Your experience as a distance education student is very important to us. State and federal regulations are in place to protect your rights and ensure that your voice is heard, including a clear process for addressing student complaints. However, before you take any formal steps, we encourage you to reach out to us directly. Our goal is to intervene on your behalf, address your concerns, and resolve issues quickly and effectively, so you can continue to focus on your studies without disruption.
Internal Resolution
- If you have an issue in an online course or program that you were unable to resolve with the instructor or staff involved, you may submit the IU Online: Report Your Concern form to start an internal, informal review. An IU Online staff member will respond promptly to assist with resolving the concern.
- Students may also choose to follow the grievance process found in the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct (Code).
Appeals
- If your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction after exhausting IU’s internal review processes, your complaint may be eligible for external review by one or more agencies. These processes are detailed below.
- Each Indiana University 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 Indiana.
- Indiana residents and students located in a SARA state or territory may appeal to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (Commission), Indiana’s State Portal Entity. Student complaints must be exhausted at the institutional level before filing a complaint with the Commission. Please note that the Commission cannot, by law, review complaints related to course grades, academic sanctions or discipline/conduct matters. Appeals must be brought within two years of the incident. The decision of the Commission is final. For more information, see the NC-SARA Student Complaint Process.
- Effective July 1, 2026: Students located outside of Indiana may submit a complaint to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education or with the State Portal Entity of the state where the student is located.
- California Residents: California is not a SARA member state. California students can contact the California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). You can file a complaint online at www.dca.ca.gov or call the DCA’s Consumer Information Center at (833) 942-1120. The DCA will review your complaint and find the right agency to handle it. You can also reach out to the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE). Email them at bppe.enforcement@dca.ca.gov, call (888) 370-7589 and press 3 when prompted, or send a letter to P.O. Box 980818, West Sacramento, CA 95798-0818.
- Military Service Members Veterans, Military Family: If you are an active military service member, a veteran, or a family member of a current military service member or a veteran, you may file your complaint with the Defense Department.
- If all other avenues provided have been exhausted, unresolved complaints may be filed with the Higher Learning Commission, the universities' accreditor.
Grade Complaints
Students seeking a grade change or appeal must follow the grievance process as outlined in the Code.
Other Types of Complaints
Students with complaints that do not involve an online course or program should follow the grievance process as outlined in the Code.
IU Community Members
If you are a member of the IU community but not a current student and have a concern, you may submit your complaint to the Indiana University Compliance & Policy Office.
For questions or additional information, please contact:
IU Online Compliance
812.855.1017
iuocomp@iu.edu