The New Mexico Higher Education Department handles student complaints against licensed private postsecondary institutions by encouraging the parties involved in the complaint process to find a mutually acceptable resolution.
State rule provides a requirement that students or other parties with complaints or grievances against an institution first seek to resolve their complaint or grievance directly with the institution in accordance with the institution's complaint or grievance policy. A student or other party not satisfied with an institution's resolution of a complaint may submit a complaint to the Department in writing on the form provided below. A student must file a complaint with the department within three (3) years of his/her last date of enrollment.
The Department will verify that the complaint involves one or more standards for licensure of the institution and is therefore a legitimate subject of complaint to the Department. If the complaint is determined to be legitimate, the Department or its authorized representative will forward the complaint to the institution for a written response and will encourage resolution of the complaint between the student and the institution. The institution has thirty (30) days to forward its response to the department A copy of the institution’s response will be forwarded to the student with a request that the student indicate satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the response.