Federal and accreditation requirements state that all universities are to provide a clear process for timely resolution of student complaints and provide contact information for any external agencies where complaints may be filed. As such, Wilkes University provides a process that all students should follow if they have a complaint or grievance.
Internal Process First
All enrolled and prospective students should first address any issues by contacting their instructor, if course-related, the program director or supervisor of the involved party. If resolution cannot be achieved, students should follow the institutional process outlined in the Internal Complaint Procedure. This process is outlined in each academic catalog external website. Select the appropriate Bulletin for the level of enrollment, undergraduate or graduate, and use the search feature to locate the grievance process. All students, current or prospective, distance or on-ground, follow the same process for complaints.
External Complaint Process
As a member of NC-SARA, students are afforded an additional process to follow when issues cannot be resolved through the institution’s internal compliant process. All students, reardless of modality or location, must first follow the university’s internal complaint process and exhaust all institutional options before launching an external complaint. If a resolution cannot be achieved through the Internal Complaint Procedure noted above, students may follow the complaint process external website as outlined by NC-SARA. The State Portal Entities (SPE) have been designated as the primary recipient of all external complaints.
It is important to understand that not all issues are eligible for complaint resolution through external agencies. Grades and student conduct issues are not able to be appealed to the State Portal Entity and must be handled through the internal institutional process.
As long as the potential complaint meets the requirements set forth by NC-SARA (linked above), the process dictates that the student contact the State Portal Entity (SPE) where the institution is located. The information for Pennsylvania’s State Portal Entity is as follows:
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Pennsylvania Division of Higher Education, Access and Equity
607 South Drive, 3rd Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17120
717-783-6786
Forms & details on how to file a complaint can be found on their Student Complaints webpage external website.
Other Complaint Options
In addition to the above possibilities, students have the option to file complaints with other agencies when appropriate, based on the student's specific situation.
To file a complaint with the University's accrediting body, Middle State Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), please review the complaints and third-party comments information external website from the Middle State Comission.
Middle States Commission on Higher Education external website
3624 Market Street, 2nd Floor West, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Telephone: (267) 284-5000
Email: info@msche.org email link
Spanish: espanolinfo@msche.org email link