• Situations may arise where students are dissatisfied with an aspect of their academic experience or service at the College. The College welcomes feedback from students – if there is a genuine problem, college officials need to be informed about it in order to respond.
• The Complaints Policy: Academic Related applies when a student has a complaint or concern about an academic matter or academic services not related to a specific grade or set of grades for a course or programme.
• There are many informal routes by which a student may voice a concern. A student should speak to their student representative, their advisor or tutor, give comments in the course evaluations, or speak to a member of the College that they are comfortable approaching. If these routes still do not help, then a student may wish to initiate a complaint.
• The information in this document outlines the procedure to follow if there is a complaint. This document does not override the wider legal obligations of the College or to employees under contract, or the obligations of students and employees to the College.
• All complaints will be treated in strict confidence and the College confirms that bringing a complaint or raising an issue will not have a negative impact on academic treatment.
• If a student’s complaint involves more than one department or academic support office, then one person will be designated to respond to the complaint with consultation from the relevant parties. If it is found that the complaint involves an appeal, the student will be pointed to the relevant appeals policy.
• Any student using the complaint process to bring frivolous or vexatious matters to the College’s attention will be subject to disciplinary action.
• Any student found to have provided fraudulent evidence or falsified a claim will be subject to disciplinary action.
• Academic related complaints may include, but are not limited to:
• Issues or complaints related to the design, content, or organisation of a specific class or programme;
• Issues or complaints related to course or programme delivery, such as lack of professionalism, including lateness or absence; late return of work; inadequate or insufficient academic support; inappropriate behaviour; poor classroom conduct; lack of attendance at established office hours etc.;
• Issues or complaints related to academic resources, including: classrooms, academic facilities, library resources, IT learning resources;
• Issues or complaints related to academic advising and/or personal tutoring;
• Issues or complaints related to official College academic polices or procedures in general and not deriving from issues related to an individual case;
• Issues or complaints related to the College academic support offices.

Stage I: Informal Resolution

• Students wishing to make an academic related complaint need to first raise it with the relevant instructor or support person, who will attempt an informal resolution.
• If the student is uncomfortable raising the complaint with the relevant instructor/support person they should arrange to meet with the relevant line manager.
• The student is also encouraged to contact the CEO who will advise on the College’s complaints procedures.

Stage II: Formal Resolution

• If the student is not satisfied with the result or proposed solution, they may make a formal complaint to the Director of Studies using the Formal Complaint Form.
• The complaint must provide a detailed description of the issues and, where possible, provide evidence to support the complaint. It should also indicate what outcome the student is looking for by making a complaint.
• The Director of Studies will provide a response and solution within 10 working days of receiving the complaint, though there may be a delay if further investigation is required. The solutions will vary depending on the nature of the complaint and the outcome sought by the student.
• If a meeting is deemed necessary by the Head of academics, it should be held within 15 working days upon receiving the complaint. At this meeting, the student and relevant member of staff may offer explanations of the situation. A student may be accompanied to the meeting by a supporter. The supporter may prompt or provide advice to the student.
• Director of Studies will prepare a written report of the decision after the meeting and circulate this report to the relevant parties.
• If the complaint concerns the Director of Studies, it will be referred to the CEO.

Stage III: Further Review of the Complaint

• If the student is not satisfied with the result or proposed solution by the line manager, they may request a review of the decision of their complaint to the Director of Studies using the Further Review of Complaint form.
• The grounds for Further Review are:
• New evidence exists that could not have been reasonably presented in the previous stage;
• A procedural irregularity occurred in the conduct of the complaints process;
• A decision was manifestly unreasonable or influenced by prejudice or bias, or perception thereof, on the part of the decision-maker(s).
• The Director of Studies will review the complaint and, where necessary, make recommendations for further action within 10 working days of receiving the request.
• Should a significant or cross-institutional issue be identified, it may need to be referred to the relevant committee.
• At this point the College’s institutional procedures for complaints have been completed. A Completion of Procedures letter will outline for the student the role of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator.
• If, upon the conclusion the College’s institutional procedures the student is dissatisfied with the decision, they may take their complaint to the Awarding Body or Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (http://www.oiahe.org.uk/). Students must first have exhausted all appropriate internal procedures before approaching the OIA.

Advice and Support

• A student may ask for informal advice and support at any time, on a range of issues, academic and non-academic.