Addressing Student Complaints with Illinois Community Colleges

Thank you for contacting the Illinois Community College Board. While ICCB does not have the authority to investigate complaints or adjudicate local policy decisions at local community colleges, we want to emphasize that student concerns are important and deserve to be heard. Our role is to help facilitate a conversation between a student and their college with the goal of resolving the dispute.

If you have exhausted all avenues to resolve your dispute through your community college complaint process, you can file a complaint with ICCB through the link below.

Please note, that if your safety or security is threatened, contact the proper authorities (e.g. campus security or local police) immediately.

Before submitting a complaint, please review the check list below:

  1. Ensure that your complaint is for one the 45 Illinois’ Community Colleges in the ICCB network. If you do not attend a community college within Illinois, ICCB is not able to offer support.
  2. Submit a formal complaint with your community college through the appropriate channels. You should exhaust your on-campus options before submitting a complaint to ICCB.
  3. Complaints must be filed within one year of the incident and may not involve a criminal complaint or ongoing litigation. ICCB is not able to address criminal or legal issues or complaints that occurred in years prior.
  4. Gather all the documentation you have collected during your attempt to resolve the matter with your campus. Include all relevant documents and information which, depending on the nature of your concern, may include:
    • A copy of the written complaint you submitted to your college;
    • Official letters issued by the college regarding your complaint;
    • A timeline of events including the name of the department and the name and or title of staff with whom you spoke.
  5. Determine whether you wish to remain anonymous. If you want to remain anonymous, ICCB will not be able to contact you or address your issue directly. Anonymous complaints will be reviewed and logged in ICCB reports about institutional complaints.

You can find more information about filing on campus complaints and non-community college complaints here.

Complaints can be submitted to ICCB in the following ways:

You will receive a confirmation from ICCB when your complaint has been received and is under review.

The Attorney General encourages individuals to contact the office to report hate crimes and instances of discrimination or harassment by submitting a complaint using the links below. If you have questions, you may email the Civil Rights Bureau staff at civilrights@ilag.gov or call the Civil Rights Hotline at 1-877-581-3692.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I navigate the on-campus complaint process?

Every college is different, but you will find information regarding the institution’s complaint procedures on the college’s website, in the student handbook, and/or in the course catalog. You may also contact the Dean of Students.

  • For issues regarding financial aid or tuition and fees, go directly to the financial aid or business office of the institution you attend.
  • For grade disputes, try to resolve it with your professor, the chairperson of the department, the dean of the college where you are enrolled, or the vice president for academic affairs, in that order.
  • For concerns related to the behavior of an individual student or professor, you should address this concern with that person first. If this is not feasible, discuss your concern confidentially with the appropriate staff person in the Dean of Student’s office or the office of student services (e.g. vice president of student development).

This is not an all-inclusive list of complaints for additional information please refer to your college catalog.

How do I file a student complaint with a non-community college:

For complaints involving other educational institutions contact the follow:

Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE)
Register an Institutional Complaint

  • Four-year colleges and universities
  • Private colleges
  • Private Business and Vocational Schools
  • For-profit universities and colleges

 Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE)
Special Education Complaint Investigation Process

  • Public and private high schools

External Resources

  • Out-of-State Distance Learning Students
    Students with complaints who are residents of another state and taking distance learning courses at an Illinois community college are asked to identify their home state as Illinois participates in SARA, an agreement with other states which provides authorization in those states for Illinois institutions and a mechanism for addressing student complaints.
  • Out-of-State distance learning students may also file a complaint in their home state.