Academic Complaints

If you are concerned with any aspect of your course or a service you have received from the University you may wish to raise this a complaint with the university. Making the University aware of your concern through a complaint gives the opportunity for the situation to be resolved and can have positive effects on future students experiences.

You will not be disadvantaged by submitting a complaint if you are complaining about something you are genuinely concerned about.

You will see from reviewing the complaints procedure that the university expects a student to first try to resolve the issue informally- they refer to this as the Early Resolution phase.

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INFORMAL STAGE

You could do this in a number ofways:

·      Speak to your lecturer or module convenor or send them an email toraise the issue.

·       If you are not sure which team is most appropriate to email you may need to contact your college in the first instance

·       You can also speak to your course rep about problems with teaching and course delivery

What should I include in an informal complaint?

Your complaint will need to outline a timeline of events and explain what part of the service you are unhappy with. You will need to explain the impact this poor service had on and your studies. You will then need to conclude the complaint explaining what you would like as an outcome. This is up to you and will depend on the situation but common resolutions people will ask for are a formal apology, caps to be lifted on referred assessments and/or compensation for the distress caused to you.

It will be important to include evidence of the problemsyou have had such as copies of emails or screenshots of webpages.

The advice team can read over a draft of your complaintand give you feedback on what to add or edit. Please email advice@exeterguild.com with your draft.

What happens after I have submitted an informal complaint?

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Once you have submitted your informal complaint you should get a response inviting you to a meeting within 5 working days or an email considering your complaint within 15 working days.

After you have received this if you are still unhappy with the complaint outcome you have 10 working days after the outcome in which to progress to a formal complaint.

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FORMAL STAGE

If you are unhappy with the outcome of an informal complaint you can progress to a formal complaint within 10 working days of receiving the outcome of your informal complaint.

How to submit a formal complaint

You now can submit a formal complaint directly through your Student Records System (SRS) or via MyExeter. More details of how to submit a complaint can be found in the student guide here: Students' Guide(Complaints)

Your formal complaint will need to include evidence of

What happens after I submit a formal complaint?

You should receive a response within 5 days that acknowledges your complaint.

The university will aim to resolve a formal complaint within 45 calendar days of the complaint being raised. However, at busier times or when a complaint is particularly complex, they may need extra time to consider your complaint. If that is the case, you should be made aware of this delay and told when you can expect a response.

The university will usually ask you to attend a complaint meeting to gather more information about your case and ask questions about your experience. These meetings are kindly undertaken and are an opportunity for you to put more of your side forward so it helps if you can attend it.

We may be able to arrange an advisor to attend this meeting with you. Please get in touch with us via advice@exeterguild.com or fill in an enquiry form to ask about this.

What can I do if I am not happy with the outcome of the formal complaint?

You have 10 working days following the outcome of your formal complaint to submit a review complaint. There are specific grounds for a review complaint that you will need to show how you meet for your review complaint to be considered.

(a) That new and relevant information is available that for good and independently verifiable reasons was not available at the Formal Stage and now ought to be considered.

·      For example, after you submitted your formal complaint you were diagnosed with a health condition that would have impacted you in submitting your complaint.

(b) That at the Formal Stage the Faculty (or delegated School) or Service failed to follow the University's procedures.

(c) That the conduct of the investigation into your complaint was subject to bias and/or prejudice against you.

, (d) The decision reached at the Formal Stage is one at which no reasonable body (properly directing itself, and taking into account all relevant factors) could have arrived at.

Please remember that any complaint needs to be submitted as soon as possible in relation to the issue with which you are dissatisfied.

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CAN I GET HELP WITH MY COMPLAINT?

Yes, you are welcome to contact the Guild Advice Service who can support students who would like help with writing complaints or would just like more information - email advice@exeterguild.com or submit an enquiry.

Depending on the processing of your complaint a meeting may be scheduled to discuss the matter with the relevant University staff members. If you would like support at the meeting we may be able to attend with you. Please note that we cannot represent you, and have no automatic rights to speak, but can be there to help you ensure you are treated fairly and are given the opportunity to make your case and explain your desired outcomes.

WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF BEING SUCCESSFUL?

This is difficult to say as each situation is different. We can sometimes see similar complaints that have gone through to the OIA to gain more information about a similar complaint being successful. The OIA is ombudsman who oversees Higher education and if you were unhappy with the outcome of your complaint you could go to after completion of University procedures.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I AM NOT SUCCESSFUL?

More info coming soon.

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