Who can make a complaint or academic appeal?
18A provider’s complaints and academic appeals procedures are for its students. The term "student" refers to students, trainees or apprentices who have registered or enrolled on their course. It also includes those who have recently left a provider. It is good practice for providers to set out a deadline for students to raise complaints or make appeals, once they are no longer a student. Providers should apply the deadline flexibly, and be willing to consider whether any former student has a good reason for making their complaint or appeal after this time.
19Students should have confidence that they won’t be disadvantaged by making a complaint and it should not be necessary to make a complaint anonymously. A provider may decide to consider an anonymous complaint if there are good reasons for the matter to be investigated, for example because the complaint raises safeguarding issues, or issues that may affect a number of students or a whole department or course. Providers should explain to all students that raising a concern anonymously might change the way that the provider can investigate the issue, and limit how it can respond to and support the students concerned. For example, a provider will not usually be able to issue a Completion of Procedures Letter if it doesn’t know who made the complaint, so the student might not be able to bring their complaint to us. Providers should explain to students that complaints that are not anonymous are still treated confidentially as far as possible.
20To bring a complaint to the OIA a student must be or have been a registered student at a provider that is a member of our Scheme. Providers may have separate processes for applicants to make a complaint or to challenge decisions about who to admit to a course. Providers may choose to apply the principles in this Framework to those processes, but people who are only applicants and are not registered students may not bring a complaint to us at the end of those processes.
21Similarly, providers may have separate complaints processes to address matters raised by members of the public or members of staff, but only students can complain to the OIA.
22Many providers deliver courses that result in awards across the full range of levels within the UK Frameworks for HE Qualifications. It is good practice to provide students with a route of complaint or appeal regardless of their level of study. It is important that providers direct students to the right process for their level and type of study and direct them to the OIA when relevant.