Student Complaints

Main Content

Complaint Policy:

University Process:

Non-Academic Issues:

For non-academic concerns, students should contact the Dean of Students. Further resources and information regarding other types of complaints can be found at https://siu.edu/complaints/. 

Academic Issues:

Academic units are responsible for addressing student concerns and complaints related to classes (e.g. syllabi, grades, classroom environment). If a student is experiencing an issue or has a concern, students are encouraged to meet with the instructor of the course to see if a resolution can be reached. If the situation cannot be resolved, students should contact the department chair or school director to seek advice and resolution. If a chair or director cannot assist, the college dean should be contacted.

Additionally, if a student is enrolled in online or off-campus courses, they may also contact SIU Online and Extended Campus at onlinefeedback@siu.edu or 618-453-3430.

Unresolved Issues Process:

If a student’s complaint cannot be resolved by the university, a complaint may be filed with a higher education regulatory agency, depending on the location of the student and modality of coursework.

  • If a student is located in Illinois:

A complaint may be filed with the Illinois Board of Higher Education, which regulates higher education institutions in Illinois, through their Complaint System at https://complaints.ibhe.org/; or the student may contact the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), SIUC's regional accrediting agency, through their Complaint Process at https://www.hlcommission.org/for-students/file-a-complaint-against-an-institution/. For Federal Loan Disputes, the student may submit a complaint to Federal Student Aid at https://studentaid.gov/feedback-center/, and if unresolved, they may contact the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Group at https://studentaid.gov/feedback-ombudsman/disputes/prepare.

  • If a student is located outside of Illinois and is completing online coursework or is participating in an out-of-state learning placement:

Since Southern Illinois University Carbondale has been approved as an institutional participant in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) initiative by the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA), students enrolled from participating SARA states, as indicated by the State Authorization webpage, https://www.nc-sara.org/directory, follow the SARA Complaint Process at https://nc-sara.org/sara-student-complaints-0. Such students may contact the Illinois Board of Higher Education (the Illinois SARA portal entity) with complaints that were not resolved through the student campus complaint procedures described above by accessing the IBHE online complaint system at https://complaints.ibhe.org/.

  • If a student is located in California, regardless of modality:

A complaint may be filed with the California Department of Consumer Affairs, at https://www.dca.ca.gov/webapplications/apps/complaint/index.shtml. At the time of this publication, California is the only state not participating in SARA. If that changes then the student may follow the complaint process above for SARA-covered activities.