MedRise
Menu

Where to report a problem with a medical school outside the U.S.

Pick what happened. You'll see every body that can act on it, what each one can and can't do, and any deadline that may already be running.

Links and rules last checked November 7, 2026. Several federal offices are being reorganized, so open the official page before you file.

Where to start

Most problems go through these steps in this order. Outside deadlines can run while you're still inside the school's process, so check step 4 early.

  1. Write down the dates and save everythingEmails, portal screenshots, grade reports, and the handbook or catalog in force at the time. Policies change, so save dated copies.
  2. Ask the school for your complete file, in writingInclude the policy it applied and every record it used to decide.
  3. Use the school's appeal or grievance processMeet its deadlines. Most outside bodies expect you to try this first.
  4. Check the outside deadlinesCivil rights complaints and student-records complaints are generally due within 180 days. Some loan claims have a three-year window.
  5. File with the body that matches your problemUse the picker above. Most problems belong with more than one.
  6. Get legal advice before any court deadlineFiling with an agency may not pause the time limit to sue.

Every level, from your school up

The levels run from your school outward. Lower levels can fix your individual case. Higher levels mostly judge whether the system below them meets standards, so your report there counts as evidence, not a request for a ruling.

Level 1

Your school

The only level that can directly reverse its own decision or correct its own records.

The school's appeal, grievance and records process

Academic appeals, grievance or ombuds offices, the registrar, the financial aid office, and the disability or accommodations office.

Can
Reverse a decision, correct a grade or record, grant an accommodation, fix an aid error.
Can't
Be a neutral judge of itself. Keep everything in writing.

If your school is covered by FERPA, it must let you see your education records within 45 days of your request, and you can ask it to amend records you believe are inaccurate (34 C.F.R. §§ 99.10, 99.20).

Your handbook's deadlinesAppeal windows are often short. Check the version in force when the decision was made.

Level 2

The school's accreditor

Decides whether the school meets accreditation standards. Accreditors generally don't overturn individual decisions, but a pattern of complaints feeds their reviews.

ACCM (Accreditation Commission on Colleges of Medicine)

Accredits a number of Caribbean and other medical schools and publishes annual reports listing its inspections.

Can
Review whether a school complies with ACCM standards, including how the school handles student complaints.
Can't
Its complaint procedure, as published in the U.S. Department of Education's 2025 review of the accreditor, says it will not intervene for an individual student in admission, promotion or dismissal decisions.
Open ACCM's site

CAAM-HP (Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and Other Health Professions)

Accredits medical and health-professions programs in CARICOM countries.

Can
Decide whether a complaint raises a standards issue and, if so, send it to the dean for a response.
Can't
Investigate individual complaints. It points students to the school's own channels first.
Open CAAM-HP student complaints

Not sure who accredits your school?

Look up the school in the World Directory of Medical Schools. Its program details and Sponsor Notes show accreditation and eligibility notes.

Shows
Whether ECFMG lists the school as eligible, and whether its accreditation meets Intealth's Recognized Accreditation Policy.
Doesn't
A listing is not an endorsement or accreditation by the directory.
Search the World Directory

Level 3

Who checks the accreditor

These bodies judge accreditors and countries, not individual students. They matter because their decisions control federal loans and exam eligibility.

NCFMEA (National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation)

The U.S. committee that decides whether a country's medical school accreditation standards are comparable to U.S. standards. That finding is required for the country's schools to offer federal Direct Loans.

Can
Take written third-party comments when it reviews a country, and ask an accreditor for special reports.
Can't
Resolve your individual dispute or review a single school's decision.

Under a November 18, 2025 agreement, the Department of Health and Human Services provides staff expertise and coordinates NCFMEA's meetings, while the Department of Education keeps policy and legal oversight. Meeting agendas list each country under review. Staff reports and decision letters are posted on ED's E-Recognition site.

Open NCFMEAStaff reports on E-Recognition

WFME (World Federation for Medical Education)

Runs a global program that recognizes medical school accrediting agencies. It does not accredit individual schools.

Use it to
Check whether your school's accreditor is recognized, and until when.
Can't
Act on a complaint about an individual school decision.
Check recognition status

ECFMG (part of Intealth)

Decides whether international students and graduates are eligible for ECFMG Certification. That eligibility is required to take the USMLE. ECFMG does not accredit or endorse schools.

Know this
Dismissed or withdrawn students are not eligible for the USMLE, even while appealing. You must tell ECFMG in writing right away.
Risk
Not reporting a status change can lead to a finding of irregular behavior and a permanent note on your record.

ECFMG's 2026 booklet says USMLE services for international applicants are moving to the USMLE co-sponsors. Check the current booklet before you act.

Read ECFMG's student rules

Level 4

U.S. federal agencies

These agencies control the federal money and the civil rights rules. Several are being reorganized in 2026, but complaints still go in through the same official pages.

Federal Student Aid Feedback Center

The Department of Education's intake for complaints about federal student aid, including how a school handled your aid, and for reporting suspicious activity.

Can
Open a case, contact the school or servicer, and track the outcome.
Can't
Rule on grades, dismissal or other academic decisions.
Open the Feedback Center

FSA Ombudsman Group

A neutral office for federal aid disputes you couldn't resolve through the school, your servicer or the Feedback Center.

Can
Research your dispute and push for a fix. Phone 1-800-433-3243.
Can't
Act as your first stop. It asks you to try the other channels first.
Contact the Ombudsman

Borrower defense to repayment

Asks the Department of Education to cancel federal Direct Loans because the school misled you or broke certain rules.

Can
Discharge some or all of the affected federal loans if the claim is approved.
Can't
Cover private loans. The standard you must meet depends on when your loans were first disbursed.

For loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2020, the 2019 rules apply. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (July 4, 2025) kept them for loans that originate before July 1, 2035.

3 yearsFor loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2020, claims are due within three years of leaving the school.

Open borrower defense

Student Privacy Policy Office (FERPA complaints)

Handles complaints that a school denied access to your education records, refused to consider an amendment, or disclosed records improperly.

Can
Investigate and require the school to comply with FERPA.
Can't
Change a grade because you disagree with it. FERPA covers whether a record is accurate, not whether the decision was fair.

180 daysFrom the violation, or from when you knew or should have known about it.

File a FERPA complaint

Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education

Handles discrimination complaints based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age, including disability accommodations.

Can
Investigate, mediate and reach resolution agreements with the school.
First
OCR reviews each complaint to decide whether it can take it, including whether it has jurisdiction.

Under a June 2026 agreement, OCR may refer many complaints to the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division to investigate. You still file with OCR.

180 daysGenerally from the discrimination. Filing later requires a waiver.

File with OCR

Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice

Takes reports of civil rights violations, including discrimination in education programs and disability access.

Can
Investigate and bring federal enforcement actions.
Can't
Take every report. It chooses which ones to pursue.
Report to DOJ

Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Education

Investigates fraud, waste and abuse involving Department of Education funds, including theft or misuse of federal student aid by schools or school officials.

Can
Open an investigation and refer cases for prosecution or recovery. You can ask to stay anonymous.
Can't
Resolve your personal dispute or speed up a Federal Student Aid case.
Open the OIG hotline

FOIA and Privacy Act requests to the Department of Education

FOIA requests get agency records about a school. Privacy Act requests get the Department's records about you, such as your loan records.

Can
Release records the Department holds, such as correspondence, program review files or your own aid history.
Can't
Release exempt material. Requests for student loan records need a certification of identity.
Make a FOIA or Privacy Act request

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Takes complaints about student loans and servicers, including private loans that Federal Student Aid doesn't handle.

Can
Send your complaint to the company for a response and log it in a public database without your personal details.
Can't
Review academic decisions.
File with the CFPB

Federal Trade Commission

Collects reports of deceptive marketing and scams, including student loan relief scams.

Can
Add your report to the database that law enforcement agencies use for investigations.
Can't
Resolve individual complaints.
Report to the FTC

GI Bill School Feedback Tool, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

For students using VA education benefits. Covers misleading recruiting, quality and other problems with a school.

Can
Contact the school on your behalf and work toward a resolution.
Can't
Help if you didn't use VA benefits at that school.
Submit school feedback

Level 5

State attorneys general

States enforce consumer protection laws against businesses operating in them, including a foreign school's U.S. offices.

Your state attorney general's consumer protection office

File where the problem happened. That can mean the state where the school runs its U.S. administrative office, and the state where you live or did rotations.

Can
Mediate some complaints, investigate patterns and bring enforcement actions.
Can't
Act as your private lawyer.
Find your attorney general

Level 6

Courts and legal help

Courts are where you can sue for damages. Court deadlines are strict and differ by state and by claim.

Free and low-cost legal help

Legal aid programs funded by the Legal Services Corporation, law school clinics, and your state bar's lawyer referral service.

Can
Tell you which claims you have, what your deadlines are, and whether to file in court.
Watch for
Income limits at many legal aid offices. Ask anyway.
Find legal aid

A whistleblower lawyer, if you suspect fraud on federal aid

Fraud involving federal student aid can support a whistleblower case under the False Claims Act. These cases have strict filing rules.

Do
Talk to a whistleblower lawyer before you go public or file records requests about the fraud.
Why
Public disclosures, including some agency records responses, can affect who is allowed to bring the case.

How federal aid works at medical schools outside the U.S.

Federal loans at an international medical school pass through several layers of approval. Each layer leaves a public record you can check before you enroll, or when something goes wrong.

CongressHigher Education Act, Title IV

Controls

Which schools can offer federal aid, and how much students can borrow.

What changed

From July 1, 2026, Grad PLUS ends for new borrowers. Professional students can borrow up to $50,000 a year and $200,000 in total in Direct Unsubsidized Loans, with a $257,500 lifetime cap on federal loans. Some students already borrowing for their program qualify for a limited exception that ends by July 1, 2029.

U.S. Department of EducationFederal Student Aid

Controls

Approves the school to offer Direct Loans through a signed Program Participation Agreement, then monitors it with financial responsibility tests, letters of credit, cash monitoring and program reviews.

Check

NCFMEASupported by HHS since November 2025

Controls

Whether the school's country uses accreditation standards comparable to U.S. standards. Without that finding, the country's schools can't offer Direct Loans.

Check

The accreditorApproved for that country

Controls

Accredits the school and inspects its campus, administrative office and clinical sites on its own schedule.

Check

The accreditor's annual reports and accredited-school list, and its WFME recognition status.

The school34 C.F.R. § 600.55

Must

  • Be accredited by a body whose standards NCFMEA found comparable
  • Run a program of at least 32 months
  • Have formal affiliation agreements with hospitals and clinics where clinical training happens
  • Meet a 75 percent USMLE pass rate unless the law exempts it
  • Tell its accreditor within one year about material changes, including to clinical training

Check

The school's catalog, handbook and consumer information. Save dated copies, because these change.

YouThe borrower

Receive

Federal aid at these schools comes only through the Direct Loan program.

Check

Your own loan and disbursement history in your StudentAid.gov account. For fuller records, use a Privacy Act request.

Who handles what in 2026

The Department of Education still owns these programs, but it has moved day-to-day work out through interagency agreements. Treasury is taking over collection of defaulted federal student loans (March 19, 2026). HHS supports NCFMEA (November 18, 2025). The Justice Department may investigate many civil rights complaints filed with OCR (June 2026). Complaints still start at the official pages listed above.

Checking a school's federal standing

  1. Find the school in the World DirectoryRead its Sponsor Notes for ECFMG eligibility and Recognized Accreditation.
  2. Find its country in NCFMEA's decisionsNote the last decision date and any special report requested.
  3. Search the cash monitoring and letter of credit listsBoth are published as quarterly or yearly files by school name.
  4. Read the accreditor's latest reportLook for the school's accreditation term and recent inspections.

Checking your own record

  1. Log in to StudentAid.govDownload your aid summary with every disbursement and the school that reported it.
  2. Match it against your school accountCompare dates, amounts and any returned funds after a leave or withdrawal.
  3. Ask for what's missingRequest records from the school, then use a Privacy Act request for the Department's records.

Know this before you file

  • Agency complaints may not stop the clockFiling with OCR, the student privacy office or an accreditor may not pause your deadline to sue. Check court deadlines separately.
  • Stick to what you can proveEvery complaint you file can be read later by the school and by a court. Describe dates and documents, not guesses about motive.
  • Tell ECFMG about a status changeIf you're dismissed or withdrawn, tell ECFMG in writing right away, even while you appeal. A leave of absence after you apply for a USMLE exam needs notice too.
  • Keep one consistent timelineUse the same dates in every complaint. Differences between filings get noticed.
  • Talk to a lawyer first if you suspect fraudGoing public or filing records requests can affect a later whistleblower case.
  • Watch for scamsFiling a complaint with these agencies is free. Be wary of anyone who charges to file one for you.

Coming soon: the MedRise Reporting Playbook

This page tells you where to go. The Playbook will walk you through each filing, with step-by-step guides for every agency above, letter templates (full-file request, FERPA amendment, accreditor complaint, NCFMEA third-party comment, FOIA and Privacy Act requests), a deadline worksheet, and a guide to reading a school's federal records. Written materials only, not legal advice.

Join the waitlist

MedRise is not a law firm, and this page is not legal advice. It is general information and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Rules vary by state and by the facts of your situation. MedRise is not affiliated with any agency, accreditor or organization listed here. Links go to official pages, and agencies change their rules and websites, so check the official page before you file. Last checked November 7, 2026. Found an outdated link? Email [email protected].