Student Grievance Procedures for Distance Education Students

New York School of Interior Design distance education students based outside of New York State who have a consumer-protection-based complaint regarding a distance education program should first seek to resolve such a complaint within NYSID through the Distance Education Grievance Procedure.

Note that complaints regarding grades and general student conduct issues are not governed by this distance education complaint process. This grievance procedure applies solely where procedures to address or challenge the action or issue are not otherwise already provided by applicable grievance policies of the college.

NYSID is an institutional participant in the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) allows NYSID to offer distance education to students in other SARA member states without seeking separate authorization from each state.  If you are enrolled in a distance education course or program offered by NYSID and reside in a SARA member state, you are encouraged to first try to resolve any complaint through NYSID’s internal grievance procedures. NYSID’s procedures are designed to address student issues efficiently and fairly. 

If your complaint falls within SARA’s scope and cannot be resolved internally and subsequent appeal are unsatisfactory, you may file it with the New York State Education Department (NYSED), which serves as NYSID’s SARA State Portal Entity. Complaints must be submitted within two years of the incident in question. The contact information for the SARA state portal entity in New York is:

• SARA Student Complaints

• New York State Education Department (NYSED) Complaint Procedures

Andrea Richards
Supervisor, Higher Education Programs
New York State Education Department
Office of College and University Evaluation
89 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12234
518.474.1551
IHEauthorize@nysed.gov

Non-SARA State Contact Information

For students enrolled outside of New York state and in a non-SARA state or territory, the contact information for your agency is listed below. (NOTE: NYSID does not maintain the state and territory websites, and information may change without NYSID’s knowledge.)

Contact Information by State

• California
  California Department of Consumer Affairs — Consumer Information Center

• American Samoa
  American Samoa Department of Education

• Federated States of Micronesia
  Federated States of Micronesia Department of Education

• Guam
  Guam Boards of Regents

• Northern Mariana Islands
  Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands State Department of Education; State Higher Education Agency

• Republic of Palau
  Republic of Palau Department of Education

• Republic of Marshall Islands
  Republic of the Marshall Islands Scholarship Grant and Loan Board

  P.O. Box 1436
  Majuro, MH 96960
  Phone: (692) 625-5770
  Fax: (692) 625-7325

In addition to the SARA Complaint process, a student may also file a complaint with NYSID’s regional accreditor, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education with the following contact information.

Middle States Commission on Higher Education

1007 North Orange Street, 4th Floor, MB #166, Wilmington, DE 19801
Telephone: (267) 284–5000
E-mail: complaints@msche.org