Virginia Western Community College is an approved institution of the National Council of State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) a voluntary, regional approach to state oversight of postsecondary distance education.
The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) consumer protection provisions require member states to investigate and resolve allegations of dishonest or fraudulent activity, including the provision of false or misleading information. For the purposes of SARA, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), Virgina’s State Portal Entity, will address only those complaints resulting from distance education courses, activities, and operations provided by Virginia SARA-participating institutions to students in other SARA states. Student complaints regarding grades or student conduct violations are exempt from SARA student complaint reporting.
Before filing a complaint with SCHEV regarding a Virginia SARA participating institution, students must first exhaust Virginia Western Community College’s established complaint and grievance procedures as outlined in Policy I-19.
If a student has exhausted Virginia Western’s complaint process and is not satisfied with the outcome, an eligible SARA complaint may be appealed within two years of the incident to either:
- the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), Virginia’s SARA State Portal Entity. Students can access SCHEV’s Student Complaint webpage to file a complaint; or
- the SARA State Portal Entity for the state in which the student is located. For a complete list of State Portal Entities see the SARA Student Complaints Process Information by State webpage.
Complaints regarding grades or student conduct violations are governed by Virginia Western policy and are not subject to the SARA complaint appeal process.
Additional information about the NC-SARA student complaint process please see the SARA Student Complaints webpage.
Contact Us
Link Learning Commons – Brown Library
540-857-6202
olit@virginiawestern.edu
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Virginia Western Community College is an approved institution of the National Council of State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) a voluntary, regional approach to state oversight of postsecondary distance education. Click here to learn more about how VWCC’s participation in NC-SARA benefits you as a Distance Learning student.
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