Online Student Consumer Protection Procedures

State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements

The National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) is an agreement among member states, districts and territories that sets national standards for interstate offering of postsecondary distance education courses and programs. States and institutions such as Hilbert College that partner with NC-SARA are bound to certain standards of performance and consumer protection. Out-of-state online students have the right to file a complaint if they believe their rights as a consumer have been violated. The first step is to file a complaint directly with Hilbert College. If the result is not satisfactory, the student may file a complaint to the State of New York.

Complaint Procedures

Submit a Complaint	NC-SARA Complaint Procedures

Students may file complaints if the following are in breach:

Veracity of recruitment and marketing materials;
Accuracy of job placement data;
Accuracy of information about tuition, fees and financial aid;
Complete and accurate admission requirements for courses and programs;
Accuracy of information about the institution’s accreditation and/or any programmatic/specialized accreditation held by the institution’s programs;
Accuracy of information about whether course work meets any relevant Professional Licensing requirements or the requirements of specialized Accrediting Agencies;
Accuracy of information about whether the institution’s course work will transfer to other institutions;
Operation of distance education programs consistent with practices expected by institutional accreditors (and, if applicable, programmatic/specialized accreditors) and/or the C-RAC Guidelines for distance education.

Submit a Complaint

Follow-Up Procedures

If you believe that Hilbert has not adequately resolved your issue, you may file a complaint with the New York State Education Department (NYSED) by following the procedures listed on the NYSED website.

File a Complaint with NYSED