AZ SARA

At Tohono O’odham Community College (TOCC), we hold ourselves responsible to national standards of quality for distance education and best practices in delivery. We participate in the Arizona State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (AZ SARA), which oversees the offering of online and virtual courses and programs.

SARA Complaint Policy

We are committed to our students’ success by providing holistic, quality higher education services, through in-person, virtual, and online courses and programs. AZ SARA provides a way to address the concerns of out-of-state students about the delivery and quality of TOCC’s virtual and online programs and courses.

Complaint Process

• For any kind of complaint, we encourage students to try to resolve the situation informally, speaking directly with the instructor, staff member, or other student who is involved. If the informal approach does not work, the student may file a grade appeal or student complaint.
• For grievances about grades and other instructional matters, the Student Handbook describes the “Grading Complaints & Appeal Process.” Grade Appeal Committee decisions are final.
• For non-academic complaints, the Student Handbook lays out the “Non-Grading Student Complaint Process.” This policy includes the steps for review and resolution, as well as two levels of appeal, to the President’s Office and to the Board of Trustees.
• The highese level of appeal for in-state or resident students who have complaints is the TOCC Board of Trustees.
• For out-of-state distance-education students, if they have gone through TOCC’s complaint and appeals processes and are not satisfied, then they may file a complaint through the AZ SARA Council portal.
• The AZ SARA Council will “address concerns related to distance education activities (online learning, sufficiency of support for distance education students, and related activities) from out-of-state students” (NC-SARA, A Resource for Students: Frequently Asked Questions about Filing a SARA Complaint, page 2).
• You have the right to file a SARA complaint about TOCC.