Students, faculty, staff and members of the public may submit a complaint after verifying that an institution is an HLC-accredited or candidate institution.
The complaint process is designed to identify substantive problems with an institution’s ability to meet the Criteria for Accreditation or other HLC requirements. HLC’s policy on complaints provides a full description of the type of complaints that HLC will review.
The HLC complaint process is designed to allow stakeholders and members of the public to provide information that can indicate potential concerns regarding an HLC institution’s compliance with the Criteria for Accreditation or other HLC requirements. As an institutional accreditor, HLC is one part of a larger system involved in overseeing higher education. Thus, the HLC complaint process is not designed to intervene in individual matters, but rather to review matters that pertain to the institution as a whole to the extent that such matters relate to HLC-specific requirements.
The HLC complaint process:
A complaint regarding an HLC member institution should typically be submitted using the form below. HLC does not accept complaints via email or phone. HLC’s process for reviewing and responding to a complaint generally consists of the following steps:
Note: Once a complainant has been notified as to the outcome of HLC's initial review, HLC will address the complaint from that point forward according to established policies and procedures as appropriate. Following that notification, HLC is unable to provide further updates as to the status of a complaint to a complainant or any other party.
The complaint process is intended to pursue only those matters related to potential substantive noncompliance with the Criteria for Accreditation or other HLC requirements. HLC generally expects individuals to attempt to resolve personal issues through the internal grievance procedures of the institution, and/or other processes if applicable, prior to submitting a complaint to HLC.
HLC does not review the outcomes of institutional grievance processes to either uphold or overturn those decisions. In no case will the HLC complaint process be used to provide a specific individual remedy to a complainant. HLC does not intervene in matters of an individual nature, including, but not limited to, the following:
Additionally, HLC does not:
For matters involving potential unlawful discrimination, complainants should contact the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.
For matters related to federal student loans or loan servicers, complainants should contact the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Group.
Matters involving compliance with federal regulations can be directed to the Federal Student Aid Office of Enforcement.
State higher education authorities may also accept complaints for certain matters.
Complaints involving potential criminal matters should be directed to the proper law enforcement agency.
Consumer complaints may be directed to certain federal or state agencies, including the appropriate state attorney general or the Federal Trade Commission.
HLC cannot provide legal advice, consultation or guidance. Complainants should contact an attorney for legal matters.
If you are unable to complete the webform below, please see HLC's print-friendly complaint form.
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