How to make your views known or make a complaint
We have tried to make our complaints process easy to understand and use. A complaint for University Level or Higher Education students follows stage 1 (early resolution at the local level) and then stage 2 (formal complaint). This process is also applicable to Higher Education Apprenticeships.
This complaints process is for University Level (Higher Education) and Higher Apprenticeships. For complaints relating to a Further Education course, see our complaints process for Further Education.
Complaints Process
One of the main reasons people become unhappy with the service they receive is because they feel nobody islistening to them. Usually problems can be resolved informally at an early stage by explaining the situation and discussing ways forward. We call this Early Resolution and we recommend you start here.
A member of staff will work with you on an informal basis to find a solution to the issue. This could be as straightforward as having a discussion with your lecturer.
The member of staff will provide a response and complete an Early Resolution form with you within 10 College working days.
Who can I talk to?
This may depend on what the complaint is about. Your lecturer might be the person to talk to first or you might prefer to arrange to talk to the course leader or manager responsible for your course.
There are other people who can advise you. You could speak to:
- A member of the University Centre team
- The Student Representative for your course
- Achievement Coach
- Any other members of staff you feel comfortable talking to
Timeframe
To enable a speedy resolution, any concern or complaint should be raised as soon as possible and within 3 months of the event.
Details of the complaint and proposed resolution should be completed on the Formal Complaint (FC1) form. Complaints submitted by letter or email will be accepted provided they include all the elements covered in the form. Please contact the Quality team if you need any support in writing the complaint. Our contact details are: feedback@nottinghamcollege.ac.uk
The Quality team will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days of receipt and an appropriate manager will conduct an investigation into the points raised in your complaint. A formal written response with outcome will be sent to you within 20 working days*.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the formal complaint you have 20 working days to request a review. The purpose of the review is to consider if the correct procedure has been followed during the formal complaint stage and if the outcome was reasonable. There are limited grounds for asking for the review, these are:
- There is new evidence for consideration which materially affects the outcome.
- Not all of the evidence was considered when coming to a conclusion.
- Other procedural irregularity in the process.
If you wish to pursue the complaint, complete the Complaint Review form (CR1), or write a letter or email and send to the Quality team. Your appeal will be considered by a Review Officer and a response will be provided within 20 working days* of the request to review.
If you feel we have not resolved the problem satisfactorily, you may refer your complaint to an appropriate external institution, who will decide if the College has followed its own procedures correctly.
For students on Degree or Foundation Degree courses awarded by a validating university:
Contact the Quality team to ask for the contact details of the university which validates your course. The validating university will follow its own procedure for dealing with complaints and will write to you with their decision. The validating university will also provide contact details for you to progress your complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) if you are dissatisfied with their decision.
For students on Higher National Certificate/Higher National Diploma Pearson (BTEC) or Higher Apprenticeship courses:
Send your complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator. Depending on the nature of the complaint, they will let you know if they are able to deal with it. If the complaint does not fall within its remit, the OIA will let you know and refer your complaint to Pearson (BTEC) for them to consider.
Contact details for the OIA:
Office of the Independent Adjudicator
Second Floor, Abbey Gate
57-75 Kings Road, Reading
RG1 3AB
Telephone: 0118 959 9813
Website: www.oiahe.org.uk
*Deadlines may be extended outside of term-time due to availability of the Investigating Officer / Review Officer or if further investigation is required. In this event, the complainant will be notified.
You can find various resources for making a complaint below.