Student Complaint Procedures

Gallaudet University is committed to excellence in teaching and learning. In keeping with the U.S. Department of Education’s Program Integrity Rule, Gallaudet University is required to provide all prospective and current students with contact information of the regional accreditation agency, and the state agency or agencies that handle complaints against post-secondary education institutions that have a physical presence (e.g., internships, distance education). Students are encouraged to utilize the institution’s internal complaint or grievance review policies and procedures prior to filing a complaint with the state agency or agencies.

If you are a student and believe you have grounds for a grievance, you should first make an attempt in good faith to resolve the problem through early informal discussion of the matter with the Gallaudet academic, administrative or staff member directly involved. If further recourse is needed, contact the school leader of your school in which you are enrolled.

• Dr. Daniel Koo, School of Human Services and Sciences Contact
• Dr. Helen Thumann, School of Language, Education, and Culture Contact
• Dr. Teresa Burke, School of Arts and Humanities Contact
• Dr. Daniel Lungberg, School of Science, Technology, Accessibility, Mathematics, and Public Health Contact
• Prof. Emilia A. Chukwuma, C.P.A. School of Civic Leadership, Business, and Social Change Contact

The university also maintains a website on the Student Grievance Policies and Procedures. This site contains a link to the Student Grievance Guidelines that includes information on the definition of grievable actions and informal and formal grievance procedures.

In the unlikely event that an issue cannot be resolved by Gallaudet University, students may file a complaint with the District of Columbia’s Higher Education Licensure Commission (HELC) which is the licensing authority in Washington, D.C.

Office of the State Superintendent of Education

Higher Education Licensure Commission
1050 1st St. NE, 5th Floor
Washington, DC 20002
Telephone: (202) 727-6436

Unresolved complaints may also be filed with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the University’s regional accrediting agency, once all other avenues have been exhausted.

Middle States Commission on Higher Education

1007 North Orange Street
4th Floor, MB #166
Wilmington, DE 19801
Telephone: (267) 284-5000

Gallaudet University is a member of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (NC-SARA). SARA is a voluntary agreement among its member states and U.S. territories that establishes comparable national standards for interstate offering of postsecondary distance-education courses and programs. It is intended to make it easier for students to take online courses offered by postsecondary institutions based in another state. As of 2018, 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are members of SARA. California is currently the only states not yet part of SARA.

As an institutional member of NC-SARA, Gallaudet is authorized to deliver online programs in other NC-SARA member states. Gallaudet is exempt from seeking specific authorization from California.

For more information about NC-SARA and student complaint processes go to http://nc-sara.org/content/sara-and-students. The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements Policy and Operations Manual is also available (https://www.nc-sara.org/resources/guides).

Complaint resolution contacts for all states is also available.

As per Section 668.43(b) of the Code of Federal Regulations requires institutions of higher education authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act to “provide its students or prospective students with contact information for filing complaints with its accreditor and with its State approval or licensing entity and any other relevant State official or agency that would appropriately handle a student’s complaint.”

Out-of-State Complaint Resolution Contacts