Complaints to External Agencies
If students are unable to resolve their concerns through the internal grievance process, they may also pursue the grievance through the external regulators listed below. Although students are encouraged to begin the process with the Ombudsman, there is nothing which prevents the student from submitting a complaint to these agencies before submitting the concern through the University’s grievance procedure. Be advised, however, that certain agencies may require this as part of their process.
STATE REGULATORY AGENCIES
State of Arizona. If the complaint cannot be resolved after exhausting the institution’s grievance procedure, the student may file a complaint with the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education at 1740 West Adams Street, Suite 3008, Phoenix, AZ 85007, 602-542-5709, https://ppse.az.gov/student-complaint-procedure.
Arizona SARA Complaint Process. Trident is a member of the American InterContinental University System, which participates in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (SARA) through the Arizona SARA Council (AZ SARA). AZ SARA has jurisdiction over Arizona SARA-approved institutions in relation to non-instructional complaints. Instructional complaints, such as grade grievances, and those related to learner conduct are not reviewed by AZ SARA and should not be submitted for review. Distance education learners who reside in SARA states (currently all but California) may file a complaint with AZ SARA only after the learner has first utilized the University’s grievance process and the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education’s complaint process. Eligible complaints may be submitted to AZ-SARA at https://azsara.arizona.edu/complaints.
ACCREDITING AGENCY
Complaints may be filed with the Higher Learning Commission, 230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500; Chicago, IL 60604; https://www.hlcommission.org/Student-Resources/complaints.html