Share your concerns with HLC.

File a Complaint

HLC wants to hear your concerns about colleges and universities that we accredit. Complaints submitted by students, faculty, staff members of the public, or other stakeholders can help HLC identify issues an institution may have in meeting HLC requirements.

Submit a Complaint

About HLC’s Complaint Process

The HLC complaint process:

Is deliberative and judgment based.
Is designed to operate in a timely, fair and equitable manner.
Recognizes the value of information provided by stakeholders and the public.
Helps institutions gain awareness of systemic problems and improve.
Directs complainants to appropriate processes for grievances if the matter is not a substantive accreditation concern.

Complaints That HLC Reviews

We review complaints that indicate potential concerns regarding an institution’s ability to meet HLC requirements. In general, the matter of the complaint should have taken place within the past two years. The person who submits the complaint must also be a party to the complaint.

HLC’s policy on complaints provides a full description of the type of complaints that HLC will review.

Complaints That HLC Does Not Review

HLC’s complaint process is not designed to resolve specific disputes between individuals or between an individual and a college or university. Rather, HLC’s complaint process is intended to review matters that pertain to the institution as a whole, as related to HLC requirements.

HLC cannot:

Intervene in disputes over transcripts, tuition, financial aid, academic progress, grades, discipline, employment or other individual matters.
Review the outcome of an individual institutional grievance either to uphold or overturn the decision reached by the institution.
Provide a specific individual remedy to a complaint.
Review criminal matters.
Provide legal advice, consultation or guidance.

See Additional Resources below for agencies that may be able to assist with matters that we do not review.

Filing a Complaint: What to Expect

You may file a complaint using the online form below or by U.S. mail using our print-friendly form. We do not accept complaints via email or phone.

When submitting a complaint, please note:

We generally expect individuals to try to resolve personal issues through the institution’s grievance procedures, and/or other institutional processes if applicable, before submitting a complaint.
We do not provide whistleblower protections (protection against retaliation).
We do not accept anonymous complaints, but on the form you may indicate if you would like HLC to remove your contact information and other personally identifiable information from the complaint form. However, we do not guarantee that a complaint will remain anonymous, even if personally identifiable information is removed.

HLC’s Review Process for Complaints

HLC will initially review the complaint within 30 days after it is received. We will notify you when that initial review is complete and provide information on any next steps, if applicable.

From that point forward, HLC will address the complaint according to our established policies and procedures, as appropriate. We will be unable to provide further updates regarding the complaint.

If HLC determines that the complaint requires a response from the institution regarding HLC requirements, we will reach out to the institution. This process generally follows these steps:

HLC will review the information provided by the institution within 30 days after it is received and make a decision regarding the complaint, including whether any additional follow-up may be appropriate under HLC policy. If further review of the institution is assigned under HLC policy, that information will be posted to the institution’s Statement of Accreditation Status in our Directory of Institutions.
HLC will forward the complaint to the institution for review and response.
The institution will generally have 30 days to respond to the complaint in writing.

Additional Resources

Certain state or federal agencies may provide assistance with matters involving:

Potential unlawful discrimination: U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights
Federal student loans or loan servicers: Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Grou p
Compliance with federal regulations: Federal Student Aid Office of Enforcement
Consumer complaints: the appropriate state attorney general or the Federal Trade Commission

State higher education authorities may also accept complaints for certain matters.

Complaints involving potential criminal matters should be directed to the proper law enforcement agency.

HLC cannot provide legal advice, consultation or guidance. Complainants should contact an attorney for legal matters.

Complaint Form

"*" indicates required fields

Contact Information

Name:*

First Last

Email:*

Phone:*

Address*

Street Address Address Line 2 City State / Province / Region ZIP / Postal Code Country

What is your relationship to the institution?*

Applicant

Student

Faculty member

Staff member

Member of the public

Other

Do you still attend the institution?

Yes

Last date of attendance:

Program of study:

Program level:

Are you still employed at the institution?

Yes

Last date of employment:

Who referred you to HLC's complaint process?

Family, friend or fellow student or colleague

My college or university

State attorney general

State higher education agency

U.S. Department of Education

Web search

Other

Complaint Details

Institution that is the subject of the complaint:*

When did the matter of your complaint occur?*

Please note: HLC does not generally review matters that occurred more than two years ago, unless the circumstances giving rise to the complaint could not reasonably have been known to the complaining party at the time. If the circumstances occurred more than two years ago, please provide the date on which you discovered the circumstances and include in the description below an explanation as to why you could not have reasonably learned of the circumstances earlier.

Explain the circumstances leading to your complaint, and describe the outcome you are expecting. Please provide relevant, clear and concise details related to what happened, when and where the issue(s) occurred, and who was involved.*

Note that HLC only reviews complaints regarding substantive issues with an institution’s ability to meet the Criteria for Accreditation or other HLC requirements. Please review the Criteria and other HLC requirements prior to submitting a complaint.

Have you filed a complaint with the institution through the institution's published grievance procedure?*

Yes

Please describe:

Have you attempted to address your complaint outside of the institution?*

Yes

Please describe:

Provide relevant supporting evidence as a single PDF file. (Optional)

Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 20 MB.

If you have multiple documents as supporting materials, they must be combined into a single PDF prior to submission. For example, if you refer to an institutional policy in your complaint, provide a copy of the policy; if you filed a grievance or complaint with the institution, through the institution’s published grievance procedures, provide a copy of that complaint or grievance and the institution’s response. Other helpful documentation might include letters or emails exchanged between you and the institution, learning agreements, portions of the academic catalog, etc. If submitting such information, please redact any personally identifiable information of other parties from documents (for example, student names associated with grades or financial information; social security numbers, etc.) prior to submission.

Personally Identifiable Information

Would you like HLC to to remove your contact information and other personally identifiable information from your complaint form?*

Yes

Important: HLC will not remove personally identifiable information from documentation or supporting materials uploaded with this form. Remove such information from documentation or supporting materials, as you deem necessary, prior to submission.

Release of Information and Acknowledgement of Complaints Policy and Process

CAPTCHA

Comments

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Related Resources

Questions?

[email protected]