Complaints against TEAC policy

Teacher Education Accreditation Council

Complaints Against TEAC Policy (V)

Complaints by accredited programs or other parties about the operations of TEAC shall be brought to the attention of the President of TEAC. The matter shall be investigated by the President, who shall bring the matter to the attention of the Officers of the Board within 30 days of receipt of the complaint. The Officers of the Board will then make a determination of the appropriate action, if any, to be taken in response to the complaint. Complaints involving the President shall be brought to the attention of the Chair of the Board within 30 days of its receipt. The chair shall investigate the matter and accept a written statement from the President prior to review by the Officers of the Board. In either case the Board, or it Executive Committee, will respond to the complaints within 90 days of its receipt by TEAC.

TEAC will only consider written complaints where the complainant is identified. The written complaint should include relevant information to support the allegation. The complainant should demonstrate that a serious effort was made to resolve the issue through a program's own quality control procedures before Steps 1-8 (below) are implemented.

A complaint received by TEAC will be acknowledged in writing and reviewed by the TEAC President.
If the President determines that the complaint is not within the scope of TEAC's policies, he or she will so inform the complainant within 30 days of receipt of the complaint. If the President considers it necessary at this time, he/she will refer the complainant to appropriate federal, state, and other agencies (as outlined in the U. S. Department of Education's regulations, §602.27 & §602.28).
If the complaint appears to be within the scope of TEAC's responsibility and is documented, a copy of the complaint will be forwarded to the program head who must respond in 30 days. The identity of the complainant, if requested by the complainant, shall be held in confidence.
If the program acknowledges that the complaint is valid, it will advise TEAC in writing as to what actions it is taking to rectify the situation.
If the program denies the validity of the complaint, it must assure TEAC that the program policies, and processes are occurring as they were represented in the Inquiry Brief or Inquiry Brief Proposal and that the complaint does not represent a breach of TEAC's principles of quality and standards of capacity for quality.
If no response is received from the program, a second request will be sent. If no response again is received within 30 days, or if the program is unable to provide the assurance required in Step 5 that it remains in compliance with TEAC's principles of quality and standards, the President of TEAC will place the matter on the agenda for action at the next meeting of the TEAC Board of Directors, a special meeting of the TEAC Board of Directors, or a meeting of the Executive Committee.
At the next meeting of the Board or the Executive Committee, the members will review the program's responses and decide whether (a) the complaint should be dismissed, (b) the complaint should be investigated further, (c) the complaint should be referred to an appropriate committee of TEAC, or (d) the program's accreditation status should be changed. A written response that details the basis for the Board's decision will be sent within thirty days of this meeting to the program head.
The TEAC Board will then inform the complainant and the program of the actions it has taken with regard to the complaint in writing within thirty (30) days.