Report a Problem

Student Concerns

There are a number of venues for making a complaint. Depending on the nature of the complaint, different entities will have the appropriate jurisdiction to either address or investigate your concerns. Please read the following sections carefully to ensure you report your concerns to the proper place for action:

Attempts to resolve issues and concerns informally at the grass-roots level are more likely to result in a timely resolution.  Because of this, students are strongly encouraged to begin their pursuit of an informal resolution by having a face-to-face meeting with the faculty member, supervisor, or other person in the area where the concern has arisen.  The online Campus Directory lists contact information for all NCF faculty and staff.

Students are also encouraged to contact the Ombudsperson ([email protected]) for assistance with informal, impartial, and non-adversarial alternatives for the resolution of conflict.  The Ombudsperson, guided by the principles of independence, neutrality, confidentiality, and informality, directs students toward appropriate College resources and facilitates discussion to identify the best options to resolve problems.

If a student believes a published policy or procedure has been violated or applied unfairly — or if informal means have not resolved a student’s dissatisfaction with a decision, policy, or circumstance — a student may file a formal written student complaint.

Submit a written student complaint here.

New College of Florida maintains a record of all submitted written student complaints to ensure they are addressed in a prompt, fair, and consistent manner.  New College strives to respond to all written student complaints within 30 days and to resolve complaints within 90 days.

In the event the student feels the complaint was not managed properly by the institution, the student may submit his or her complaint to the following state contact:

Florida Board of Governors State University System

325 West Gaines Street, Suite 1614

Tallahassee, Florida, 32399-0400

800-245-0466

https://www.flbog.edu/

Title IX is a Federal civil rights law passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. This law protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive Federal financial assistance.

View Title IX page for information and reporting resources.

Other Concerns

Any person may report allegations of suspected improper activities. Knowledge or suspicion of improper activities may originate from academic personnel, staff or administrators carrying out their assigned duties, internal or external auditors, law enforcement, regulatory agencies, and customers, patients, vendors, students or other third parties.

Normally, a report by a New College employee or others of allegations of a suspected improper activity should be made to the reporting employee’s immediate supervisor or other appropriate administrator or supervisor within the department. However, when there is a potential conflict of interest or for other reasons, allegations of suspected improper activities may also be reported anonymously.

Download and complete a complaint form here.

Note: If you are having trouble typing in the form, make sure that the form has been actually downloaded and not in ‘view’ mode.

The IRB is concerned about the safety, rights and welfare of all individuals participating in research projects at NCF. Noncompliance with ethical standards, federal regulations, other laws, or institutional policies must be reported to the IRB. Learn more here.

Reporting Complaints Beyond New College

A student may file a complaint externally with the College’s accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges; instructions are provided on this webpage.

Out-of-State Distance Education students, who have completed the internal institutional grievance process and the applicable state grievance process, may appeal non-instructional complaints to the FL-SARA PRDEC Council by emailing [email protected].

For additional information on the complaint process, please visit FL-SARA Complaint Process.

The Office of the Inspector General and Director of Compliance within the Board of Governors and the State University System of Florida receives and considers complaints alleging waste, fraud or financial mismanagement within the Board of Governors and the State University System of Florida.

Every complaint received by the Inspector General and Director of Compliance will be reviewed and considered.

In many cases, given the state of Florida higher education governance structure, jurisdiction to investigate the complaint will reside with the state university/college. In such cases, the complaint will be referred to the university/college for review and processing as appropriate.

It is important to note that the Board of Governors does not serve as an appeals body for decisions reached at a state university/college.

Please click here and follow instructions for submitting a complaint to the OIGC.

If you believe there has been a violation of the Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees (Part III of Chapter 112, Florida Statutes), this is a matter over which the Commission on Ethics has responsibility.

The Commission on Ethics is the guardian of the standards of conduct for the officers and employees of the state and serves as the independent commission provided for in Section 8(f), Article II of the Constitution of the State of Florida. It is the duty of the Commission on Ethics to receive and investigate sworn complaints of any alleged violations of the code of ethics as established in this part and of any other breach of the public trust including investigation of all facts and parties materially related to the complaint at issue.

The Commission on Ethics can be contacted at:

Address: Florida Commission on Ethics, Tallahassee, FL 32317-5709

Phone: 850-488-7864

Website: www.ethics.state.fl.us

The Florida Commission on Human Relations (FCHR) was established by the Florida Legislature to investigate and resolve discrimination complaints in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations and Whistleblower’s Act retaliation. FCHR can be contacted at:

Address: Florida Commission on Human Relations, 2009 Apalachee Parkway, Suite 100, Tallahassee, FL 32301

Phone: 850-488-7082

Website: http://fchr.state.fl.us

The Get Lean Florida state hotline program was established in 1992 as part of the Florida Department of Financial Services.

The program operates a “Get Lean Hotline” to respond to comments about waste, fraud, and abuse within state government and to accept suggestions on how the state can save money. The hotline is a 24-hour anonymous web site and phone system that gives you the opportunity to make the government more accountable to you.

Please share your comments and suggestions for improving state government and where we can Get Lean.

Are you aware of serious allegations of wrongdoing on the part of a public employer or independent contractor?

Are you also a state employee, former state employee, state agency contract employee or applicant for state employment? If yes, you may qualify for whistleblower protection including confidentiality of your name and identity in accordance with the Whistleblowers Act.

For more information about the provisions of the Whistleblower’s Act, please view the:

In order to request whistle–blower protection, you should report your information to New College directly. Please follow this link to complete the Complaint Form.

Download and complete a complaint form here.

To file student complaints regarding discrimination and other civil rights problems if such complaint have not been resolved at the college level.

The mission of the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is to ensure equal access to education through vigorous enforcement of five federal civil rights that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability and age in programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance from the Department of Education (ED).

In order for OCR to have jurisdiction over the subject matter of the complaint, the complaint must allege a violation of one or more of the laws OCR enforces. OCR must also determine whether the complaint is filed on time.

A complaint must be filed within 180 calendar days of the date of the alleged discrimination, unless the time for filing is extended by OCR for good cause shown under certain circumstances.

How to File a Complaint:

Complainants wishing to file a complaint may do so by:

Mail or Fax: Complainants may mail or send by facsimile a letter or use the OCR’s Discrimination Complaint Form available from one of OCR’s enforcement offices.

Email: Complainants may file a complaint using the following e–mail address: [email protected].

Online: Complainants may file a complaint with OCR using OCR’s electronic complaint form at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/complaintintro.html.

Address: U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, Washington, D.C. 20202-1100

Customer Service: 800-421-3481

Fax: 202-453-6012

E-mail: [email protected]

Web: http://www.ed.gov/ocr

The Mission of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General is to promote the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Department’s programs and operations through the conduct of independent and objective audits, investigations, inspections and other activities.

Anyone knowing of fraud, waste or abuse of Department of Education funds should contact the OIG Hotline to make a confidential report. Complaints or concerns received through the Hotline may be referred for OIG investigation, audit, inspection or other review.

You may contact the USDOE Inspector General’s Hotline by:

  • Calling the OIG Hotline’s toll free number 1-800-MIS-USED. Hotline Operators take calls during the hours of Monday and Wednesday 9-11 a.m., Eastern Time; Tuesday and Thursday, 1-3 p.m., Eastern Time.
  • Downloading a hardcopy of the Hotline Complaint Form, and completing, mailing or faxing to:

Inspector General’s Hotline

Office of Inspector General

Address: U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20202-1500

Fax: 202-245-7047