Complaints Meetings

At the Formal Stage students are invited to attend a meeting with the lead investigator and in the case of a complaint about an academic matter usually the Senior Education Partner (SEP) or Deputy Education Partner (DEP) for the Faculty. The meeting is organised to allow the student to give a fuller explanation of their complaint and to discuss the details of the issues that are concerned. The meeting is designed to be supportive and is an opportunity for students to provide more information about their complaint. Solutions or outcomes to the complaint will not be given at the meeting instead those investigating will investigate the complaint following the meeting and then provide the student a written outcome along with any remedies that may need to be offered.

Those attending the meeting will have read the paperwork in advance. The student will be welcomed to the meeting by the lead investigator and be introduced to the other people attending the meeting who will explain their role within the meeting. The lead investigator will also explain how the meeting will work. After this the student will be invited to give their perspective on their complaint and provide further details and evidence that may not have been included in their original form. The lead investigator may then ask some clarifying questions about the student's complaint. The student will then be invited to give their view on any potential remedies that would resolve their complaint. The lead investigator will explain the next steps of the investigation to the student and will then bring the meeting to a close.

You are welcome to have a supporter present at the meeting. This could be a Guild advisor, a member of the wellbeing team, a personal or academic tutor, a fellow student or a member of your family or a friend. Supporters can attend the meeting to provide emotional support, but students are expected to speak for themselves. Supporters may be permitted to contribute to the meeting, but this is at the discretion of the Lead Investigator who will chair of the meeting.

Typically, a standard meeting will last between 30 – 50 minutes, though some cases are more complex. We do appreciate that students may not have experienced a meeting of this nature before and may feel anxious. However, please be assured the meeting is designed to be supportive and to give the student opportunity to explain their complaint and as stated above the student may bring a supporter to the meeting. We also appreciate that some people find they need more time to outline their case and therefore, we try to allow time for this wherever possible. If the student requires a break during the meeting this will be accommodated.

A member of the FCT will be present to take minutes of the meeting. After the meeting a copy of the minutes will be sent to the student for their comments. A confirmed set of minutes for the meeting will be sent to the student with their outcome.

Visual and audio recordings of the meeting by the University or the student are prohibited. The use of audio recording equipment may be permitted at the discretion of the Chair by way of reasonable adjustment. You will receive a set of minutes from the meeting as a record of proceedings, which you can refer to if required.

Prior to the meeting the FCT team will send the student an email informing them who will be considering the complaint and at least two options for meeting dates and times. If the student is not able to make any of the proposed dates, then new dates will be found. If a student can no longer make a confirmed meeting, the meeting can be arranged, but this will likely lead to a delay in the outcome being supplied to the student. Students are permitted to forgo their right to a meeting if they wish and the complaint will be considered on the basis of the students form and any evidence the student may have supplied.

The investigator will investigate the concerns raised by the student. This will generally include speaking to the staff involved in the complaint and reviewing case files, correspondence and other documents to decide on the outcome of the complaint. What steps have been taken to investigate the complaint at the formal stage will generally be outlined in the outcome letter. However, in some cases crucial pieces of evidence may be included with the outcome for the student’s reference and if the investigator meets formally with a member of staff to discuss the complaint this meeting will be minuted with a copy of the minutes being provided to the student.