form

Colorado Attorney General's Office

Connecticut Office of Higher Education
450 Columbus Boulevard, Suite 510,
Hartford, CT 06103-1841

Connecticut student complaints
request a complaint form by email to edinfo@ctohe.org

Connecticut Attorney General's Office

Delaware Department of Education
Higher Education Office
John G. Townsend Building
401 Federal St.
Dover, DE 19901

Delaware Attorney General's Office

District of Columbia Education Licensure Commission
Office of the State Superintendent of Education
810 1st St. NE
9th Floor
Washington, DC 20002

District of Columbia public complaints
complaint form available as Word document at above link

District of Columbia Attorney General's Office

Florida Commission for Independent Education
325 W. Gaines St.
Suite 1414
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400

college complaint procedure

Florida Attorney General's Office

Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission
2082 East Exchange Pl.
Suite 220
Tucker, GA 30084-3300

Georgia complaint process

Georgia Attorney General's Office

Note: You will need Adobe Reader to read PDF documents. If it is not installed on your computer, download it for free from Adobe.

Hawaii Postsecondary Education Authorization Program
Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs
P.O. Box 541
Honolulu, HI 96809

Hawaii Attorney General's Office

Idaho State Board of Education
P.O. Box 83720
Boise, ID 83720-0037

Idaho student complaint procedures
complaint form available as PDF and Word document at above link

Idaho Attorney General's Office

Illinois Board of Higher Education
1 N. Old State Capitol Plaza,
Suite 333
Springfield, Illinois 62701-1377

Illinois Attorney General's Office

Indiana Commission for Higher Education
101 W. Ohio St.
Suite 300
Indianapolis, IN 46204-4206

Indiana Attorney General's Office

Iowa College Student Aid Commission
430 East Grand Ave.
Floor 3
Des Moines, IA 50309-1920

Student Dispute Resolution Form

Iowa Attorney General's Office

Kansas Board of Regents
1000 SW Jackson St.
Suite 520
Topeka, KS 66612-1368

private postsecondary and out-of-state institutions operating in Kansas
Kansas complaint process

Kansas Attorney General's Office

Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education
1024 Capital Center Dr.
Suite 320
Frankfort, KY 40601

Kentucky consumer complaints

Kentucky Attorney General's Office

Louisiana Board of Regents
1201 N. Third St., Suite 6-200
Baton Rouge, LA 70802

Louisiana Attorney General's Office

Maine Department of Education
23 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0023

Maine Attorney General's Office

Student complaints will be investigated by the Office of the Attorney General or the Maryland Higher Education Commission.

Complaints should be directed to:

Maryland Attorney General's Office
Consumer Protection Division
200 St. Paul St.
Baltimore, MD 21202

toll free: 888-743-0023
local: 410-528-8662

Updated: March 13, 2018

Massachusetts Department of Higher Education
One Ashburton Pl.
Room 1401
Boston, MA 02108

Massachusetts Attorney General's Office

Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
P.O. Box 30004
Lansing, MI 48909

Michigan Attorney General's Office

Minnesota Office of Higher Education
1450 Energy Park Drive
Suite 350
St. Paul, MN 55108

school licensure and registration (including out-of-state public postsecondary educational institutions
Minnesota complaints (includes how to file)

Minnesota Attorney General's Office

Mississippi Commission on College Accreditation
3825 Ridgewood Road
Jackson, MS 39211-6453

Mississippi student information and complaint form PDF

Mississippi Attorney General's Office

Note: You will need Adobe Reader to read PDF documents. If it is not installed on your computer, download it for free from Adobe.

Missouri Department of Higher Education
P.O. Box 1469
Jefferson City, MO 65102-1469

policy on complaint resolution (complaint process) PDF

Missouri Attorney General's Office

Note: You will need Adobe Reader to read PDF documents. If it is not installed on your computer, download it for free from Adobe.

Montana University System
P.O. Box 203201
Helena, MT 59620-3201

Montana complaint process

Montana Attorney General's Office

Nebraska's Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education
140 N. 8th St.
Suite 300
Lincoln, NE 68508

Nebraska Attorney General's Office

Nevada Commission on Postsecondary Education
8778 South Maryland Pkwy.
Suite 115
Las Vegas, NV 89123

Nevada Attorney General's Office

Note: You will need Adobe Reader to read PDF documents. If it is not installed on your computer, download it for free from Adobe.

New Hampshire Department of Education
Division of Higher Education - Higher Education Commission
101 Pleasant St.
Concord, NH 03301-3860

New Hampshire Attorney General's Office

New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education
P.O. Box 542
Trenton, NJ 08625-0542

New Jersey Attorney General's Office

New Mexico Higher Education Department
2048 Galistro St.
Santa Fe, NM 8705-2100

or contact online

New Mexico complaints
complaint form, FERPA release form and HIPPA release form available at the link above as fillable Word documents

New Mexico Attorney General's Office

University of North Carolina Board of Governors

North Carolina student complaints
send to:
North Carolina Post-Secondary Education Complaints
c/o Cherisa Williams
University of North Carolina General Administration
910 Raleigh Rd.
Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2688

North Carolina Attorney General's Office

North Dakota University System

North Dakota student complaints
send to:
Tanya Spilovay, D.Ed.
Director of Distance Education and State Authorization
1815 Schafer St.
Suite 202
Bismark, ND 58501-1217

North Dakota Attorney General's Office

Ohio Board of Regents
25 South Front St.
Columbus, OH 43215

Ohio Attorney General's Office

Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
655 Research Pkwy.
Suite 200
Oklahoma City, OK 73104

Oklahoma Attorney General's Office

Oregon Office of Student Access and Completion
Office of Degree Authorization
1500 Valley River Dr.
Suite 100
Eugene, OR 97401

Oregon Attorney General's Office

Pennsylvania Department of Education
Division of Higher and Career Education
333 Market St.
12th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333

Pennsylvania complaint procedure

Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office

Consejo de Educatión de Puerto Rico
P.O. Box 19900
San Juan, PR 00910-1900

Departmento de Justicia

RI Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner

Rhode Island complaint procedure

Rhode Island Attorney General's Office

South Carolina Commission on Higher Education
1122 Lady St.
Suite 300
Columbia, SC 29201

South Carolina Attorney General's Office

Note: You will need Adobe Reader to read PDF documents. If it is not installed on your computer, download it for free from Adobe.

South Dakota Secretary of State's Office
Postsecondary Education
State Capitol
500 East Capitol Ave.
Pierre, SD 57501-5070

South Dakota Attorney General's Office

Tennessee Higher Education Commission
404 James Robertson Pkwy.
Suite 1900
Nashville, TN 37243

Tennessee Attorney General's Office

Note: You will need Adobe Reader to read PDF documents. If it is not installed on your computer, download it for free from Adobe.

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
P.O. Box 12788
Austin, TX 78711-2788

Texas student complaints

Texas Attorney General's Office

Utah Division of Consumer Protection
P.O. Box 146704
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6704

Utah Attorney General's Office

Vermont State Agency of Education (Board of Education)
120 State St.
Montpelier, VT 06620

Vermont Attorney General's Office

State Council of Higher Education for Virginia
101 N. 14th St.
10th Floor
Richmond, VA 23219

Virginia Attorney General's Office

Washington Student Achievement Council
917 Lakeridge Way SW
Olympia, WA 98502

protecting education consumers

Washington Attorney General's Office

West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission
1018 Kanawha Blvd.
E. Suite 700
Charlestown, WV 25301

West Virginia Attorney General's Office

Wisconsin Educational Approval Board
201 W. Washington Ave.
3rd Floor
Madison, WI 53703

Wisconsin student complaints
complaint process and the complaint form (Word) available at the above link

Wisconsin Attorney General's Office

Wyoming Department of Education
2300 Capitol Ave.
Hathaway Building, 2nd Floor
Cheyenne, WY 82002-2060

Wyoming student complaints
complaint process (Word document) and the complaint form (PDF) available at the above link

Wyoming Attorney General's Office

Note: The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) conducts an annual state authorization survey which is a major resource for this webpage. The survey information can now be found at the NC-SARA website under the title of "The State Authorization Guide: A collection of state laws, regulations, and requirements for institutions serving out-of-state students". For information about the State Authorization Guide, please contact Marianne Boeke at NC-SARA: mboeke@nc-sara.org or (303) 242-5037.