NC-SARA Student Grievance Reporting

NC-SARA Student Grievance Reporting

The National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) is a nonprofit organization that helps expand students’ access to educational opportunities and ensure more efficient, consistent, and effective regulation of distance education programs. In conjunction with NYSED (New York State Department of Education), NC-SARA provides St. Bernard’s with the reciprocity needed to award degrees to students located outside of New York State. Every student deserves a positive distance learning experience. Sometimes a student’s experience may not be what they anticipate, and the student may have a concern or a complaint. To that end, St. Bernard’s agrees to ensure that all concerns and complaints of students are addressed fairly and are resolved promptly.

Internal Complaint Process

Student complaints relating to consumer protection laws offered under the terms and conditions of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) must first be filed with the institution to seek resolution.

There are three types of internal complaint resolution procedures available to the student which are designed to address the specifics of the complaint involved. They are:

1. Resolution Process for Academic Grievances (pages 41-47 of the Student Handbook which includes the School’s Academic Dishonesty Policy and the processes of appeal in such situations)
2. Resolution Process for Grievances Concerning Sexual Harassment (pages 63-67 of the Student Handbook)
3. Resolution Process for Non-Academic Grievances (pages 67-71 of the Student Handbook)

For these policies, one can consult the pages noted in the Student Handbook, or can see these policies by visiting St. Bernard’s Internal Complaint Process page here.

New York Resident Student Complaint Information

If a student complaint is not resolved at the institutional level and that student has followed all grievance procedures and protocols cited above by St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry and resides in New York State, the student has the right to file a complaint with the Office of College and University Evaluation.

If a student believes that St. Bernard’s internal complaint process has not adequately resolved the complaint, the student may contact the Office of College and University Evaluation at through NYSED’s complaint procedures provided on its web site at: https://www.nysed.gov/college-univeresity-evaluation/complaints.

NC-SARA and Non-New York Resident Students

Under NC-SARA guidelines, students residing outside of New York State who are enrolled in and take classes at St. Bernard’s (by way of its distance education program) have specific consumer protection rights. This agreement establishes a process for addressing complaints related to St. Bernard’s distance education activities across state lines. For more information, please visit https://www.nc-sara.org/sara-student-complaints-0

Please note the following:

• Exclusions: Complaints solely about grades or student conduct violations are not covered under NC-SARA policies. These matters are governed by St. Bernard’s internal policies. For these policies, one can consult the pages noted above in the Student Handbook, or consult the School’s Internal Complaint Process page where these policies are stated in full.
• Timeframe: 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.

Process for Filing a Complaint under NC-SARA Guidelines

1. As stated previously, a student must first try to resolve their grievance through the policies established by St. Bernard’s to deal with such matters. These policies and procedures can be found on St. Bernard’s Internal Complaint Process page at https://www.stbernards.edu/internal-complaint-process
2. If, having exhausted all internal complaint processes with St. Bernard’s, the issue has not been resolved to the student’s satisfaction, and if the student is a non-New York State resident enrolled in and taking classes at St. Bernard’s (by way of its distance education program), the student may take their complaint and appeal it to the New York State Education Department (NYSED) which serves as the State Portal Entity (SPE) for SARA-related matters. NYSED’s complaint and appeal procedures can be found at https://www.nysed.gov/college-university-evaluation/sara-student-complaint-process

By following these procedures, St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry aims to ensure that all student complaints are addressed in a fair and timely manner, in compliance with NC-SARA standards.