Professional Licensure Disclosures and Student Complaints (NC-SARA)

Professional Licensure Disclosure

The SUNY system, and SUNY Cortland, are proud to produce practitioners that are prepared to meet the standards of practices in a number of professional fields. We have programs that lead to license and/or certification, including preparing students for certification exams required for licensure/certification. These programs are built upon the standards of the professions that re carefully regulated by the New York State Department of Education. We cannot ensure that the SUNY Cortland program will meet the requirements for licensure or certification in another state or territory.

NC SARA does not address state professional licensing requirements. Please note that certain programs leading to professional licensure may be subject to additional state professional licensing requirements, which are not covered by SARA. Students and prospective students are encouraged to consult with their own state and/or professional licensing body to ensure that any courses taken or degrees/certificates earned in an online program at SUNY Cortland will be accepted in their home state.

The following are Professional Licensure Disclosures for specific areas:

Athletic Training in the Kinesiology Department

Geologist in the Geology Department

Speech Pathology and Audiology in the Communication Disorders and Sciences Department

Teacher Education across all three Schools of the university

Therapeutic Recreation in the Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Studies Department

Student Complaints

SUNY Cortland is a member of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements

(NC-SARA) and follows the complaint resolution policies and procedures outlined within the SARA Policy Manual. Consumer protection complaints resulting from distance education courses, activities, and operations may be submitted to the SUNY Cortland Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs for investigation and resolution.

If a student is dissatisfied with the campus-based resolution, a concern may be submitted to System Administration of the State University of New York. Complaints related to grades or student conduct violations are not part of the SARA process. Students should following academic channels for grades and the Student Conduct Office and Division of Student Affairs if related to conduct.

Additional information for students on SARA complaints is available via the SARA Policy Manual

Links:

SUNY Student Concerns

SUNY Cortland Academic Policies are outlined in the University Catalog and students should utilize the most current catalog for updated policies

The U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education requires that students have a means to elevate concerns or provide complaints about online education to state accrediting agencies. Complaints against SUNY Cortland on matters related to distance education should first go through SUNY Cortland's process and policies for resolution of grievances.

If a person bringing a complaint resulting from distance education courses or activities offered to students in other SARA states is not satisfied with the outcome of the process for handling complaints, the complaint (except for complaints about grades or student conduct violations) may be appealed through SARA's provisions, within two years of the incident about which the complaint is made. The following resources provide complaint procedures and contacts.

You may also view a listing of complaint reports collected as part of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement at Complaint Reports.

In addition, The U.S. Department of Education provides information on accrediting agencies. The Department provides oversight over the postsecondary accreditation system through its review of all federally recognized accrediting agencies. For more information on accreditation and the full list of recognized accrediting agencies, please see Accreditation in the United States. To conduct a search to determine whether your online or distance education program is accredited, please visit the Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs.