Student Services

The Student Complaints Regulations provide a means for you to raise a complaint about any service the University provides to attempt to get that issue resolved.

Complaints can be about:

• Concerns relating to academic programmes or services; or
• your student experience, including relationships with administrators or support services.

If you wish to complain about concerns relating to your academic programme or services, these must be made before the Board of Examiners has decided your result.

You cannot use the complaints procedure to appeal against a Board of Examiners’ decision and would need to use the Review and Appeal procedure instead.

Who can make a complaint?

This procedure applies to all students on programmes of the University. The term ‘student’ includes those who have left the University within the 3 previous months, for whatever reason. Please note, however, that it is a principle of our complaints procedure that any complaints must be made within 3 months of the event(s) concerned.

If you are enrolled on a University Award delivered at a Partner College you should use the College’s own procedures. Once these are exhausted, you have a right to pursue the complaint with the University.

How to complain

Before you begin formal proceedings you are encouraged to initially try and resolve the issue informally, either by speaking directly with those concerned or with your personal tutor, programme leader or the Students’ Union. If an informal approach cannot settle the issue, only then should you begin formal proceedings.

To make a formal complaint you must contact a Student Complaints Officer in the Secretariat who will send you a SCP1 form to complete. The form will guide you on how to set out the details of your case. You can find more information at Student Complaints.

To support your complaint you may need evidence. You will need to include all the evidence with your complaint as you won’t usually be able to introduce new issues at a later stage.

Once your complaint has been received your Head of School (or nominated senior member of staff) will carry out an investigation into your case. If your complaint concerns the Head of School, then the University will arrange for another Head of School to investigate.

When they have completed their investigation (usually 20 working days) you will receive a report of their findings. If your complaint is upheld in whole or in part then they will set out how the issue will be resolved.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint you have 10 working days to request a Review.

You do this by filling out a Complaint Review form available from Secretariat explaining the reasons why you are not satisfied with the outcome (you may need further evidence at this stage). You then submit the form to the Student Complaints Officer handling your case.

There are three further steps to the complaints procedure after the Head of School investigation: the Review stage, the Standing Complaints Panel and the Hearing.

Further details of the latter stages of a complaint are set out in Part O of the University General Regulations 2021/22.

If, having exhausted the University’s internal procedures you are still unhappy, you can take your complaint to the Office for the Independent Adjudicator.

If you are considering making a complaint to the University or would like further help with a complaint please contact the Advice Service. To book a confidential telephone appointment with a professional adviser, please email studentsupport@lincoln.ac.uk  or telephone Student Support on 01522 837080.