Grievance Procedure- NY

Internal Complaint Procedure

The New York Film Academy welcomes students’ opinions and feedback, positive and negative, regarding policies, programs, and services. We view student complaints as opportunities for NYFA to identify and rectify any serious or systematic problems or issues affecting the quality of student life.

NYFA will address all appropriate student grievances promptly. A grievance is considered appropriate if a student expresses feelings of dissatisfaction concerning any application or interpretation of the NYFA administration or management-related policy.  The grievance process is as follows:

Students who want to report staff and faculty should complete the Student Grievance Form https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?NYFilmAcademy&layout_id=13 

Students who want to report other students should complete the Student Conduct Incident Form https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?NYFilmAcademy&layout_id=4 

• The Dean of Students will forward with immediacy all received and completed complaint forms to the Campus Dean.

• Within two weeks of receiving a complaint, the NYFA administration will investigate the received complaint/grievance; all relevant parties will be interviewed and all documents related to the complaint/grievance will be reviewed.

• NYFA Administration will render a decision and the complainant will be notified of the decision in writing (provided the complainant is not anonymous). 

• NYFA Administration will provide the complainant one week (seven days) to respond; the complainant can either agree or disagree to the decision.  All responses must be submitted to the dean of students in writing.  The dean of students will immediately forward the received responses to the Campus Dean.  Failure of the complainant to respond in one week (seven days) will be interpreted as acceptance of the decision). 

• If the complainant disagrees, he/she has the option of appealing the decision by submitting a written appeal to the dean of students, or contacting the New York State Education Department.  The Dean of Students will immediately forward all received appeals to the Campus Dean. 

• If the complaint is determined to be valid, all necessary steps will be taken to provide the appropriate remedy for the complaint.

• Grievances or complaints may be submitted anonymously; however, when the complaint is submitted anonymously, NYFA administration will not be able to inform the complainant of its decision and response. 

• A written summary of all complaints will be kept in Student Records for a minimum of six years, following the date that the complaint was first received.

• For specific sex-based discrimination and sexual misconduct student rights and grievances, please see the Sex-Based Discrimination & Misconduct Procedures.

The following matters are not handled as student complaints within the scope of this reporting procedure, but may be directed for attention as follows:

• Grade appeal (Registrar’s Office)

• Curriculum matters (Academic Department)

• Certificate requirements (Registrar’s Office)

• Sexual misconduct, harassment or discrimination (Title IX Coordinator)

• Financial Aid/Tuition disputes (Financial Aid and/or the Bursar’s Office)

External Complaint Procedure

A student or any member of the public may file a complaint about this institution with the Office of College and University Evaluation by mailing a completed

(1) Complaint Form
 

http://www.nysed.gov/common/nysed/files/complaint-form.pdf

(2) To the following address:
 

New York State Education Department

Office of College and University Evaluation

89 Washington Avenue

EBA Room 960

Albany, New York 12234

Additional information can be found at
http://www.nysed.gov/college-university-evaluation/filing-complaint-about-college-or-university 

Please note that the office of College and University Evaluation will not review a complaint until all grievance procedures at this institution have been followed, all avenues of appeal exhausted, and documentation is provided that such procedures have been exhausted. 

The Office of College and University Evaluation handles only those complaints that concern educational programs or practices of degree-granting institutions subject to the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, with the exceptions, noted below. 

• The Office does not handle anonymous complaints. 

• The Office does not intervene in matters concerning an individual’s grades or examination results, as these are the prerogative of the college’s faculty. 

• The Office does not handle complaints concerning actions that occurred more than five years ago. 

• The Office does not intervene in matters that are or have been in litigation. 

Complainants should be aware the Office of College and University Evaluation does not conduct a judicial investigation and has no legal authority to require a college or university to comply with a complainant’s request. 

Civil Rights complaints involving discrimination based on race, color, national origin, age, disability, and sex, including sexual harassment, should be filed with the U.S. Office for Civil Rights:

U.S. Department of Education

32 Old Slip

26th Floor

New York, NY 10005-2500 

The Office for Civil Rights Enforcement can be reached by telephone at (646) 428 – 3900 or by fax at (656) 428 – 3843.

Email Address: OCR.NewYork@ed.gov

A complaint of consumer fraud on the part of the institution should be directed to:

Office of the New York State Attorney General
Empire State Plaza
Albany, New York 12223
 

For a complaint about state student financial aid matters, contract the Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) Customer Communication Center at 1-888-NYS-HESC.

External Complaint Procedure