Initial consideration of the complaint (Rule 10)
38We normally ask students to complete a Complaint Form which sets out their complaint and what they would like to happen to put things right. The Complaint Form also asks for information about the higher education provider and the course the student was on. You can find information about the Complaint Form on our website.
38.1We can offer the student help with completing the Complaint Form, and we may accept the complaint in another format if the student is not able to complete the Complaint Form for reasons related to a disability.
38.2It is for us to decide whether a complaint is something we can look at and we consider each complaint on its individual merits. If a higher education provider thinks that the complaint is not something we can look at, it should explain this in its Completion of Procedures Letter. We will take those comments into account.
38.3Where we decide to review a complaint which we would not normally look at, we will explain our reasons to both the student and the provider.
38.4We will normally decide whether we can look at a complaint when we have received a Complaint Form from the student but we may need to ask for some further information. Sometimes we can look at part of a complaint but not all of the issues raised. We will tell the student and the higher education provider what we can and cannot look at within three weeks of receiving the Complaint Form or any further information we have requested. If we decide that we cannot look at a complaint we will tell the student and the higher education provider this, usually in writing, and we will normally explain the reasons for our decision.
38.5Sometimes it does not become clear until we have begun our review that some aspects of the complaint fall outside our Rules. For example, part of the complaint might relate to academic judgment or an employment issue. In these cases we will explain this in our Complaint Outcome.
38.6If the student or the higher education provider thinks we have made the wrong decision about whether we can or cannot review a complaint they may ask us to reconsider our decision. The student or higher education provider should contact the case-handler within 14 days explaining why they disagree with our decision. The decision will then be considered by a different reviewer. The reviewer will write to the student and the higher education provider setting out their decision and the reasons for it.
38.7If we decide that we can review some parts of the complaint but not others and the student tells us that they disagree with our decision, we may set out our final decision in our Complaint Outcome.