Complaint Policy | ThirdmillSeminary

Complaint Procedure

Student Complaint Policy

Students, staff and faculty have the right to express any concerns, complaints, or grievances they might have with any aspect of their educational experience. Students are encouraged to review the complaint policy and first seek to resolve their complaints through informal discussion.

Adhere to the following steps when addressing these concerns:

If anyone in the Seminary community has a misunderstanding or dispute with another person in our learning community, they first must address their concern directly with that person as misunderstandings can often be cleared up best at their source.
Faculty members encourage students to ask them any questions about a course syllabus, grade, assignments in the course or any communications which remain unclear.
Likewise, staff or faculty address their concerns to their direct supervisor for clarification.
If a matter remains unresolved, community members may address academic matters to the Dean of their program and administrative matters to the Director of Administration.

STUDENT COMPLAINT PROCEDURE

An item is only considered as a formal complaint if a community member indicates in their communication to our President, Academic Deans or Director of Administration that they believe Thirdmill Seminary is not following its own policies, the standards of its accreditors, US state or federal laws.

The Academic Dean or Director of Administration will confirm receipt of a complaint and copy the President of the Seminary within two business days. The complaint will be brought to the next scheduled meeting of the appropriate faculty committee (Curriculum Committee or Student Services).
Once the Committee of the faculty meets and acts, the community member will be informed of their decision by the person who received their formal complaint within two business days of the committee’s action.
If the matter remains unresolved, the community member may appeal in writing to the President of the Seminary by email to gperry@thirdmillseminary.org. The President will confirm receipt of the appeal within two business days and inform the community member that their appeal will be considered at the next meeting of the Executive Committee of the faculty. Once a final decision is reached, the President will inform the community member within two business days.
If a student or other community member remains unsatisfied with the response of Seminary to the matter, they may file an appeal. As a distance education student that has completed the Thirdmill Seminary's internal complaint process, the next step for an individual to express their concern about a non-instructional matter is to write a letter or send an e-mail with their name, address, phone number and subject matter to the state department or council on higher education where they reside.
Thirdmill Seminary is a nonpublic postsecondary institution located in Florida. If a student is unsatisfied after following the applicable state grievance procedure in the state where they reside, they may appeal the state authorization-related complaint to the Florida SARA PRDEC Council at FLSARAinfo@fldoe.org pursuant to rule 6N-1.006, F.A.C.. A helpful guide is found at this NC-SARA link.

Accreditation

Seminary for the Third Millennium (Thirdmill Seminary) is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), which is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a recognized accrediting agency (listing here). DEAC is a member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). As such, our programs and administrative policies are frequently reviewed to ensure that we continue to meet the DEAC’s exacting standards of excellence. The DEAC office is located at 1101 17th Street NW, Suite 808, Washington, D.C. 20036. Their phone number is (202) 234-5100.

DEAC has an “Online Complaint System” that enables individuals to file a complaint directly from the DEAC website. The complaint form may be found at https://www.deac.org/student-center/complaint-process/. All complaints should be submitted using the website. students must complete the internal institutional and applicable state grievance procedures prior to appealing the complaint to the Council.

Written complaints must contain the following:

the basis of any allegation of noncompliance with DEAC standards and policies;
all relevant names and dates and brief description of the actions forming the basis of the complaint;
copies of any available documents or materials that support the allegations;
a release authorizing the Commission to forward a copy of the complaint, including identification of the complaint(s) to the institution.

In cases of anonymous complaints or where the complainant requests for his/her name to be kept confidential, the Commission considers how to proceed and whether the anonymous complaint sets forth reasonable and credible information that an institution may be in violation of the Commission’s standards and whether the identity of the complainant is not necessary to investigate. Students may also file a complaint with the state office which oversees the operation of institutions of higher learning in the state in which they reside. Contact information is provided below.

Seminary for the Third Millennium (DBA Thirdmill Seminary) provide all current and prospective out-of-state students with the contact information of the state agency that handles complaints against institutions of higher education within that state.

If your state is not listed below, contact Registrar@thirdmillseminary.org for the information.

Alabama
Status: NC-SARA Authorized (former status: Exempt, received private school certificate of exemption)

Commission on Higher Education

Department of Postsecondary Education, Office of Private School Licensing Division

PO Box 302000 Montgomery, AL 36130-2000

Student Complaints – first follow Thirdmill Seminary’s Complaint Policy and/or DEAC

California

Status: approval or exemption not required without physical presence, subject to periodic review

Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education
P.O. Box 980818, West Sacramento, CA 95798-0818

Email: bppe@dca.ca.gov Phone: (888) 370-7589

Student Complaints – first follow Thirdmill Seminary’s Complaint Policy and/or DEAC

Connecticut

Status: NC-SARA Authorized

Connecticut Office of Higher Education

450 Columbus Blvd, Suite 707, Hartford, CT 06103
Phone: 860-947-1800

Student Complaints – first follow Thirdmill Seminary’s Complaint Policy and/or DEAC

Florida

Status: NC-SARA Authorized (former status: religious school exemption)

FL Commission for Independent Education

325 W. Gaines St, Suite 1414, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400
Phone: 850-245-3200. Fax: 850-245-3233

Student Complaints – first follow Thirdmill Seminary’s Complaint Policy and/or DEAC

Georgia
Status: NC-SARA Authorized (former status: religious school exemption)

Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission

2082 E. Exchange Pl. #220, Tucker, GA 30084-5305

Phone: 770.414.3300

Student Complaints – first follow Thirdmill Seminary’s Complaint Policy and/or DEAC

Idaho

Status: NC-SARA Authorized

Idaho State Board of Education

Attn: State Authorization Program Manager

PO Box 83720, Boise, ID 83720-0037

Phone: 208.332.1587

Student Complaints – first follow Thirdmill Seminary’s Complaint Policy and/or DEAC

Kentucky

Status: NC-SARA Authorized

Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education
1024 Capital Center Dr #320
Frankfort, KY 40601-7512

Phone: 502.573.1555

Student Complaints – first follow Thirdmill Seminary’s Complaint Policy and/or DEAC

Mississippi
Status: NC-SARA Authorized (former status: religious school exemption)

Mississippi Commission on College Accreditation

3825 Ridgewood Road, Jackson, MS 39211-6453

Phone: 601.432.6198

Student Complaints – first follow Thirdmill Seminary’s Complaint Policy and/or DEAC

New Mexico

Status: NC-SARA Authorized (former status: nonprofit religious school exemption)

New Mexico Higher Education Department

2044 Galisteo Street, Suite 4, Santa Fe, NM 87505-2100

Phone: 505-476-8400

Student Complaints – first follow Thirdmill Seminary’s Complaint Policy and/or DEAC

Ohio
Status: NC-SARA Authorized (former status: online nonprofit distance education exemption)

Ohio Department of Higher Education

25 South Front Street, Columbus, OH 43215-4183

Phone: 614.728.3095

Student Complaints – first follow Thirdmill Seminary’s Complaint Policy and/or DEAC

Oklahoma
Status: NC-SARA Authorized (former status: authorization not required)

Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education

655 Research Parkway, Suite 200, Oklahoma City, OK 73104

Phone: 405.225.9100

Student Complaints – first follow Thirdmill Seminary’s Complaint Policy and/or DEAC

South Carolina

Status: NC-SARA Authorized (former status: exempt due to Bible or theological program)

South Carolina Commission on Higher Education

Academic Affairs, Postsecondary Institution Licensing

1122 Lady Street, Suite 400, Columbia, SC 29201

Phone 803.737-2260

Student Complaints – first follow Thirdmill Seminary’s Complaint Policy and/or DEAC

Tennessee
Status: NC-SARA Authorized (former status: authorization not required without physical presence)

Tennessee Higher Education Commission

404 James Robertson Parkway, Suite 1900, Nashville, TN 37243

Phone: 615.253.7458

Student Complaints – first follow Thirdmill Seminary’s Complaint Policy and/or DEAC

West Virginia

Status: NC-SARA Authorized
West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (link here)
2001 Union Carbide Drive, Building 2000, South Charleston, WV 25303
Fax: 304-558-5719

Student Complaints – first follow Thirdmill Seminary’s Complaint Policy and/or DEAC