Maintaining confidentiality
155.Complaints and academic appeals should be handled with an appropriate level of confidentiality, with information shared only with those who need it for the purposes of investigating or responding to the complaint or academic appeal. No-one should be told any more about the investigation than is strictly necessary to get information required from them. It is good practice to remind people involved in the investigation or review of complaints and appeals that there is an expectation of confidentiality, and that they should not share the information.
156.Students can ask for their complaint or academic appeal or elements of it (for example, a statement from a witness or medical evidence) to be kept confidential. Providers will need to balance individuals’ requests for confidentiality against the needs of the investigation. It is good practice for procedures to set out the circumstances in which the entire complaint or academic appeal – or elements of it – can be kept confidential, and to explain that this might make it difficult to investigate properly or to resolve the student’s issues. It may be possible to limit the number of people information is shared with or to summarise or anonymise it.
157.It’s important that decisions are made consistently especially in the context of academic appeals, and providers should have systems in place to allow decision makers to share information about cases anonymously.
Case study 17: Keeping elements of an appeal confidential
A student makes an academic appeal based on very sensitive personal circumstances. The information is shared only with the Chair of the Exam Board. The Chair is satisfied that the student has good reason for not disclosing the circumstances earlier. The Chair explains to the rest of the appeal panel that the student’s circumstances were severe and applied at a particular time. The appeal panel then considers the student’s academic profile without needing to see details about the circumstances they had faced.
158.Sometimes students share information during a complaint or appeal process that may be relevant to supporting their continued studies, such as information about a disability. It is good practice to discuss with the student whether and how this information should be shared within the provider.
159.It is not good practice to ask a student to sign a confidentiality agreement or
non-disclosure agreement as a part of an offer to settle or resolve their complaint. Such agreements can leave the student feeling that their complaint has not been listened to or taken seriously, and can mean that learning from the complaint is lost.
Expectations of behaviour
160.Some people may have difficulties in expressing themselves or communicating clearly, especially when anxious or upset. Some may find it difficult to identify what impact their behaviour might have on other people. It is good practice to consider making adjustments to complaints and appeals processes to support students in accessing them. But it is also important for providers to provide a safe working environment for their staff and to take account of the negative effect that some behaviour can have on them and their work.
161.It is good practice for providers to have in place policies and procedures setting out:
- the expectation that students, their representatives and staff members should act reasonably and fairly towards each other, and treat the processes themselves with respect;
- that the provider has a responsibility to protect its staff against behaviour that might have a negative effect on them or their work;
- whether and how concerns about a student’s behaviour might be considered under separate disciplinary, fitness to practise or support for study procedures.
162.These policies and procedures will set out examples of behaviour that may negatively affect staff or their work and the circumstances when the provider may decide to restrict access to staff or procedures or take other action. The provider should explain to the student any decision to restrict access, and the procedures for reviewing such a decision.
Complaints and academic appeals that are intended to disrupt or with no serious purpose
163.It is good practice for providers to have their own policies for dealing with complaints or academic appeals that have no serious purpose or that are intended to cause disruption or annoyance. Examples include complaints and academic appeals:
- that the provider has previously considered and decided;
- that are about something which a fair-minded person would consider to be trivial;
- that the student is pursuing in a way that is having a seriously negative effect on the provider’s staff or work;
- where the student is looking for a remedy that lacks any serious purpose or value.
164.The provider may decide to terminate consideration of a complaint or academic appeal under this policy. In such cases, the provider should write to the student explaining why it is doing this. The student should be provided with details of how to appeal the decision and any associated timescale. At the end of any appeal process, the provider should issue a Completion of Procedures Letter.
Supporting the student
165.It is good practice to make sure that procedures are available to all students in accessible formats. Providers should consider on a case-by-case basis whether to make reasonable adjustments to procedures to take account of the individual needs of students. It is good practice to keep a record of any adjustments that have been made.
166.Students should be directed towards support services, for example a student representative body, which can provide helpful independent support and advice to those who wish to pursue a complaint or academic appeal. It is good practice to provide students with access to support and advice and, where it is not practical to do so internally, providers should consider making arrangements for students to access support services at neighbouring institutions, partner providers or other local community services.
167.Providers should have in place well-signposted specific support services such as counselling services for students with mental health issues. Where appropriate, providers should also direct students to external services. If a student appears unable to engage effectively with the complaints or academic appeals procedures, the provider may wish to suggest that the student appoints a representative. It may be appropriate to suspend the consideration of a complaint or academic appeal until the student has accessed appropriate support.
Straightforward language
168.Providers should make their regulations and procedures accessible and write them clearly and in straightforward language. Footnotes should be kept to a minimum and acronyms should be defined.
169.Procedures and guidance should be written in English and/or Welsh, as appropriate, and comply with the Welsh Language Standards where they apply. It is reasonable to expect students whose first language is not English (or Welsh) to be able to follow the complaints or academic appeals processes, as these are the languages used for tuition, but providers may need to be sympathetic to individuals who need a degree of language support.
170.To avoid possible confusion, providers should not use job titles such as "ombudsman", “ombwdsmon”, "ombuds office" or "adjudicator" to describe the roles of those handling complaints and academic appeals.
