160 likes | 310 Views
9 April 2008. Complaints by students rise 25%. Complaints by students against their universities have risen for a third year, the adjudicator has reported. 19 May 2009. Student complaints rise sharply
E N D
9 April 2008 Complaints by students rise 25% Complaints by students against their universities have risen for a third year, the adjudicator has reported.
19 May 2009 Student complaints rise sharply The university adjudicator for England and Wales received 900 complaints from students in 2008 - a rise of 23% on 2007 - but just 7% were upheld.
Recent Appeals and Complaints Received by the School of Law • Misleading information • Allegation of bias • Timescale • Examination Board Decisions • Academic Misconduct • PECs
Student Appeals and Complaints:Good Practice and Some Ideas on Delivery Linda Armstrong, Registrar, School of Law Mike Adey, Student Appeals and Complaints Ombudsman
Outcomes • Trends; where we are going and likely changes on the horizon • What makes for good practice when dealing with an appeal or complaint • Examples of the nature of complaints/appeals recently received in the School of Law
The Programme • The National and University picture • Doing it Well • Criteria by which we will be judged • University processes • OIA criteria • Complaints theory • Good Practice in the Process • An Example of Practice: School of Law
The Context For Complaints • Increasingly litigious society • Increasingly loud ‘Student Voice’ • Link between fees and expected outcomes
Where are Appeals and Complaints Going? • Numbers will continue to increase • An ongoing trend • A tight job market places a premium on a good class of degree • Increased tuition fees will raise expectations
Increasing Profile of Student Appeals and Complaints • Publication of appeals/complaints data-the OIA thinking; • Publish summaries of OIA decisions, naming the university but retaining anonymity of students and staff and/or • Publish an annual summary of the total number of appeals/complaints received by each university and the number going to the OIA • Compensation levels likely to increase • Students to receive all documents viewed during the investigation of their case
Good Practice (1) • Follow our regulations • Make reasonable decisions • Three dimensions to “procedural fairness”: • Procedural fairness (fairness of appeals/complaints policies) • Distributive justice (fairness of outcome) • Interactional justice (how treated)
Law School Processes/Systems • One-stop-shop approach • File management • Chronology • File notes • Responsibility • Shared drive • Meeting student expectations
Good Practice (2) • Do not prejudge • Respond to every point the complainant makes • Explain your reasoning • Clear audit trails • Refer to evidence used • Explain what further opportunities for complaining remain