Student Complaint Procedure

Student Complaint Procedure

‌Integral to our University's approach to the monitoring and enhancement of all aspects of its operation are students' views.

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‌Integral to our University's approach to the monitoring and enhancement of all aspects of its operation are students' views.

‌The University is committed to providing a high-quality experience for each student. It recognises, however, that on occasion a student may be dissatisfied with or concerned about an aspect of their experience and may wish to pursue this further. The University encourages students to inform it where there is any cause for concern or where there may be an opportunity to make improvements. This Complaints Procedure, and associated policy, enables students to make complaints.

What does the procedure cover?

The regulations are intended to cater for situations where a student has a serious complaint concerning:

  • concerns about the delivery of a programme, teaching or administration including, where applicable, delivery by a partner provider
  • poor quality of learning resources or facilities
  • poor quality services

What is not covered by the procedure?

This Complaints Procedure does not cover the following (separate procedures exist for these as noted in brackets):

  • Appeals relating to decisions made by an Assessment Board regarding assessment, progression or award. (Manual of General Regulations Part 7);
  • Complaints relating to a case of Academic Misconduct (Manual of General Regulations, Part 8);
  • Matters relating to fitness to practise (Manual of General Regulations, Part 13 – Suitability Procedure);
  • Complaints relating to the Students Union (UELSU operates a separate Grievance and Complaints Procedure accessible via its website);
  • Complaints relating to provision of services wholly within the remit of a collaborative partner or to the action or lack of action of staff employed by a collaborative partner except where these relate to academic matters which fall within the remit of UEL (see Appendix A for further information);
  • Complaints made by students against students (see Dignity at Work and Study Policy) where these relate to allegations of bullying or harassment;
  • For private matters in which the University cannot intervene save where such matters relate to a breach of the Manual of General Regulations, in which case they should be reported to the relevant Dean of School or Professional Service for appropriate action as disciplinary issues.

Complaints stages and process

Stage 1: Local Resolution

Complaints should normally be raised within one calendar month of the event which has given rise to the complaint. Any complaints submitted outside of the prescribed time limits are difficult to investigate, given the passage of time, however we may exceptionally consider complaints outside of one calendar month, at the discretion of the University. The university will consider the individuals circumstances, the nature and seriousness of the issues raised, and whether it is still reasonably possible to investigate the events. If you submit a complaint outside of our time limits, and we don’t consider it exceptional, we will issue you with a letter explaining that you are out of time. This is called a Completion of Procedures letter. Complaints will be dealt with initially at the level at which the event leading to the complaint occurred. This could be either to a module or course leader or personal tutor or within the relevant service department, for example. Wherever possible the student should address the complaint to the member of staff most directly involved in the event leading to the complaint, in order to give that person the opportunity to address the concerns.

You should expect to receive an outcome to your Stage 1 Local Resolution outcome within one calendar month. Should the complaint investigators require additional time, you will be notified of the revised timeframe in advance.

At the end of the informal stage the student will be provided with a written response to their complaint, which will either:

  • Detail the proposed resolution; or
  • If no resolution has been proposed, an explanation as to why

You can find out more by reading Stage 1: Local Resolution: Complaint procedure, section 3.2.

Stage 1 complaint form

Stage 2: Formal Complaint

If you are dissatisfied with the Stage 1 Local Resolution outcome, you may escalate this to the next Stage 2 Formal Complaint procedure within one calendar month of receiving your Stage 1: Local Resolution outcome.

Each stage of the process should be exhausted before moving on to the next stage, however, matters of a very serious or sensitive nature may be escalated to Stage 2 where appropriate. A student wishing a complaint to progress to Stage 2 should complete and submit the form below. This will be assessed by Complaints & Appeals and granted only in exceptional, certified circumstances.

Once a Complaint Form has been accepted, Complaints & Appeals team will allocate the complaint to a member of staff who has not previously been involved in the matter (the “Investigating Officer”). The allocated member of staff (or Investigating Officer) may meet with the student to discuss the complaint and any potential resolution.

You should expect to receive an outcome to your Stage 2 Formal Complaint within 4 weeks from when it has been assigned to an Investigating Officer. Should the complaint investigators require additional time, you will be notified of the revised timeframe in advance.

Read further information regarding the Stage 2 Formal Complaint procedure, section 3.4.

Stage 3: Review

If the response issued at the conclusion of Stage 2 Formal Complaint is not considered by the student to be satisfactory, they may request a review in writing within ten calendar days from the date of the notification of the outcome of the Formal Complaint.

The review is not a reinvestigation but will look at the University's handling of your complaint.

If the University Secretary determines that there is valid ground for a review, the University Secretary shall review the case. Following a review, the University Secretary may either:

  • Uphold the outcome of the Formal Complaint; or
  • Refer the case back to the school/service with recommendations for reconsideration

Complaints & Appeals will notify the complainant of the outcome of the final stage of the complaint in writing within one calendar month and a Completion of Procedures letter will be issued.

Stage 3 Review form

Office of the Independent Adjudicator

If the student is not satisfied with the outcome of the University’s internal complaints procedures, he/she will be entitled to refer the matter to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) for Higher Education (within parameters set out in the rules issued by the OIA).

Students wishing to put forward a complaint should carefully read the following Part 14 Manual of General Regulations Complaints Procedure detailing the Complaints Procedure, before submitting a complaint form. To view archived versions of the policy, please follow the links below:

If you are a student studying at a partner institution or studying your programme by distance learning and have a query to do with the Complaints Procedure or who to direct your complaint to then please contact the Complaints team – complaints@uel.ac.uk who will be able to advise.

Request an alternative format

If you require any of the complaints forms in an alternative format such as Brail, paper or large print please email complaints@uel.ac.uk and we will respond to your request in 5 days .