Complaint Information

Please direct complaints or concerns to the corresponding office, listed below. You may utilize the following forms for internal or anonymous complaints:

Complaints and/or inquiries should be directed to:

Additional Complaint Options

In addition to the University's procedures, if you believe you have been subjected to unlawful discrimination, discriminatory harassment, or retaliation, you may contact or file a complaint with the appropriate governmental agencies listed below.

Inquiries regarding federal laws may be directed to:

  • U.S. Department of Education
    Office for Civil Rights
    5 Post Office Square, 8th Floor
    Boston, MA 02109-3921
    Phone: 617.289.0111
    Email: OCR.Boston@ed.gov
    OCR Website
    Generally, you must file within 180 calendar days of an alleged incident.
  • Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
    John F. Kennedy Federal Building
    475 Government Center
    Boston, MA 02203
    Phone: 617.565.3200
    TTY: 617.565.3204
    Generally, you must file within 300 calendar days of an alleged incident.

Inquiries regarding state laws may be directed to:

  • Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination
    One Ashburton Place
    Sixth Floor, Room 601
    Boston, MA 02108
    Phone: 617.727.3990 (ext. 588 for TTY)
    Generally, you must file within 300 calendar days of an alleged incident.

Title IX Coordinator
Section 504 and Title II of the ADA

Jessica Murdoch
Vice President for Human Resources and Payroll Services
jmurdoch@fitchburgstate.edu

Complaint Process for Online Students

If you have a complaint or concern that has not been resolved by Fitchburg State University, you may file a consumer complaint with the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education (DHE) by using the consumer complaint form. The DHE consumer complaint form should be used by students who are located in:

  • Massachusetts
  • Non-SARA Member States or Territories (e.g., California, Guam, etc.)

SARA Member States and Territories

After you have exhausted the complaint procedures made available by Fitchburg State University, located in the University catalog or through the Dean of Graduate Online and Continuing Education, Becky Copper-Glenz at bcopperg@fitchburgstate.edu, if your complaint has not been resolved, you may file a complaint with the DHE by using the SARA complaint form. Please note: for SARA complaints, students are explicitly required to exhaust the institution’s available complaint procedures before filing a SARA complaint.

The DHE SARA complaint form should be used by students who are located in SARA member states and territories. This includes all students who are located in SARA member states and territories for the purposes of completing out-of-state learning placements, such as internships, practica, clinical experiences, etc. in SARA member states and territories outside Massachusetts.

Additional information from the DHE’s SARA complaint website is below.

The SARA complaint process is as follows:

  1. Students must first attempt to resolve their complaint using internal administrative procedures offered by the SARA institution.
  2. After all administrative remedies have been exhausted with the MA-SARA institution, the student may submit a SARA Complaint via the URL below.
  3. The Department shall send a copy of the complaint to the institution that is the subject of the complaint;
  4. Within 30 days of the date that the Department sends a copy of the complaint to the institution, the institution must provide a written response to the student and the Department.

More information about DHE’s complaint processes can be found here.