If you're dissatisfied with part of your University experience, you can ask us for independent guidance on how to submit a complaint.

Step 1: Download the University Student Complaint Procedure

Step 2: Decide on the nature of your complaint, using one or more of the bullet points under ‘What is a complaint?’ in the Student Guide. A SU Advisor can help if you’re not sure whether an issue is legitimate grounds for a complaint. 

Step 3: The first option is to submit an Informal Complaint, described under Section 2 of the Complaints Policy. You might choose to write your complaint as a letter & you should submit all your evidence at the earliest opportunity. A SU Advisor can review your evidence, letter & advise on the most suitable person to send it to (see ‘Stage 1’ on the Student Complaints Policy & Procedure for who to send informal complaints to). 

Step 4: Wait up to 5 working days (excluding weekends) to receive a response to your Informal Complaint. The response should describe how & when the issues identified in the complaint will be addressed. A satisfactory resolution may be reached, but if not, you may choose to take your complaint further. 

Step 5: The second option is to submit a Formal Complaint, either because you're unhappy with the outcome of Step 5, or if the issue is too complex to resolve informally. The process is described in ‘Stage 2 – Formal Complaint’. You must submit a formal Student Complaint Form (within 14 days if you've received a response to an Informal Complaint) & we strongly recommend seeking support from a SU Advisor to complete the form. The Advisor will also help you prepare the group for meetings with the University where the complaint is investigated in more detail (see Stage 2 Formal Complaints, Sections 4.9-4.13).  

Step 6: Wait up to 60 days (excluding weekends) to hear the outcome of the Formal Complaint. If you're still dissatisfied with the outcome, you can request for this to be reviewed further by the process outlined in ‘Stage 3 – Review'. We strongly recommend seeking support from a SU Advisor to complete the Student Request for Review Form within 14 days of receiving the outcome of the Formal Complaint.  

Step 7: Wait up to 30 days to hear the outcome of the request to review the complaint. In the unlikely event the complaint has still not been resolved, you can take the complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, an independent body who review student complaints in higher education.  A SU Advisor can guide you through this stage.