Student Complaint Policy

How to resolve student concerns

Resolution for any academic or non-academic student complaint at Mason is best achieved through the designated offices listed below. Please reach out to those offices to file complaints and appeals. All inquiries conducted via email must be communicated through your official Mason email account.

Informal Grievances

We want you to have the best educational experience possible in your time as a student with George Mason University. If you have a complaint about an online course or program, please contact resolve@gmu.edu. If we determine that your inquiry should go to a faculty member, an academic unit or another service unit on campus, we will let you know, and you will need to contact that office.

George Mason University Complaint Process

After exhausting the information complaint process, students who still have inquiries or questions about potential complaints can contact the Office of Compliance, Diversity, and Ethics (CDE). Students can discuss options with an office representative and receive assistance in filing an informal or formal complaint.

Some situations can be resolved by reviewing processes for certain actions:

Grade Appeals

Academic Integrity

Reasonable Accommodation

Sexual Harassment and Misconduct

SARA State Complaint Process

If an issue cannot be resolved by the university’s internal processes, a complaint involving allegations of dishonest or fraudulent activity, including the provision of false or misleading information, may be brought to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV). Alternatively, students may submit a complaint about a SACSCOC-accredited institution using the SACSCOC complaint process.

George Mason University works with the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to resolve complaints that fall under the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). The agreement provides enhanced quality assurance and consumer protection to students taking distance-learning programs from other member state institutions.

Examples of types of student complaints that may be brought to a SARA portal entity include, but are not limited to, complaints regarding accuracy of job placement data, tuition or fee information, accreditation, whether a program meets professional licensing requirements, or course transfer information. Grade appeals and student conduct appeals are not allowed under SARA.

Non-SARA State Complaints

Students participating in a course that takes place in a non-SARA state may file a complaint in the state where the student is located.

California Department of Consumer Affairs
Consumer Information Center
1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N-112
Sacramento, California 95834
Telephone: (833) 942-1120
Filing a Complaint