Students should first attempt to handle complaints in consultation with their academic department and the university's Vice Provost for Education. Unresolved complaints may be directed to the official complaint agency in the state or U.S. territory in which your state (or U.S. territory) is located. Through the university’s participation in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), you may access contact information for your state agency and instructions for filing complaints in your state using the SARA State Authorization Guide at http://nc-sara.org/guide/state-authorization-guide. If your state's complaint process is inadequate, complaints may be directed to the official complaint agency in the state or U.S. territory in which your CMU campus, additional location or other instructional site is located.

The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (H.R. 4137) (HEOA) was signed into law on August 14, 2008. This law mandates that we provide you with additional information in a variety of formats.

We have posted information relevant to financial aid on this page so that it is easily accessible to students, parents and the general public. View the HEOA disclosures.

In accordance with Title 34 Code of Federal Regulations Part 668.43(a)(5)(v) regarding information educational institutions must make readily available to enrolled and prospective students, Carnegie Mellon is providing the following professional licensure/certification disclosures:

School of Architecture

The Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) and the Master of Architecture (M.Arch) degree programs are National Architecture Accrediting Board (NAAB)-accredited degree programs and meet the educational requirements for architectural licensure in all US States and the District of Columbia. Since each state has additional requirements for architectural licensure and those requirements vary among the states, students are advised to review the requirements for architectural licensure of the state in which they intend to obtain their license. The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) website and individual state architectural licensing board websites are good resources for researching additional architectural licensure requirements by state.

School of Music, Teacher Education Certification

Carnegie Mellon has determined that the Carnegie Mellon K-12 Music Education Certification program meets the educational requirements for educator licensure for instrumental, vocal, and general music (K-12) in the public schools of Pennsylvania, but has not determined whether it meets the educational requirements for educator licensure in other states or the District of Columbia. Students should also be aware that each state also has additional educator licensure requirements and those requirements vary among the states.  Students are advised to review the requirements for educator licensure of the state in which they intend to obtain their license prior to starting the academic program. Individual state educator licensing board websites are good resources for researching additional educator licensure requirements by state.

Pennsylvania also participates as a reciprocating state, which allows for educators holding an educator’s license in one state to earn a license in another state, subject to meeting specific state specific requirements of the other state. Information about educator licensure in Pennsylvania may be found on the PA Department of Education Website.

CIT/School of Engineering, Undergraduate Degree Programs

Carnegie Mellon’s engineering programs (Mechanical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Electrical and Computer Engineering) are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. In order to obtain professional engineer licensure in any state, students must graduate from an ABET-accredited program and meet testing and/or work experience requirements of the state in which they intend to obtain their license. Students are advised to review the requirements for professional engineer licensure of the state in which they intend to obtain their license. Information about professional engineer licensure in Pennsylvania may be found on the PA Department of State website. The National Society of Professional Engineers website and individual state professional engineer licensing board websites are good resources for researching additional professional engineer licensure requirements by state.

Under the code of federal regulations (CFR) 600.9(c)(2)(iii) regarding state authorization requirements, an educational institution must make a determination regarding the state in which a student is located at the time of the student's initial enrollment in an educational program and, if applicable, upon formal receipt of information from the student, in accordance with the institution's procedures, that the student's location has changed to another state. Students are expected to review and update their off-campus residence and their permanent address in Student Information Online (SIO) at the beginning of each academic year and when they change their local and/or permanent addresses. For purposes of state authorization requirements, student location will be determined based on information in the Carnegie Mellon Student Information System (S3) in the following order:

1. Student’s academic program code and;
2. Student’s campus address, or;
3. Student’s off-campus residence (if #1 and #2 cannot ascertain location) or;
4. Student’s permanent address (if #1, #2, and #3 cannot ascertain location).

Effective July 1, 2019, Carnegie Mellon University decided to execute the U.S. Department of Education's Early Implementation of the Rescission of the Gainful Employment Rule. Institutions that implement early are no longer required to post the Gainful Employment disclosure template and may remove the template and any other Gainful Employment disclosures that were previously required from their webpages. For more information, please contact the Student Financial Aid Office at 412-268-1353.

Carnegie Mellon University selects its first-year students from a large group of very qualified candidates. Carnegie Mellon does not collect or review criminal history information as part of the undergraduate admission process. However, individuals who are admitted to Carnegie Mellon will be required to disclose any past criminal conviction as a part of the enrollment process.

During the enrollment process, if a student discloses a criminal conviction, the information will provided to the Associate Vice President for Community Standards and Diversity Initiatives in Student Affairs. Per the policy for Review After a Charge or Conviction of a Crime, the Office of Community Standards and Integrity will review any applicable matters in accordance with the university community standards process outlined in The Student Handbook, The Word. Students are not required to disclose arrests and/or charges that did not result in a conviction or any matter that was adjudicated as a juvenile delinquent or with youthful offender status. Additionally, students are not required to disclose any criminal conviction that has been expunged, sealed, overturned, annulled, pardoned, destroyed, erased, impounded or otherwise required by law or ordered by a court to be kept confidential.