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Admissions Complaints and Appeals Procedure – 2 Sept 2016
All information which a complainant or appellant provides to the Admissions Officer, Complaints or
Appeals Officer or any other officers dealing with the matter in the course of an investigation shall
be treated as confidential, subject to the need to divulge it to relevant parties in the course of the
investigation and subject to any requirements of the Data Protection Act. No applicant who
complains about or appeals against the decision of an admissions selector shall be disadvantaged in
any way in any future applications to the University as a result of the complaint or appeal.
C Complaints Procedure
1 Initial Investigation
a)
The Admissions Officer shall, wherever possible, attempt to resolve complaints quickly and
informally.
b)
The Admissions Officer shall determine whether the complaint discloses sufficient grounds
related to the administration of the University’s admissions policies and procedures.
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c)
If it is decided that the complaint does not disclose sufficient grounds, the Admissions Officer
shall explain the reason(s) for this decision in writing to the complainant.
d)
If it is decided that the complaint does disclose sufficient grounds, the Admissions Officer
shall investigate it, consulting all relevant parties.
i) Once all the necessary information has been gathered, the Admissions Officer shall judge
whether the complaint may be resolved at that point by conveying information gathered,
or whether the matter needs to be considered at a higher level.
ii) If it is judged that a resolution can be achieved, the Admissions Officer shall put the
response in writing to the complainant. This will include a summary of the reasons for the
decision.
iii) If it is judged that the matter needs to be referred for consideration at a higher level, the
Admissions Officer shall refer the matter to the Dean of Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Studies of a Faculty other than the one to which the applicant has applied. The Dean shall
act as Complaints Officer.
2 Investigation by the Complaints Officer
a)
The Complaints Officer shall be given administrative support by an administrative officer
nominated by the Academic Registrar.
b)
The Complaints Officer shall investigate the complaint and may seek any further information
that is deemed necessary to come to a decision.
c)
A record of all proceedings shall be maintained by the nominated administrative officer.
d)
The Complaints Officer shall determine the outcome of the complaint.
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If the Admissions Officer is the object of a complaint, the Academic Registrar shall make arrangements for a senior
officer from another part of the University to undertake the Admissions Officer’s role in relation to the complaint