SUNY ESF
Student Complaint Information
Students should attempt to resolve any issues or complaints directly with ESF. See the ESF Student Handbook related to student Code of Conduct, bias, and Title IX complaint procedures. Academic and other consumer complaints outside of those in the Student Handbook may be submitted to the Associate Provost of Instruction and Dean of the Graduate School at GradDean@esf.edu.
In the event campus grievance procedures have been followed and all avenues of appeals exhausted and documented, and the issue remains unresolved, a complaint may be submitted to System Administration of the State University of New York. 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. See the section on Out-of-State Distance Education Complaints for complaints related to distance education programs when a student resides outside of New York State.
ESF is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), 1007 North Orange Street, 4th Floor, MB #166, Wilmington, DE 19801 (www.msche.org). MSCHE is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. In the event campus grievance procedures have been followed and all avenues of appeals exhausted and documented, and the issue remains unresolved, students also may file a complaint with ESF’s accrediting agency. Information and procedures can be found in the Complaints Involving Member Institutions section of the MSCHE Polices, Guidelines, and Procedures webpage.
Out-of-State Distance Education Complaints
New York State is a member of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) and ESF has been a participating institution since 2017. SARA participation enables ESF to offer its online courses and programs to students residing in other SARA member states- currently AL, AK, AZ, AR, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, GU, HI, ID, IL IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, PR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, VI, WA, WV, WI, WY. ESF follows policies and procedures outlined within the SARA Policy Manual, which includes addressing student complaints related to distance education and SARA policies. Consumer complaints related to distance education courses, activities, operations, or other SARA provisions may be submitted to the Associate Provost of Instruction and Dean of the Graduate School at GradDean@esf.edu for investigation and resolution. In the event campus grievance procedures have been followed and all avenues of appeals exhausted and documented, and the issue remains unresolved, distance education students residing in a SARA member state may file a SARA complaint to the System Administration of the State University of New York. And, if still not satisfied, a SARA complaint may then be submitted to the New York State Education Department, New York's SARA Portal Entity, within two years of the incident about which the complaint is made. 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 SARA complaint resolution procedures.
California is currently not a SARA member. As an out-of-state public institution without a physical presence in the state, ESF can still enroll CA students in online courses and programs. In the event campus grievance procedures have been followed and all avenues of appeals exhausted and documented, and the issue remains unresolved, online students in California may file a complaint with the California Department of Consumer Affairs.
You can also view a full list of the higher education authorization and complaints portal agency along with SARA affiliation status for each state.