GOOD PRACTICE FRAMEWORK - HANDLING COMPLAINTS AND ACADEMIC APPEALS - Good Practice Framework - Handling complaints and academic appeals

7For the purpose of this Framework, a student complaint is:

Some providers use different terminology, for example referring to “concerns”, "grievances" or "representations".

8Examples of issues that students might raise as complaints include:

• the provider not meeting obligations including those outlined in course/student handbooks or a student charter
• misleading or incorrect information in prospectuses or promotional material and other information provided by the provider
• 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
• events causing significant disruption to the normal delivery of a course, service or other aspect of the student experience, such as industrial action or a public health emergency
• bullying or harassment by another student or a staff member (if the provider does not have a separate procedure for students to raise these kinds of concerns).
• concerns about policies or procedures relating to financial support, immigration processes or welfare support
• concerns about a service delivered by other organisations or contractors on behalf of the provider that the student feels has affected their learning experience.

9Examples of issues that are not normally handled as complaints include:

• a concern about a decision made by an academic body regarding student progression, academic assessment and awards, which would normally be considered under the academic appeals process.
• a concern raised by a student about the outcome of their own disciplinary process. (At the end of any appeal process, the student could complain to us.)
• a concern about a decision made under other specific regulations, such as fitness to practise. (At the end of any appeal process, the student could complain to us.)
• matters relating to the Student Loans Company, which has its own complaints procedures.

10A student complaint will usually be about something that has a direct impact on the person making the complaint. Where a student has a more general concern about policies or actions of a provider, there may be other ways to raise the matter. For example, a student representative body might routinely discuss concerns raised by individual students with senior leaders on behalf of the whole student body.

11It is good practice to allow students to raise any issue as a complaint where there are no other formal processes for the student to get a response to their concern.