STUDENT COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

The English Language Centre follows the University's guidelines on complaints and is committed to providing a high quality service for all its students. We aim to resolve complaints promptly and to handle complaints in a serious and fair manner. You will be given information on how to make a complaint and on the result.

If you wish to make a complaint about a general University matter, you can ask for help from Centre staff including your personal tutor or course director. The Student Advice Centre of the Guild of Students will also give you advice. More information on the University Complaints procedure can be found on the University and ELC websites.

Complaints within the English Language Centre

1.      How to complain

(i)                  If you have a minor complaint about something in the English Language Centre you should speak to a member of the academic or administrative staff in the Centre. If you have a serious complaint about academic programmes or any other aspect, you should talk first to your personal tutor or to one of the course directors in the ELC

(ii)                If you are not happy with the response to your complaint then you can ask to speak to the Director of the Centre

(iii)               If the matter is still not resolved then you can contact the Academic Secretary at the University. Staff in the ELC will explain to you how to do this.

It is the University's stated policy that complaints should be resolved within 28 days.

2.         Appeals against internal assessment results

All marking and testing procedures follow certain guidelines. Please see your Course Director if you would like information on these.

You can appeal against your internal assessment results on the following grounds:

1. Your performance was affected by health or other serious personal reasons.

2. The test or assessment procedures were not carried out properly

3. The marking procedures were not carried out properly

4. You have evidence of bias on the part of one or more of your assessors

5. You were wrongly advised by a tutor when you were affected by illness or other serious personal circumstances.

It is your duty to inform your Course Director IN WRITING before your formal tests or the completion date of coursework assessment, or no more than two days later, of any personal or health circumstances which are likely to affect your performance.  You may be asked to produce documentary evidence, such as a doctor's certificate, in support.

If you wish to appeal against your internal assessment results, you must do so within two days of receiving them and you must do so in writing to the Course Director.

Any appeal against an internal assessment results will follow this procedure:

Stage 1

1. All written tests and assignments will receive a further marking by a tutor who has not taught the student.

2. Spoken assessments will be dealt with as follows:

§         Interviews: all interviews are recorded so the recording of the interview will be listened to and assessed by a tutor not involved in teaching the student.

§         Presentations: these are not normally recorded. If necessary, the student may be able to repeat the presentation to a tutor not involved in teaching the student.

Stage 2

If after stage 1, the student remains dissatisfied, he/she must ask to see the Course Director, who will decide whether the case is sufficiently strong to allow the student to re-sit all or part of the formal assessments. The Course Director may ask for a request for reassessment in writing. If the Course Director decides to allow a full or partial re-sit, marking will be done by a tutor who has had no involvement so far in the tuition or assessment of the student.

After this point, if the student still remains dissatisfied with his or her result, he or she should have recourse to 1 (ii) and (iii) above.