Rider University believes that the vast majority of student complaints, grievances, or concerns can be handled in a fair and expeditious manner internally. Students residing both inside and outside the State of New Jersey must first try to resolve their complaint by contacting their College’s Dean’s office.
Complaints related to Grades, Academic Policies, or Student Conduct follow the Policies section of the Academic Catalog or the Student Code of Conduct manual available on the Rider website.
If a complaint that does not relate to Grades, Academic Policies, or Student Conduct cannot be resolved, or if a student wishes to challenge the decision of their complaint, the student can appeal their complaint within two years of the incident occurring. Students who wish to escalate their complaint may follow one of the appropriate steps outlined below:
- Contacting Rider University’s Accreditor, The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, at 1007 North Orange Street, 4th Floor, MB #166, Wilmington, DE 19801, complaints@msche.org or by visiting www.msche.org/complaints/.
- Contacting the SARA portal agency in the home state of the institution against which the complaint has been lodged. That agency shall notify the SARA portal agency for the state in which the student is located of receipt of that appealed complaint. For more information, visit www.state.nj.us/highereducation/SARA.shtml.
- Contacting their state’s designated department of education or consumer affairs. For students residing in the State of New Jersey, contact Office of Secretary of Higher Education, P.O. Box 542, Trenton, NJ 08625-0542 or by visiting https://www.state.nj.us/highereducation/OSHEComplaintInstructions.shtml. Students who reside outside of New Jersey may contact their state’s designated office from the list below: