Student Complaint Procedure
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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 views of students are sought by a variety of means, however, UEL believes that students should be provided with the opportunity to express concerns about all aspects of its operation through making a complaint.
What does the procedure cover?
The regulations are intended to cater for situations where a student has a serious complaint concerning:
- the delivery of a programme upon which he or she is enrolled, which cannot be resolved by informal processes;
- a service provided by our University which cannot be resolved by informal processes.
What is not covered by the procedure?
Please note that the Complaints Procedure does not cover the following categories, for which separate procedures exist:
- appeals against the decisions of Assessment Boards;
- appeals against the decisions of the Extenuation Panel;
- complaints against the Students' Union;
- appeals against decisions taken under disciplinary proceedings (see Part 12, Manual of General Regulations);
- complaints about businesses operating on University premises, but not owned by our university - contact business directly;
- complaints about the behaviour of other students (Part 12, Manual of General Regulations);
- appeals against the decisions of Academic Misconduct Panels (Part 8, Manual of General Regulations);
- appeals against the decisions of Attendance Appeal Panels
Please note that no complaints can be made that relate to a matter of academic judgment.
Before you complain
Before submitting a complaint students are advised to consider whether there are other more suitable ways for them to express their concerns. For example, this may be through programme committees, module evaluation questionnaires, or discussing the matter with your module or programme leader.
If you decide to complain - Stage 1 process
Complaints should normally be raised within one calendar month of the event which has given rise to the complaint or, if a series of events has given rise to a complaint, within one calendar month of the final event in the series.
Students are expected to take every opportunity to resolve a complaint before escalating the matter to the next stage of the process.
Stage 1 of the process must be exhausted before a complaint can progress further. You are required to complete the Stage 1 form when you refer your complaint to a staff member. Both of you should sign this form if you have made an arrangement that resolves your complaint, that requires action; or if a solution cannot be found. At the end of the informal stage the student will be provided with a written response to his/her complaint, which will either:
- Detail the proposed resolution;
- or If no resolution has been proposed, explain why.
Overview of the formal stage 2 process
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 appropriate form (see guidance notes below for more information) - this will be assessed by Complaints & Appeals and granted only in exceptional, certified circumstances.
You should include evidence to support your Stage 2 complaint i.e.. Handbooks, regulations, HUB tickets, email correspondence.
You may wish to contact the Students' Union Advice and Information Service, however, deadlines in this policy should be adhered to; do not delay dealing with your complaint waiting for a Student Union appointment. You may contact the Advice and Information Service on +44 (0)20 8223 7025 or email studentadvice@uel.ac.uk .
You can find the online Formal Complaint Form below. For further details of UEL's Complaints Procedure and the various stages please view the following:
Further information
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. Please ensure that your completed Stage 2 - Formal Complaints Form clearly specifies the outcome that you are seeking to your complaint. The current Complaints Procedure is to be applied to any complaints which are received by the Complaints and Appeals Officers from 1 September 2017. To view archived versions of the policy, please follow the links below:
If you require the Complaints Form in a different format to that available then please email Institutional Compliance.
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 Institutional Compliance who will be able to advise.
Guidance for Investigating Officers
This document may be of assistance when investigating complaints. For further assistance please contact the complaints and appeals office: complaints@uel.ac.uk