What is a complaint?

A complaint is a way to raise concerns about something at the University that is affecting you. It could relate to something that has or hasn't happened, the quality of a service, or the actions of an individual or group.

Any student can submit a complaint through this procedure.

If your complaint involves sexual misconduct or unacceptable behaviour by another student, there's a separate process, detailed on our disciplinary procedure page.

Complaints about staff behaviour are handled under this procedure but require a different form. These complaints may involve accusations of improper or unprofessional behaviour, including bullying or harassment. The University's Report and Support resource can assist in such cases.

We recommend reviewing this page and the University's Student Complaints Procedure before submitting a complaint.

Stage One: Informal Complaints

The University generally expects you to attempt resolving the issue informally before filing a formal complaint. Clearly explain your concerns, how the situation affects you, and request a resolution, providing all necessary information to assist the University in addressing the issue.

The University’s guidelines for who you should contact are:

• For learning and teaching, you should speak with the Unit Director or Programme Lead,
• If you are complaining about your accommodation you can email the student accommodation team or find guidance on the accommodation complaint webpage,
• For any other concerns or if you are unsure who the right person is, contact student complaints.

The discussion may take place in-person, via Teams, or over email. Our advice is to make the initial informal complaint via email so that there is a definite start date and something that you can refer back to.

If you’re unsure whether you want to make an informal complaint, or if you would like us to look at it before you send it, please contact us for advice.

Stage Two: How do I make a formal complaint?

You will need to complete a complaint form and send it to the University's Complaints and Mediation Managers. Within 30 days of when the situation occurred, from the most recent event, or from when you became aware of the issue.

In your complaint you will need to explain what happened, how you were disadvantaged by the situation, and if possible, what rules or policies were not followed correctly. Your complaint might be very individual to you, so there isn't a specific template that you should follow. There are some prompts below that you can consider, or you can send your draft form to us and we can read it and provide feedback.

Things to consider when writing your complaint

• Have you included details about what happened – dates, locations, what form of communication was used etc?
• Is there any background or contextual information that is necessary to understand the situation? For example, that could be a previous pattern of actions or your personal history.
• Have you outlined what happened and what the consequences were?
• Don't assume the University will know how you feel or how you were impacted. If there were consequences from the situation explain them as clearly as possible.
• Were all the policies or processes followed correctly? If not, can you specify which ones and what wasn’t done correctly?

The University will aim to respond to your complaint within 30-days. If you have waited longer than 30-days you can request an update from the Complaints and Mediation Manager.

Submitting Evidence

It's very important to provide evidence to support your complaint if you can. Depending on what you are complaining about, the availability of evidence may be different, but you should aim to include anything that supports what you are saying.

Your evidence should show:

• The situation occurred
• What happened
• How you were negatively affected or disadvantaged by the it

Where possible, try to provide evidence for every situation or set of circumstances you mention in your complaint.

If you're not sure about any of the above, then contact us for advice

What can you ask for in a complaint?

As part of your complaint you will need to request an outcome. These are specific to individual situations, so you will need to consider what you think the right resolution should be. This could be:

• Changes to a process
• Fixing a mistake that occurred
• Asking for an apology
• Anything that you believe is important to resolving the situation

Your outcome will need to be related to your complaint. Our advice is to think about what you think would be needed to fix the issues that you are complaining about and make it clear why that is the case. If you’re not sure what that would be, you can speak to us or the Complaints and Mediation Manager for advice.

What cannot be complained about

• Academic decisions about your progress, assessment and awards can only be challenged via the academic appeal process. This includes resits, being required to withdraw from your course, or your final degree classification. If you’re unsure which process you should be following, please contact us for advice.
• Personal injury claims - claims for compensation for personal injury cannot normally be brought under this procedure, but may be accepted at the discretion of the University Secretary.

Supervisor/Supervision Complaints

If you have concerns about your supervisor or the supervision that you receive, you will only be able to use them in an academic appeal if you raised them at the time they occurred and if you followed the complaints procedure.

If you’re not sure about any of the above, then contact us for advice

Where can I get help with a complaint?

• The University has guidance about complaints available
• You can read the Student Complaints Procedure
• If you want to check on the status of your complaint you can ask the Complaints and Mediation Manager
• You can speak to us, Academic Advice, for support with the process
• The Student Resolution Service can speak to you about making a complaint against another student, including sexual misconduct.