Trainee Complaint Procedures
We expect that our trainees and faculty, as members of the Columbia University community, both those participating remotely or in person, will uphold the highest standards of respect, integrity, and civility. These core values are key components of the university experience and reflect the community’s expectations of its members. (For more information, please see the University’s website.)
If a trainee is experiencing significant obstacles in learning, or a trainee or teacher experiences another member of the community as not upholding these standards, the problem should be addressed directly with that member. If the matter is not resolved, the Center has in place a four-tiered system of intervention, decision-making, and appeal:
- Matters between teacher and student are first referred back to the teacher and student to resolve with facilitation by the chair of training, if necessary. We encourage those involved to address the matter directly and attempt to arrive at a resolution jointly.
- Any matter not resolved at that level should be referred to the training committee (see Committees below) for exploration and resolution.
- Should the training committee’s resolution not be satisfactory to any of the parties involved, the matter may be appealed to the Center’s director.
- Anyone wishing to appeal the director’s decision may initiate an external appeal to the Department of Psychiatry’s Vice Chair for Education, Melissa Arbuckle, MD.
Complaints Regarding Distance Education
Students enrolled in both the Online and NYC-based campuses follow the same policies and procedures for addressing student grievances, should any such issues or concerns arise while studying at Columbia. Information on how to file grievances, either academic or non-academic, can be found above.
Additional information on Distance Education Complaints can be found here: https://vptli.columbia.edu/policies/distedcomplaints/.
Student consumer complaints against an institution operating under SARA (https://nc-sara.org/) must first go through the institution’s own procedures for the resolution of grievances. Students should first address complaints to the school within Columbia where they are registered.
Student consumer complaints regarding programs at the Psychoanalytic Center should be directed to psychoanalysis@columbia.edu.
Complaints regarding student assessments or student conduct violations are governed entirely by institutional policy and the laws of New York State. If a person bringing a complaint is not satisfied with the outcome of the institutional process for handling complaints, the complaint (except for complaints about grades or student conduct violations) may be appealed, within two years of the incident about which the complaint is made, to the SARA Portal Entity in the home state of the institution against which the complaint has been lodged.
Andrea Richards
Supervisor, Higher Education Programs
New York State Education Department
89 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12234
518.474.1551
IHEauthorize@nysed.gov
Additional information about complaint procedures can be found here: