Notices by the General Board

Student Complaint Procedure

With effect from 1 October 2024

The General Board, on the recommendation of its Education Committee, has agreed to make changes to the Student Complaint Procedure (see https://www.studentcomplaints.admin.cam.ac.uk/student-complaints). The key changes are as follows:

•Clarification of timeframes: Change from ‘calendar days’ to ‘working days’.

•Explicitly specifying the process for complaints about staff misconduct: The proposed amendments formalise the existing process whereby the Office of Student Conduct, Complaints and Appeals (OSCCA) and HR work together to conduct a single investigation that meets the requirements of both the Student Complaint Procedure and the relevant HR conduct procedure.

•Academic judgement: Academic judgement has never been a permitted ground of complaint within any of the University complaint, appeal or review procedures, nor is it a permitted ground of complaint within the OIA complaint process or within a court of law; this is now explicitly stated with the Student Complaint Procedure so that there can be no confusion.

•Clarification on the timing of complaints: The Procedure has been amended to give examples of matters that would not normally be accepted as sufficient reason for delay, and the types of complaints that would be accepted beyond the 20 working day deadline.

•Clarification on the scope of complaints: These clarifications confirm that a matter of complaint can only be investigated once using the most appropriate procedure, that verification checks on evidence can be undertaken, that the Case Handler will determine the most appropriate procedure for the investigation of a complaint, and that Complainants have the right to request a review of a Case Handler’s decision if the complaint or any part of it is deemed ineligible for investigation.

•Clarification on the reasonable adjustments process: The Procedure is explicit that the Case Handler will check the student’s record for a Student Support Document and apply the recommended adjustments automatically, explicitly informing the Complainant that they are doing so.

•Clarification on the use of representatives: In line with amendments to the Student Disciplinary Procedure, the Procedure now states when representatives will be permitted and how to request permission to use a representative, as appropriate.

•Complaints about OSCCA: Where a complaint is made about OSCCA, the Procedure is now explicit about the process that shall be followed for alternative handling of the complaint.

•Clarification on the standard of proof used to determine a complaint: the Procedure is now explicit that matters of complaint will be determined on the balance of probabilities on the basis of the evidence submitted. This is not a change in Procedure and is in line with OIA expectations.

•Complaint Officers: Complaint Officers are required to be members of the Regent House. This change ensures that all Complaint Officers have appropriate authority within the University. All Complaint Officers are appointed by the Council and required to be trained in advance of considering any complaints.

•Confirmation of Institutions’ responsibilities following a complaint outcome: The revised Procedure clarifies that an Institution shall act on a remedy imposed by the Complaint Officer, consider any recommendations or observations made by a Complaint Officer, and provide an explanation for any recommendations or observations not acted upon. This process provides accountability for students and Institutions but also provides flexibility where circumstances beyond the complaint result in particular recommendations or observations being impractical or unnecessary to implement.

•Review stage: The revised Procedure includes an explicit option for new material to be provided at the discretion of the Case Handler or the Reviewer at the ‘Review’ stage of the Procedure. This is current practice but not specified within the Procedure.

•Confirmation of the enactment of a complaint outcome: Clarification is provided that regardless of further avenues that a Complainant may wish to pursue, once the Review stage has been completed, the University will enact that decision. This is current practice and in line with OIA recommendations.

•Information sharing: The revised Procedure provides further details about information sharing, in line with the University’s policy on the use of personal information under the Procedure and the relevant parts of the Student Disciplinary Procedure. The general approach is to enable information sharing to encourage trust and transparency but to acknowledge that there are limits to information sharing as required by GDPR, particularly where information is not relevant to the complaint or is personal information relating to an individual, which they do not give consent to be shared.

In order to ensure effective implementation of the changes, the Office of Student Conduct, Complaints and Appeals will be undertaking the following actions:

•Communication of the changes will be included in the Key Issues Bulletin.

•The OSCCA website will be updated with information about the revised Procedure.

•OSCCA will run briefing sessions in Michaelmas Term 2024 for those impacted by the changes to the Procedure, specifically for those who support Complainants and respond to complaints and for decision-makers linked to the Procedure.