Students

Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

The SANS Technology Institute (SANS.edu) is committed to assisting students with documented disabilities. SANS.edu will provide reasonable accommodations according to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1991. Accommodations will provide students with a fair and equal opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skill in the functions being assessed by the academic requirement.

To apply for an accommodation, a written request, accompanied by supporting documentation on official letterhead from the student's healthcare provider that explains the nature of the disability and specifies the exact accommodation(s) needed, should be submitted within two weeks of beginning the course. Late requests will be addressed as quickly as possible and to the best of the organization's ability, resources, policies, and standards. Our staff will coordinate accommodation requests with SANS, GIAC, and SANS.edu faculty.

Students in the SANS.edu application process and current students should submit their course and exam accommodations using the following steps, as early as possible. 

1. Students with accommodation requests for courses should review that process and start the submission process here, making sure to select "SANS Technology Institute Student" under learner type. 
2. Students with accommodation requests for exams should review that process and start the submission process here.
3. Once accommodation requests have been submitted, please send an email with your name and that you submitted for course and/or exam accommodations to studentservices@sans.edu for further coordination.

For prospective students not yet admitted to SANS.edu: You will have the opportunity to request information on accommodations in the application form. Please note that a request for accommodations is not visible in the application review and admission decision process.

Complaints and Appeal Process

The SANS Technology Institute is committed to treating all students fairly. The primary objective of our student complaint process is to ensure that concerns are dealt with promptly, and resolutions are reached in a fair and just manner.

Step 1: Contact your student advisor

We encourage students to first contact their student advisor to seek guidance or resolution for a issue. Issues such as access to course material, receipt of course books, or problems processing a course registration can often be resolved easily by a student advisor.  

Step 2: Contact the Dean of Students Office

If your student advisor is unable to provide a resolution to the issue, contact the Dean of Students Office at DeanofStudents@sans.edu.

The following are examples of types of complaints that can often be resolved in this step.

• Administrative complaints, such as issues registration, billing, advising, Title IX, and ADA accommodations
• Academic complaints, such as issues with grading, or interactions with student advisors, faculty, or research advisors
• Probation or dismissal appeals, an appeal against academic probation or dismissal within 30 days of notice. If you are appealing academic probation or you must demonstrate: a. Extreme or unusual circumstances beyond your control that caused failure to meet the minimum standard, and; b. Resolution of the issue(s) that caused the deficit, and; c. Assurance that the issue(s) will not affect your performance in the future.

Students should expect a response regarding complaints within 5 business days of receipt.

Step 3: File a formal complaint

After exhausting the informal resolution process, you may file a formal complaint. A formal complaint will initiate an investigation of your concerns, a formal process to determine whether any college policies have been violated, and if so, what the appropriate outcomes would be. To file a formal complaint, write a letter providing a detailed explanation, including supporting documentation, of your complaint, and submit it to the Provost’s Office at Provost@sans.edu. You will receive written notification of the final decision within two weeks of receipt. All decisions are final.

Step 4: External appeal

A student who is not satisfied with the outcome of their formal complaint with SANS Technology Institute may elevate the complaint (except for complaints about grades or student conduct violations), within two years of the incident, to the following external bodies.

• First, appeal to Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC). MHEC contact information is located at http://mhec.maryland.gov/About/Pages/contactus.aspx.
• If satisfactory resolution is not obtained via MHEC, students residing outside of Maryland may, as a final option, elevate their appeal to the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA), of which the SANS Technology Institute is a member for the purposes of regulating students outside of Maryland. NC-SARA contact information is located at https://nc-sara.org/contacts.

Students should be aware that, as per SANS Technology Institute, MHEC, and SARA agreement, complaints against an institution operating under SARA must first go through the institution's own procedures. Complaints regarding student grades or student conduct violations are governed entirely by institutional policy and the laws of MHEC.

Final step: Closing the loop