What is a Complaint as opposed to an Appeal?

You can make either a complaint or an appeal but not both. Please note that the Complaint and Appeal Procedures have different timescales.

You cannot make a complaint about a matter relating purely to academic judgement (including marks awarded for formative or summative academic assignments) unless on the grounds that appropriate marking procedures were not followed.

What is a Complaint and when do I make one?

A complaint is defined as “an expression of significant or sustained dissatisfaction where a student seeks action to address the problem”. Further details can be found in section 3 of the Student Complaints Resolution Procedure.

You should make a complaint if you are seeking a specific action or outcome to any issue or problem that has arisen as a result of the University's actions or failure to act or as a result of unreasonable behaviour of another member of the University community. You should make a complaint as soon as the problem becomes apparent.

What is an Appeal and when do I make one?

An appeal is where a student seeks a review of an academic decision made by the University. You can only make an appeal in certain circumstances and using specified grounds. Further details are available here.