Students enrolled at any of the University of Colorado campuses, whether they are enrolled in one class or as a full-time student, have the right to submit a complaint or a grievance on an issue or subject which they deem important without the fear of retaliation of any sort or any other adverse action.
Students are encouraged to pursue their complaint or grievance first with the specific individual, unit, and campus most directly connected with the issue at hand unless there are good reasons for not doing so. For more information about student complaint and grievance policies at the individual University of Colorado campuses, including processes for filing a complaint or grievance, can be found here:
Each University of Colorado campus participates in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), which allows the universities to offer online courses or programs, and certain other out-of-state educational opportunities outside of Colorado.
If a student located in a SARA state or territory is not satisfied with the outcome of the complaint process on their home campus, they may appeal to the University’s SARA Portal Entity at the Colorado Department of Higher Education.
Examples of the types of student complaints and grievances that may be brought to the SARA Portal Entity include:
- Truth in recruitment and marketing materials, including information regarding admission requirements, tuition, fees, and financial aid;
- Accuracy of job placement data;
- 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;
- Information regarding transfer of credit to & from other Institutions; and
- Operation of Distance Education programs consistent with practices expected by accreditors and/or the C-RAC Interregional Guidelines for the Evaluation of Distance Education.
You can review the SARA complaint policy and process here.
Students located outside of Colorado may also file a complaint with the State Portal Entity of the state where they are located at the time they are enrolled. The contact information for each state portal entity can be found here.
If all other avenues provided have been exhausted, unresolved complaints may be filed with the Higher Learning Commission, the universities' accreditor.
Higher Learning Commission
2030 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500
Chicago, IL 60604
Phone: (800) 621-7440