VCOM College Catalog and Student Handbook

• For Carolinas, Auburn, and Louisiana campus students: o Student complaints about out-of-state distance education courses, activities, and operations (i.e. clinical rotations occurring outside of the state of the student’s VCOM campus) should be referred to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), which is VCOM's SARA portal agency. Before filing a complaint with SCHEV regarding a Virginia SARA participating institution, students should review SCHEV’s Student Complaint webpage and verify the following: 1. You have exhausted all available grievance procedures established by the institution; and 2. You are not satisfied with the resolution provided by the institution and are contacting SCHEV as a last resort in the grievance process. If the above two statements are true, fill out the Student Complaint Form in its entirety and submit it electronically to SCHEV. o Student complaints about in-state distance education courses, activities, and operations (i.e. clinical rotations occurring within the state of the student’s VCOM campus) should be referred to the campus state’s licensing body.

 Auburn campus students should contact the Alabama Community College System  Carolinas campus students should contact the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education  Louisiana campus students should contact the Louisiana Board of Regents

If the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of the institution’s complaint process, the resolution of the complaint (except for complaints about grades or student conduct violations) may be appealed, within two years of the incident about which the complaint is made, to the SARA State Portal Entity of the home state of the institution or to the SARA State Portal Entity of the state in which the student is located. Formal Federal Agency Grievance Procedures Students with grievances or complaints against the College based upon violations of Section 504 or the ADA also have the right to file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights by:

(1) Mailing the grievance or complaint to the:

Washington DC (Metro) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) U.S. Department of Education P.O. 400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20202-1475; or

(2) Faxing it to this office at (202) 453-6021; or (3) Filing it electronically at: www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/ complaintprocess.html.

For more information students can contact the Office for Civil Rights via phone: (202) 453-6020 (voice) and (877) 521-2172 (TDD) or via e-mail at: ORC.DC@ed.gov. GI BILL ® Feedback System The GI BILL® Feedback System allows recipients of VA educational benefits to submit complaints against educational institutions or employers they believe have acted erroneously, deceptively, with misleading recruiting practices, or in some other way have failed to follow the Principles of Excellence. Individuals who wish to submit a complaint can do so on their own behalf, on behalf of someone else, or anonymously by visiting the GI BILL® Feedback System at: https://www.benefits.va.gov/GIBILL/Feedback.asp

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