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If you seek to file a complaint against an ACCET-accredited institution, please review ACCET’s complaint policy as described in ACCET Document 49 and ACCET Document 49.1, and then submit your complaint and supporting documentation using the online Complaint Submission Form.

ACCET-accredited member institutions are subject to and periodically evaluated under standards that focus on providing quality education and training to all enrolled participants, adherence to ethical business practices, and ongoing compliance with the ACCET Standards for Accreditation. Both ACCET and its member institutions seek to be responsive to complaints and to provide a formal avenue to address such issues (see the institution’s catalog for details on the formal, internal complaint policy). If a specific complaint cannot be resolved at the institutional level, a formal complaint may be lodged with ACCET, as outlined in ACCET Document 49 and ACCET Document 49.1. ACCET’s role is to objectively establish the facts of the complaint, to encourage communications between the institution and the aggrieved party, to assess compliance with ACCET standards, and, when applicable, to ensure implementation of corrective actions appropriate to any findings. Complaints should be in writing and clearly describe your allegations, with all supporting documentation to demonstrate and verify the facts of your complaint. Please submit your complaint and supporting documentation using the online Complaint Submission Form.

• ACCET accepts complaints from any concerned party, including current and former students, current and former employees, and other officials representing other institutions of higher learning.
• Signed complaints that include an explicit request for anonymity will be honored.
• ACCET does not offer legal advice, nor will our complaint process be in any way associated with separate legal actions initiated against a member institution. ACCET considers institutional responses to complaint inquiries confidential and will not release such original materials to complainants to the extent provided by applicable laws.
• Actionable allegations must indicate a violation of ACCET’s Standards for Accreditation. Unrelated allegations will not be addressed. ACCET does not consider wrongful termination or other matters related to employment practices to be accreditation issues; please contact a more appropriate authority to advance these concerns.
• Actionable allegations must be of present concern and substantive enough to allow the possibility of effective investigation, a confident determination, and corrective action if applicable. Allegations that are vague, unsupported by specific detail, spurious in nature, or matters of hearsay may also be dismissed.
• While ACCET policy provides for a variety of possible actions, based on the nature of each complaint, most complaints are investigated through written correspondence with the institution in question.
• If you claim to speak on behalf of a group all affected by the same incident(s), these individuals should be named and should each sign your letter to indicate that they agree with the details you allege. Generally, you should limit your complaint to incidents that affect you directly.
• Explain your history with the institution. When did you enroll or begin employment? When did you leave the institution, and under what circumstances? Which program did you study or teach?
• You must distinguish between your opinions and interpretations and what can be demonstrated as fact. Provide as many specifics as possible to back up your allegation. Describe specific incidents on which we can follow up, detailing exactly what happened, when, where, and with whom, and explaining how you know about them.
• Any relevant information, supporting documentation, or evidence that you have must be presented with your letter of complaint. Based on this written information, we will send a letter of inquiry to the institution, along with copies of your original complaint materials, requiring a written response. That response will be evaluated with the information you provided to ascertain the facts of the matter. Complaints rarely take less than six weeks to reach closure, but depending on the individual situation, including follow-up contact and response with either the complainant or institution, they can take considerably longer. You will receive a letter notifying you of ACCET’s findings and conclusions when the complaint is closed.