Grievance and Complaints
A grievance is a claim, a complaint or an expression of concern made by a student regarding any aspect of his or her educational experience including misapplication of campus policies, rules, regulations, and procedures, or unfair treatment, such as coercion, reprisal, or intimidation by an instructor or other employee. Students should discuss the grievance with their instructor or program administrator immediately.
A student wishing to escalate his or her grievance should follow the four steps listed below:
- The first step in the process is to address and resolve the dispute with the person involved through discussion. A student with a grievance or complaint needs to raise their concerns as soon as possible to assure that a resolution is made in a timely fashion. If the dispute cannot be resolved at this level, students are encouraged to address the issue with the program administrator.
- If the dispute cannot be resolved through the program administrator, the second step is to address the concern at the campus level with the Office of Academic Affairs. A student may submit his or her formal complaint or grievance to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. addressed to:
International College of Health Sciences
ATTN: Office of Academic Affairs, Confidential
PO Box 740690
Boynton Beach, FL 33474
The written complaint must be submitted within 14 calendar days of the incident. The document must be typed and signed with wet ink. The document should include a description of the disputed items, the date, or dates when the issue arose, the reason why the student is escalating the decision and the steps the student has taken to resolve the dispute to date. When submitting a complaint, the student should include as much factual evidence as possible, such as evidence of extenuating circumstances.
Academic Affairs will oversee the gathering of additional data about the issue or incident as necessary. Academic Affairs will review the information and otherwise assess and develop a resolution to the complaint. A response from Academic Affairs must be provided to the student within 14 calendar days after receipt of the written grievance. All decisions will be provided in writing and delivered to the student’s college email address, when applicable, or to the student’s mailing address of record with acknowledgement of receipt required.
- If the dispute has not been resolved or if the student is still unsatisfied with the response in Step 2, the student may take a third step and file the grievance with the corporate office. This grievance must also be typed and signed with a wet ink signature. The document should include a description of the disputed items, the date, or dates when the issue arose, the reason why the student is escalating the decision and the steps the student has taken to resolve the dispute to date. When submitting a complaint, the student should include as much factual evidence as possible, such as evidence of extenuating circumstances. It must be received at the corporate office within 14 calendar days of being notified of Academic Affairs’ decision.
A student may submit his or her formal complaint or grievance to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and addressed to:
International College of Health Sciences
ATTN: Office of the President, Confidential
PO Box 740690
Boynton Beach, FL 33474
The corporate office will conduct his or her own investigation of the issue and will respond to the student within 14 calendar days of receiving the escalated complaint. All decisions will be provided in writing and delivered to the student’s college email address, when applicable, or to the student’s mailing address of record with acknowledgement of receipt required.
- If the dispute remains unresolved after evaluation by the corporate office, the student should address his or her concerns by directing them to the State Licensing Authority and the College’s accrediting bodies.
The title and address of the state licensing authority is:
Commission for Independent Education (CIE)
Florida Department of Education
325 West Gaines Street, Suite 1414
Tallahassee, FL 32399
Complaints may be mailed to the above address, emailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or faxed to 850-245-3238.
Schools accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges must have a procedure and operational plan for handling student complaints. If a student does not feel that the school has adequately addressed a complaint or concern, the student may consider contacting the Accrediting Commission. All complaints reviewed by the Commission must be in written form and should grant permission for the Commission to forward a copy of the complaint to the school for a response. This can be accomplished by filing the ACCSC Complaint Form. The complainant(s) will be kept informed as to the status of the complaint as well as the final resolution by the Commission. Please direct all inquiries to:
The title and addresses of the accrediting bodies are:
Accrediting Commission of Career Schools & Colleges
2101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 302
Arlington, VA 22201
(703) 247-4212
www.accsc.org | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
A copy of the ACCSC Complaint Form is available at the school and may be obtained by contacting This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at https://www.accsc.org/Student-Corner/Complaints.aspx.
Students in Diagnostic Sonography programs, may contact:
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP)
25400 U.S. Highway 19 North, Suite 158
Clearwater, FL 33763
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
or via Facsimile: 727-210-2350
Students in nursing programs may contact:
Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)
3343 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 850
Atlanta, GA 30326
404-975-5000
www.acenursing.org
Complaint process for out-of-state distance education students participating under SARA 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. For additional information on the complaint process, please visit the FL-SARA Complaint Process page.