Registering a Complaint
From time to time students may have questions concerning administrative policies or operations. Generally there are logical explanations for situations and usually most questions can be resolved in an informal setting through direct discussion with the individual or office involved. In instances where a student raises a question about a policy or decision, the affected staff or faculty member will respond. If it is not possible to resolve a matter through direct discussion, a student may contact their Student Services representative to file a complaint.
Registering a Complaint with Columbia Southern University
Columbia Southern University (CSU) is committed to providing high quality educational and related services for students, and encourages students to say where there is cause for concern in academic and non-academic matters.
A complaint is defined as dissatisfaction occurring when a decision, act, or condition, based upon specific factual data, affects the student in a perceived negative or unjust manner; furthermore, an allegation of improper, unfair, arbitrary, or discriminatory treatment by university personnel.
Students who wish to file a complaint should contact their assigned Student Services Representative for assistance. The representative’s name and email address can be found in the myCSU student portal.
The complaint will be researched and the student will be notified of the resolution within 3 calendar days.
Contact information for registering a complaint with the Distance Education and Training Council or the various states is available below. These agencies should not be contacted unless the student has proceeded through the institution’s process for filing a complaint and has not received resolution.
Register a Complaint with Accreditor
Distance Education and Training Council
1601 18th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009
202-234-5100
http://www.detc.org/complaints.html
Register a Complaint with a State
In compliance with Section 668.43 (b) of the Federal Register, Columbia Southern University provides its current and prospective students with contact information for filing complaints with the relevant state agency in the student’s state of residence, regardless of whether the state regulates our institution.
Alabama
Alabama Commission on Higher Education
P. O. Box 302000
Montgomery, AL 36130-2000
http://www.accs.cc/complaintform.aspx
Alaska
Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education
P.O. Box 110505
Juneau, AK 99811-0505
http://akadvantage.alaska.gov/
Arizona
Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education
1400 W. Washington Street, Room 260
Phoenix, AZ 85007
http://azppse.state.az.us/student_info/compliance.asp
Arkansas
Arkansas Department of Higher Education
114 E. Capitol Avenue
Little Rock, AR 72201
http://www.adhe.edu/SiteCollectionDocuments/AcademicAffairsDivision/ICAC%20Rules%20and%20Regulations/APPENDIXJ.pdf
California
California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education
P.O. Box 980818
West Sacramento, CA 95798-0818
http://www.bppe.ca.gov/forms_pubs/complaint.pdf
Colorado
Colorado Department of Higher Education
1560 Broadway, Suite 1600
Denver, CO 80202
http://highered.colorado.gov/Academics/Complaints/default.html
Connecticut
Office of Financial & Academic Affairs for Higher Education
61 Woodland Street
Hartford, CT 06105-2326
http://www.ctohe.org/POSA/pdfs/CP2ComplaintForm.pdf
Delaware
Delaware Department of Education
401 Federal Street
Dover, Delaware 19901
www.doe.k12.de.us
District of Columbia
Office of the State Superintendent of Education - Education Licensure Commission
810 First Street, NE, 9th Floor
Washington, DC 20002
http://osse.dc.gov/publication/public-complaint-form
Florida
Florida Department of Education
325 West Gaines Street, Suite 1414
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400
http://www.fldoe.org/cie/complaint.asp
Georgia
Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission
2082 E Exchange Pl. #220
Tucker, GA 30084-5334
http://www.gnpec.org/forms/pdf%20files/ComplaintProcess.pdf
Hawaii
Office of Consumer Protection - Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs
235 South Beretania Street, Room 801
Honolulu, HI 96813-2419
http://hawaii.gov/dcca/ocp/consumer_complaint/complaint-form-web-2009.pdf
Idaho
Idaho State Board of Education - State Coordinator for Private Colleges & Proprietary Schools
650 West State Street, Suite 307
Boise, Idaho 83720-0037
http://www.boardofed.idaho.gov/priv_col_univ/student_complaint.asp
Illinois
Illinois Board of Higher Education
431 East Adams Street, Second Floor
Springfield, IL 62701-1404
http://www.ibhe.state.il.us/consumerinfo/complaint.htm
Illinois State Board of Education
http://www.isbe.net/pbvs/pdf/29-26_consumer_complaint.pdf
Indiana
Indiana Commission on Proprietary Education
302 West Washington Street, Room E201
Indianapolis, IN 46204
http://www.in.gov/cpe/2329.htm
Iowa
Iowa College Student Aid Commission
603 East 12th Street, FL 5th
Des Moines, IA 50319
https://apps.iowacollegeaid.gov/marketing/docs/constituentrequestform.pdf
Kansas
Kansas Board of Regents
1000 SW Jackson, Suite 520
Topeka, KS 66612-1368
http://www.kansasregents.org/resources/PDF/524-ComplaintProcedureandForm.pdf
Kentucky
Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education
1024 Capital Center Drive, Suite 320
Frankfort, KY 40601
http://cpe.ky.gov/policies/academicpolicies/licensure.htm
Louisiana
Louisiana Board of Regents
P.O. Box 3677
Baton Rouge, LA 70821-3677
http://regents.louisiana.gov/assets/docs/ProprietarySchools/StudentComplaintProcedure.pdf
Maine
Maine Department of Education
23 State House Station
Augusta, Maine 04333-0023
Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the Maine Attorney General
http://www.maine.gov/ag/consumer/complaints/complaint_form.shtml
Maryland
Maryland Higher Education Commission
6 North Liberty Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
http://mhec.maryland.gov/highered/acadaff/mhecstudentcomplaintprocess.pdf
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Board of Higher Education
One Ashburton Place, Room 1401
Boston, MA 02108
http://www.mass.edu/forstudents/complaints/complaintform.asp
Michigan
Michigan Department of Energy, labor & Economic Growth – Office of Postsecondary Services, Proprietary School Unit
Victor Office Center, 3rd Floor
201 North Washington Square
Lansing, MI 48913
http://www.michiganps.net/complaint.aspx
Minnesota
Minnesota Office of Higher Education
1450 Energy Park Drive, Suite 350
St. Paul, MN 55108
http://www.ohe.state.mn.us/mPg.cfm?pageID=1078
Mississippi
Mississippi Commission on College Accreditation
3825 Ridgewood Road
Jackson, MS 39211-6453
http://www.ihl.state.ms.us/mcca/downloads/studentcomplaintform.pdf
Missouri
Missouri Department of Higher Education
P.O. Box 1469
Jefferson City, MO 65102-1469
http://www.dhe.mo.gov/documents/POLICYONCOMPLAINTRESOLUTION-reviseddraft.pdf
Montana
Montana University System – Board of Regents
2500 Broadway Street
P.O. Box 203201
Helena, MT 59620-3201
http://mus.edu/
Nebraska
Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education
P.O. Box 95005
Lincoln, NE 68509-5005
http://www.education.ne.gov/PPCS/PDF%20Folders/PDF%20Documents/PPCS%20Forms/Complaint-form.pdf
Nevada
Nevada Commission on Postsecondary Education
3663 East Sunset Road, Suite 202
Las Vegas, NV 89120
http://www.cpe.state.nv.us/CPE%20Complaint%20Info.htm
New Hampshire
New Hampshire Postsecondary Education Commission
3 Barrell Court, Suite 300
Concord, NH 03301
http://www.education.nh.gov/highered/colleges/index.htm
New Jersey
New Jersey Commission on Higher Education
P.O. Box 542
Trenton, NJ 08625-0542
http://www.state.nj.us/bpu/assistance/complaints/
New Mexico
New Mexico Higher Education Department
2048 Galisteo Street
Santa Fe, NM 87505-2100
http://www.hed.state.nm.us/Complaint_3.aspx
New York
Office of College and University Evaluation
5 North Mezzanine
Albany, NY 12234
http://www.highered.nysed.gov/ocue/spr/COMPLAINTFORMINFO.html
North Carolina
Post-Secondary Education Complaints, c/o Assistant Director of Licensure and Workforce Studies, University of North Carolina General Administration
910 Raleigh Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
studentcomplaint@northcarolina.edu
North Dakota
North Dakota State Board for Career and Technical Education
600 East Boulevard Avenue, Dept. 270
Bismarck, ND 58505-0610
http://www.nd.gov/cte/
Ohio
Ohio State Board of Career Colleges and Schools
30 East Broad Street, Suite 2481
Columbus, OH 43215
http://scr.ohio.gov/ConsumerInformation/FilingaComplaint.aspx
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education – Academic Affairs Office
655 Research Parkway, Suite 200
Oklahoma City, OK 73104
http://www.okhighered.org/
Oregon
Office of Degree Authorization
1500 Valley River Drive, Suite 100
Eugene, OR 97401
http://www.doj.state.or.us/finfraud/index.shtml
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Department of Education
333 Market Street, 12th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/higher_education/8711/complaint_procedure/1004474
Rhode Island
Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education
80 Washington Street
Providence, RI 02903
http://www.ribghe.org/default.htm
South Carolina
South Carolina Commission on Higher Education – Nonpublic Postsecondary Institution Licensing
1333 Main Street, Suite 200
Columbia, SC 29201
http://www.che.sc.gov/AcademicAffairs/License/Complaint_procedures_and_form.pdf
South Dakota
South Dakota Board of Regents
306 East Capitol Avenue, Suite 200
Pierre, SD 57501
South Dakota Office of the Attorney General
http://atg.sd.gov/Consumers/HandlingComplaints/ConsumerComplaintForm.aspx
Tennessee
Tennessee Higher Education Commission – Division of Postsecondary School Authorization
404 James Robertson Parkway, Suite 1900
Nashville, TN 37243
http://www.tn.gov/thec/Divisions/LRA/PostsecondaryAuth/psa.html
Texas
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
1200 East Anderson Lane
Austin, TX 78752
http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/
Utah
Utah Division of Consumer Protection
P.O. box 146704
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6704
http://consumerprotection.utah.gov/complaints/index.html
Vermont
Vermont State Board of Education
120 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05620-2501
http://education.vermont.gov/new/pdfdoc/pgm_postsecondary/EDU-Complaint_Resolution_Statement_for_Postsecondary_Education_Matters.pdf
Virginia
State Council of Higher Education for Virginia
101 North 14th Street, 9th Floor
Richmond, VA 23219
http://www.schev.edu/forms/StudentComplaintInformation.pdf
Washington
Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board
P.O. Box 43430
Olympia, WA 98540-3430
dainfo@hecb.wa.gov
West Virginia
West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission
1018 Kanawha Boulevard, East, Suite 700
Charleston, WV 25301-2800
http://wvhepcnew.wvnet.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=224
Wisconsin
Wisconsin Educational Approval Board
30 West Mifflin Street, 9th Floor
Madison, WI 53708-8696
http://eab.state.wi.us/resources/complaint.asp
Wyoming
Wyoming Department of Education
2300 Capitol Avenue, Hathaway Building, 2nd Floor
Cheyenne, WY 82002-0050
http://attorneygeneral.state.wy.us/consumer.htm
American Samoa Board of Higher Education
P.O. Box 2609
Pago Pago, AS 96799-2609
Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands
P.O Box 501250
Saipan, MP 96950-1250
Federated States of Micronesia – Department of Education
P.O. Box PS 87
Palikir, Phonpei, FM 96941
Guam Board of Regents
UOG Station
Mangilao, Guam 96923
Puerto Rico Council on Higher Education
P.O. Box 1900
San Juan, PR 00910-1900
Republic of the Marshall Islands – RMI Scholarship and Loan Board
P.O. Box 1436
Majuro, Marshall Islands 96960
Republic of Palau – Ministry of Education
P.O. Box 189
Koror, Palau PW 96940
US Virgin Islands Department of Education
1834 Kongens Gade
St. Thomas, VI 00802-674