Faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to, first, attempt to resolve amicably any grievance they may have, directly with the party concerned and not with a third party.

In case of no resolution, they may file a grievance against any member of the ACA community for violation of the Student Conduct Policies (applicable to students only) or other ACA policies.

Student may re-appeal a decision rendered through the Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Process.

A written grievance, addressed to the Chief Operating Officer, must be received within five (5) days after the incident occurs. A Complaint Form can be obtained from the Office of the Registrar.

All complaints should state the basis for the assertion being made as well as all relevant information such as date, time, contact information, a detailed summary of events, and the resolution you are seeking, although your desired resolution is not guaranteed.

All documentation must be submitted with the report, which is to be signed and dated by the complainant.

After reception of the complaint report within five (5) days of the incident occurrence, the Chief Operating Officer will verify that the complainant has made a verbal attempt to resolve the concern with the different parties involved. If the complainant has followed the above steps, the Chief Operating Officer will call a Grievance Committee Hearing and meeting within eight (8) days of receipt of this report.

The Chief Operating Officer will chair a Grievance Committee hearing and meeting which will consist of not less than 3 members.

In addition, all persons involved with the incident must be present at the time of the hearing. The committee hears all sides, and will immediately meet in the absence of those involved to review the information and evidence, and vote on a decision. The decision of the committee will be communicated immediately to all parties and confirmed in writing, either by email with delivery and reading notification, or by registered mail with return receipt.

In case of re-appeal from a decision rendered through the Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Process, the decision of the Grievance Committee is FINAL.

For all other cases, if the decision is unacceptable to the complainant, the complainant must appeal, within five (5) days of the hearing, and send copies of all documents explaining why the decision is unacceptable.

Failure to appeal in writing within the designated 5-day time frame will void the student’s right to appeal.

The Chief Operating Officer will chair a new Grievance Committee hearing and meeting which will consist of not less than 3 members.

In addition, all persons involved with the incident must be present at the time of the hearing. The committee hears all sides, and will immediately meet in the absence of those involved to review the information and evidence, and vote on a decision. The decision of the committee will be FINAL and communicated immediately to all parties and confirmed in writing, either by email with delivery and reading notification, or by registered mail with return receipt.

All complaint decision appeals will be attempted to be resolved within 30 days from the receipt date of the original complaint report.

Unresolved complaints may be directed to the:

Department of Consumer Affairs

Consumer Information Center

1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N112,

Sacramento, CA 95834

Unresolved Complaints for Veterans Only

Complaints against this school may also be handled by the San Diego VA regional office. Please utilize the toll free VA phone number at 1-888-442-4551, or write to:

Department of Veteran Affairs

C/O Educational Liaison Officer

California Center for Education Services

8810 Rio San Diego Drive

San Diego, CA 92108-1622