How should individuals decide whether to file a complaint with the Commission?
Individuals seeking to file a complaint need to consider carefully what they hope to accomplish. Many complainants are seeking an individual resolution to an individual problem they have had with an institution or with its decisions. The complaint process is not designed to provide individualized resolutions to individual problems. Institutional decisions are best appealed or resolved within the institution’s own internal grievance process. Individuals who have utilized institutional grievance and appellate processes but have not received the outcome they are seeking may want to consider external structures such as a court of law, state or federal administrative agency such as the office of civil rights, etc., the Better Business Bureau, or private mediation and dispute resolution. The Commission’s process is not a substitute for these processes and provides no personal remedies. Complainants should bring matters to the Commission if they have accrediting implications that would helpfu
