Financial Aid
Student Grievance Reporting
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The University of Southern Mississippi is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award baccalaureate, master’s, specialist, first professional, and doctoral degrees. Contact
the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call
404.679.4500 for questions about the accreditation of The University of Southern Mississippi.
The Commission is to be contacted if there is evidence that appears to support the
University’s significant noncompliance with a requirement or standard. Numerous degree
programs are accredited by professional, disciplinary accrediting agencies. For additional
information about individual programs, standards, accreditation documents, state license
and NC-SARA documents, contact the Office of the Provost.
Student Complaints
The University has various appeals processes associated with academic and student
affairs policies. Institutional Effectiveness provides guidance as to such appeals and complaint procedures. In addition, students
or University employees may report possible noncompliance with respect to a SACS requirement
or standard, as described above. Students or employees may report a complaint related
to ethical misconduct, particularly actions involving suspected illegal use of state
resources, to the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning via an EthicsPoint reporting system, or may report complaints to the Mississippi Commission on College Accreditation.
Online Student Complaint Process
Online students have a specific complaint process. For information about this process, see the Distance Education Authorization page.
Student Procedures: Complaint, Grievance, and Appeals
Formal Resolution of a Student Grievance
In those instances where an informal process is not applicable or where the result of that process is unsatisfactory, the student needs to follow the procedures included in the link below, which require the submission of a written complaint:
Formal Resolution of a Student Grievance
For details on University policies, visit Institutional Policies.