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NC-SARA Student Complaint Process

Under NC-SARA (National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements) rules, students have the right to lodge a complaint or grievance if their experience in an online program is not what they anticipate.

The New School wants to ensure that all student complaints are addressed fairly and resolved promptly. All student complaints must be filed initially with Samantha Dilling, The New School’s SARA principal contact, at dillings@newschool.edu.

If a resolution to a student's complaint is not reached, they can make an appeal. Information about making an appeal can be found on NYSED's website.

Here is an overview of how SARA affects out-of-state distance education students with respect to consumer protection complaints:

Only those complaints resulting from distance education courses, activities, and operations provided by SARA-participating institutions to students in other SARA states are covered by SARA. Complaints about a SARA institution’s in-state operations are to be resolved under the state’s normal provisions, not those of SARA. SARA policies do not cover complaints related to grades or student conduct violations. A student may appeal the institution decision to the SARA State Portal Entity in New York State within two years of the incident about which the complaint is made. Our State Portal Entity Contact's information is available on the SARA website.

For more information, please see the SARA Student Complaint Process.

You can access the New York State Education Department’s complaint procedures online.

Published 2026 by The New School

Important Notice: The information published herein represents the plans of The New School at the time of publication. The University reserves the right, in its sole discretion and without notice, to modify any matter contained in this publication, including but not limited to tuition, fees, policies, degree programs, names of programs, the structure or name of any academic constituent unit, course offerings, academic activities, academic requirements, facilities, faculty, administrators, and the manner, method, location, schedule, or format in which campus operations, instruction, programs, courses, or academic activities are delivered, including but not limited to transitioning between in-person, hybrid, remote, or online modalities. The University’s obligation is to provide academic instruction and award academic credit toward degree requirements; no representation or guarantee is made that instruction will be delivered in any particular academic structure, manner, modality, location, or format. This Catalog, together with all related materials, including but not limited to websites, marketing materials, and course descriptions, is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a contract or guarantee of any specific educational experience or location, including in-person instruction, access to facilities, or campus-based activities. Except as expressly required by applicable law or as otherwise determined by the University in its discretion, changes to the academic structure, manner, modality, location or format of instruction shall not entitle students to any refund, reduction, or adjustment of tuition or fees. Payment of tuition for or attendance in any classes shall constitute a student’s acceptance of the administration’s rights as set forth in this notice.

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