Student Complaints

POLICY

1. General Principles
  1. The University of Southampton is committed to ensuring that we provide for our students a high quality educational experience supported by appropriate academic, administrative and pastoral support services and facilities. We recognise, however, that there may be occasions when students will feel that they have cause for complaint. In this context, a complaint is defined as an expression of dissatisfaction either about the academic programmes, facilities or services provided by the University, or about actions or lack of actions by the University or its staff.

  2. The University will seek to ensure that all complaints are treated seriously, positively and constructively. It will also seek to ensure that complaints are dealt with promptly, with fairness and consistency and with due regard to the University's Equal Opportunities Policy. If a complaint is found to be justified, the University will take such action or provide such remedy as may be appropriate and will do so promptly. If a complaint is not upheld, the reasons for the decision will be communicated to the complainant.

  3. Complainants will not suffer any disadvantage or recrimination as the result of making a complaint in good faith. Only if a complaint is judged to have been made frivolously, vexatiously or with malice could disciplinary issues arise in relation the complaint.

  4. Complainants, and those against whom complaints are made, may expect complaints to be dealt with confidentially and that their privacy will be respected. However, it may be necessary to disclose information to others in order to deal with the complaint; in these circumstances the parties concerned will be informed of such disclosure. Whenever, in the course of a complaint being dealt with, a complainant or a person against whom a complaint is made is invited to discuss the complaint orally or attend a hearing, they shall be entitled to be accompanied by a friend or colleague who may speak on their behalf.

  5. The University believes that complaints should be resolved as near as possible to the incident(s) giving rise to the complaint. For this reason, the Complaints Procedure set out in the guidance which follows provides for a number of stages, both informal and formal, in the handling of a complaint. Complaints will not be rejected solely on the grounds of minor procedural deficiencies on the part of the complainant. If a complaint is upheld, the person to whom the complaint has been referred shall apply such remedies as are within their powers. If they consider that the remedy is outside their powers, they shall refer the matter to the appropriate authority.

2. Monitoring of Complaints
  1. Heads of Schools and Services will monitor, on an annual basis, complaints which have been referred to them and will be responsible for implementing, or recommending to the appropriate authority, changes to systems or procedures suggested by the nature and pattern of the complaints received. Such records will contain: name (anonymised), age, gender and ethnicity of complainant; complainant's programme of study; summary of complaint; summary of outcome. The outcome of such monitoring may also inform other processes or activities such as programme design or postgraduate supervision. Formal complaints submitted to the Director of Student Services will also be monitored.

  2. A special meeting of the Quality and Standards Committee1 will be convened in July each year to consider student feedback from different sources, including via the complaints mechanism. QSC may make recommendations to Senate2 on matters requiring changes to academic policy, or to Policy and Resources Committee3 on matters involving consideration of resources. Issues relating to services and facilities will be forwarded to relevant committees and to professional services for consideration and action.

  3. Senate and Council4 will receive annually a report on the outcome of the monitoring of student complaints. In the light of this report, Senate and Council shall consider whether changes to the University's systems and the Complaints Procedure itself would be appropriate.

GUIDANCE

1. The Complaints Procedure
  1. The Complaints Procedure sets out how students may seek to have complaints addressed. The vast majority of student complaints can be handled fairly, amicably and to the satisfaction of all concerned without recourse to this procedure. Complaints may be resolved informally at any stage of the proceedings.

  2. There are six potential stages to the procedure:

    1. Informal complaint (paragraphs 2.1 - 2.4).
    2. Written complaint to Head of School/Service (paragraphs 2.5 - 2.9).
    3. Written complaint to the Director of Student Services (paragraphs 2.10 - 2.14).
    4. Written appeal to the Vice Chancellor (paragraphs 2.15 - 2.19).
    5. Appeal to Council (paragraph 2.20).
    6. Petition to Visitor (paragraphs 2.21 - 2.29).

  3. Complaints may be made by individual students or by groups of students; they may not be lodged by a representative, a parent or any other third party, although complainants are entitled to be accompanied to hearings by a friend/representative from the Students' Union willing to speak on their behalf.

  4. This Complaints Procedure may be invoked by students registered part-time or full-time on courses of the University of Southampton, except for students registered at an Accredited College.

  5. This procedure covers complaints concerning:

    • academic programmes (eg: cancelled tutorials, arrangements for placements);
    • staff (eg: poor services/behaviour, poor teaching, incompetence);
    • facilities (eg: halls of residence, poor access for the disabled, availability of appropriate accommodation);
    • services (eg: library, computing).

  6. The procedure does not cover the following as separate procedures exist for these matters:

    • appeals against academic assessment and progress decisions (information about academic appeals may be sought from the appropriate School Office or from the Head of Student Support);

    • disciplinary issues (information about disciplinary issues may be sought from the Head of Student Support);

    • harrassment (information about harassment may be obtained through the Student Advice and Information Centre or Harrassment Contacts5;

    • complaints relating to the Students' Union (information on complaints relating to the Students' Union may be sought from the Students' Union);

    • licence to practice requirements such as those used in Medicine and Education (this may be sought from the appropriate School offering vocationally-related programmes);

    • anonymous complaints; staff who receive anonymous complaints will be expected to use their discretion and judgement as to how to handle such complaints.

  7. Advice about the Complaints Procedure may be obtained from the appropriate School Office, the Student Advice and Information Centre in the Students' Union, or the Head of Student Support.

  8. This Complaints Procedure was approved by Senate on 14 March 2001 and by Council on 4 April 2001 and forms part of the University's overall quality assurance framework. It is informed by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education's Code of Practice for the Assurance of Academic Quality and Standards in Higher Education, and in particular by Section 5: Academic Appeals and Student Complaints on Academic Matters (March 2000). It is available on the University's website and a summary is included in the Student Handbook.
2. The Complaints Process

Stage One : The Informal Complaint
  1. The Student Handbook6 sets out the general entitlements and responsibilities of students and is distributed to every incoming student at their initial registration. If a student believes that they have a legitimate complaint, they should refer in the first instance to the Student Handbook to clarify what it is reasonable for them to expect from the University in the relevant area, and whether they themselves have discharged their corresponding responsibilities, if applicable. If, having consulted the Student Handbook, the student wishes to proceed with their complaint, they may invoke the Complaints Procedure set out in this document.

  2. If a complaint is of a general rather than specific nature, it may be more appropriate to ask the relevant student representative to raise it at the Staff/Student Liaison Committee or other School Committee.

  3. The majority of complaints can be resolved satisfactorily on an informal basis.

    Informal Stage

    Actions for the complainant
    1. The complaint should normally be made within two months of the actions (or lack of actions) that prompted the complaint.

    2. If possible, the complainant should first raise their complaint either orally or in writing with the individual who is the subject of the complaint.

    3. The complaint should state the remedy they are seeking.

    Actions for the subject of the complaint:

    1. The person who is the subject of the complaint shall respond to it normally within ten working days of the complaint being made (if it proves impossible to respond fully within ten working days, the complainant shall be informed of the timescale for the receipt of a full response).

    2. He/she shall retain a note of the substance of the complaint and any action taken.

    3. If he/she rejects the complaint, he/she must state his/her reasons for doing so.

  4. If making or responding to the complaint involves face-to-face contact between the complainant and the person against whom the complaint has been made, the complainant is entitled to be accompanied by a friend/representative from the Students' Union. A friend or colleague may also accompany the person against whom the complaint has been made.

Stage Two: Written Complaint to Head of School or Service
  1. If the complainant is dissatisfied with the response they receive from the subject of the complaint, or if they feel unable to approach that person directly, they should submit, within ten working days of receiving the response, a written complaint to the Head of School (if it relates to an academic matter) or to the Head of the Service concerned (eg: The Librarian, the Director of Computing Services or the Director of Business Services (for issues relating to Halls of Residence, etc.).

  2. If a Head of School is the subject of the complaint, then the written complaint should be made to the Dean of the Faculty. If a Head of Service is the subject of the complaint, the written complaint should be made to the Secretary and Registrar7. If the complainant is unsure whom to approach at this stage, they may seek advice from the Head of Student Support or the Student Advice and Information Centre.

  3. The written complaint should set out briefly:

    • the nature of the complaint;
    • the informal steps already taken;
    • details of the response received;
    • a statement as to why the complainant remains dissatisfied;
    • the remedy they are seeking.

  4. The Head of School or Service shall acknowledge receipt of a complaint, in writing, within five working days. The Head of School or Service shall investigate the complaint and shall submit an interim written response to the complainant, normally within fifteen working days of the receipt of the complaint. If it should prove impossible to respond fully within fifteen working days, the complainant shall be informed in writing of the timescale for receipt of a full response.

  5. If the investigation involves a face-to-face meeting between the Head of School or Service and the complainant and/or the person against whom the complaint has been made, the complainant is entitled to be accompanied by a friend/representative from the Students' Union. A friend or colleague may accompany the person against whom the complaint has been made. If the complaint is not upheld, reasons for this decision must be stated.

Stage Three : Written Complaint to the Director of Student Services
  1. If the complainant remains dissatisfied with the written response they should, within ten working days of receiving the response, refer the matter in writing to the Director of Student Services, enclosing copies of the correspondence (and any other relevant papers) exchanged during the earlier stages of the procedure.

  2. The Director of Student Services shall acknowledge receipt of a formal complaint, in writing, within five working days. Subect to his/her being satisfied that the complainant has taken all reasonable steps to resolve the matter informally using the procedures in paragraphs 2.1 - 2.9 above, the Director of Student Services shall appoint a person or persons within the University, having no material interest in the complaint, to carry out an investigation. The investigator(s) may seek to resolve the issue on the basis of :

    • documentation;
    • further information from the members of staff involved in the earlier investigation of the complaint;
    • further information from the complainant.

  3. Additionally, the investigator(s) may call a hearing at which the complainant and any other persons involved may submit their respective cases. The complainant is entitled to be accompanied by a friend/representative from the Students' Union who may speak on their behalf if appropriate. A friend or colleague can also accompany the person against whom the complaint has been made and may speak on their behalf if appropriate.

  4. In the unavoidable absence of any parties in the hearing, the hearing may be postponed but the voluntary absence of one of the parties shall not prevent the hearing from proceding.

  5. After investigation of the complaint, the investigator(s) shall decide whether the complaint is justified or not, and shall submit a report in writing to the Director of Student Services containing such recommendations as may be appropriate. The Director of Student Services shall determine what action, if any, shall be taken and shall communicate this in writing to the complainant and all other relevant parties normally within thirty working days of the date of acknowledging receipt of the formal complaint. The School or Service may be asked to meet the reasonable and proportionate incidental expenses necessarily incurred by a successful complainant.
Stage Four : Written Appeal to the Vice-Chancellor
  1. Following formal investigation of a student complaint, there shall be no right of appeal as to the merits of the case. Dissatisfaction as to the outcome of the complaint shall not, in itself, constitute an acceptable reason for appeal. However, if a complainant believes that their complaint was not handled properly or fairly in accordance with the procedures set out in paragraphs 2.10 to 2.14 above, then they may submit a letter of appeal to the Vice-Chancellor requesting a review. The letter must set out the reasons for requesting the review, should normally be submitted within ten working days of the decision on the complaint by the Director of Student Services, and should include copies of all previous correspondence and relevant papers.

  2. Following receipt of an appeal, the Vice-Chancellor shall designate one of the Deputy Vice-Chancellors to consider the appeal. The Vice-Chancellor will acknowledge receipt of the appeal within five working days and will inform the appellant which Deputy Vice-Chancellor will handle the appeal.

  3. The designated Deputy Vice-Chancellor shall consider the circumstances of the case on the basis of the documentation and, having taken such advice as he/she deems necessary, shall determine whether there is evidence to support the appeal that the case had not been handled properly or fairly. If the Deputy Vice-Chancellor determines that no such evidence exists, then the appeal shall be dismissed. If, however, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor is satisfied that there is evidence sufficient to establish a basis from which to support the appeal, he/she shall review the case. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor shall inform the appellant normally within thirty working days of receipt of the appeal either that there is no evidence to support the appeal and therefore that the appeal has been dismissed, or that the case is to be reviewed.

  4. Reviews will normally be conducted by means of scrutiny of written documentation. Following completion of a review, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor shall report its outcome to the Vice-Chancellor and shall make such recommendations as he/she may deem appropriate. The Vice-Chancellor (or the Director of Student Services on his/her behalf) shall ensure that any appropriate action and recommendation arising from the report is taken, and shall inform the appellant accordingly within thirty working days of acknowledging receipt of the appeal.

  5. The School or Service may be asked to meet the reasonable and proportionate incidental expenses necessarily incurred by a successful complainant.
Stage Five : Appeal to Council
  1. The decision of the Vice-Chancellor is final. However, if the mechanisms described above do not produce a solution which the student finds acceptable, it is possible under the University's Statutes (number 17[20]) to ask the Council "to entertain, adjudicate upon and, if thought fit, redress any grievance". Students wishing to initiate a grievance to Council should write to the Secretary and Registrar within ten working days of receiving the result of the appeal, setting out the grounds on which they feel aggrieved and documenting the action they have taken to resolve the problem. The Secretary and Registrar will acknowledge receipt of the appeal within five working days. In such instances, a special committee is set up to reach a view whether there is a case for consideration and, if so, to consider the matter in detail and to reach an adjudication on behalf of Council.
Stage Six : Petition to the Visitor
  1. There also exists an external mechanism for review of the University's actions: this is Her Majesty the Queen in her capacity as Visitor who operates through the President of the Privy Council. A statement issued by the Privy Council entitled "Petitions to the President of the Council in her Role as Visitor" explains what matters are, or are not, suitable for a petititon to the visitor, how a petition should be prepared, and how petitions will be dealt with. The Privy Council Office statement can be accessed online8. The paragraphs that follow (2.22 to 2.29) are extracted from this document.

  2. The Visitor may consider a petition only if the University's own internal procedures have been exhausted. The Visitor will not intervene on matters which turn purely on academic assessment. The Visitor's role is to review the application by the University of its own internal procedures. The Visitor will not normally intervene unless it can be shown that the University has failed to observe its own rules or procedures or that, although it has followed the proper procedures, it has reached a decision that no reasonable body, properly directing itself, and taking account of all relevant factors, could have arrived at.

  3. There is no set format for a petition, and there is no need to use legalistic language, nor does the petition need to be lengthy. A petition should:

    • set out the facts clearly in chronological order;
    • be specific about the particular procedures which are alleged to have been breached;
    • enclose copies of the relevant rules and regulations and any other relevant documents, including any correspondence which bears on the case;
    • say clearly what action the Visitor is being asked to take.

    Petitioners should try to avoid emotive language and to adopt a neutral and factual tone.

  4. Petitions should be addressed to: The Clerk of the Council, Privy Council Office, 2 Carlton Gardens, London SW1Y 5AA. They should be clearly marked "Petition to the Visitor".

  5. Petitions are initially examined to see whether there is a case for the Visitor's intervention (see 2.21 above). At this stage there may be correspondence with the petitioner to clear up any queries that arise.

  6. If there appears to be no evidence supporting the petitioner's case they will be informed that, on the evidence so far presented, there appear to be no grounds for the Visitor to intervene, with reasons. It is open to the petitioner to provide additional evidence to show that the case is, in fact, one in which the Visitor can intervene.

  7. If the petition appears to show evidence supporting a case for the Visitor's intervention, it will be forwarded to the University for an answer. The Visitor will formally direct the University to provide an answer within six weeks. The University's response will then be sent to the petitioner who will be able to respond to the points made in it.

  8. Once any response the petitioner wishes to make has been received, the case will be submitted to the Visitor who will normally decide on the basis of the three sets of documents (the original petition, the University's answer and the petitioner's response). There will not normally be an oral hearing.

  9. The petitioner and the University will then be informed of the Visitor's decision, with the reasons for it.

  10. Further information about, or clarification of, these procedures is available from the Head of Student Support, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ; Tel: 023 8059 3062; Fax: 023 8059 4740.
1 Quality and Standards Committee reports to Senate and has responsibility for the development of the University's Quality Assurance policy and procedures in relation to students.
2 Senate is the head authority on all academic matters.
3 Policy and Resources Committee reports to Senate and has primary responsibility for overseeing academic and non-academic resource issues.
4 Council has responsibility for the University's Governance and its membership includes 15 members who are neither employees nor officers of the University to help ensure that the University is governed impartially.
5 These are listed at: http://www.hr.soton.ac.uk/equalops/asp/other/equal_opps.asp
6 The Student Handbook is available on the web at: http://www.studentservices.soton.ac.uk/studenthbk/
7 This should be addressed to: Mr J F D Lauwerys, Secretary and Registrar, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ.
8 At http://www.privy-council.org.uk/output/Page48.asp