This is guidance to the UCL Student Complaints Procedure & UCL Academic Appeals Procedure. In this guidance we will set out how the procedures work, and what you can do if you think you have a complaint against UCL, or you want to appeal a decision about your assessment, progression or award. We will also tell you about the support that is available to you.
Student Complaints Procedure
UCL’s Student Complaints Procedure allows students to express dissatisfaction about an action of UCL, or lack of action, or the about the quality of services provided by UCL.
If you are submitting a complaint, you will need to do so within three calendar months of the decision/event which you are complaining about, unless you have compelling evidence why this couldn't be done. You will need to complete a UCL Student Complaints Procedure Application Form with any relevant supporting documentation.
On receiving the complaint, the Student Casework Team will decide on whether to proceed with the complaint. You should be told with ten working days whether your complaint will be considered further.
- Early Resolution
You are generally expected to have tried an appropriate early resolution before making a formal complaint. This may involve arranging an informal discussion with either your Personal or Course Tutor, the Departmental Tutor or Programme Leader.
We suggest you prepare a first draft of the complaint before attending the informal discussion, this will help you to focus on the core issues. You could also write an informal email to the Department you want to make the complaint to, explaining why you were unhappy with their service or actions.- Preparing the Complaint
To submit a formal complaint, you will need to complete all sections of the UCL Student Complaints Procedure Application Form. When doing this, make sure you are clear on why you are making a complaint, and what you outcome you want to resolve the issue. You will need to make these matters clear in your complaint, so you will need to be sure about what these are. You can talk to our Advice Service at any point during the process to get support in putting your complaint together.
Your statement needs to be a clear explanation of what did or did not happen. You must clearly demonstrate how your complaint fits the grounds for making a complaint. You should bear in mind that the members of the panel considering the complaint may not be familiar with your Department, and can only use the information you supply.
You should include relevant evidence to support your complaint, as it's generally up to you to prove that something did or didn't happen. The UCL Casework Team won't be able to request evidence for you.
Here you can find our helpful guide to completing a complaints form.- When should I submit my Complaint?
Complaints must be submitted within three calendar months of the event giving rise to the complaint. If there are exceptional circumstances, such as serious medical circumstances which prevent you from complaining within these three months, these will be considered only if you provide evidence of the circumstances.
If your complaint is deemed out of time, UCL will not consider your complaint.
Complaints concerning alleged deficiency in teaching/supervision and/or unsatisfactory delivery/administration of a programme of study will not be considered if received after your results have been confirmed by UCL’s Education Committee or Research Degrees Committee and published on Portico. You are expect to raise an issues with UCL's delivery at the time of the issue.- The Complaints Process
Once you have submitted your Stage 1 Complaints Form, the Casework Team will acknowledge receipt of the complaint and conduct an initial assessment against the scope and criteria of the Procedure. Within ten working days, you will know whether your complaint will be progressed or not. If it is decided not to proceed with the complaint, you will be informed in writing of the decision, giving reasons.
If your complaint is progressed, the Casework Team will contact the relevant person or Department concerned, to give them the opportunity to respond. They will be given 10 working days to send a response to the Casework Team.
The response will be sent to you, and you have the opportunity to comment on the factual accuracy of the response. You will get five working days to comment on the response.
The Casework Team will decide whether a decision on your complaint can be made on the basis of the written material from both sides. If they can, all parties will be given an outcome letter within ten working days of your comments on factual accuracy.
If the Casework Team believe that more consideration is needed, they will refer the complaint to the Complaints Panel.- What happens at a Complaints Panel meeting?
The purpose of a panel is to review the information that has been provided and to ask you, and the person, Department or Service you are complaining about, questions about what has happened. All relevant documents will be sent to you and the other people involved in the complaint no later than ten days before the panel meeting. You and the member(s) of staff concerned can be present all through the hearing, except for when the Panel discusses its decision. You can be accompanied be someone, who must be a student or staff member of UCL or UCL Students’ Union.
The meeting will be recorded in writing by UCL to provide a factual record of the hearing, in case it needs to go to Review.
The Panel can adjourn for up to five working days to make a decision on the complaint. The panel will set out the decision in writing within ten working days of the final meeting of the Panel.- Stage Two: Complaints Review
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome, you have the right to request a review within 10 UCL working days of the Outcome Letter. You can do this by completing a UCL Student Complaints Procedure Stage Two Review Form explaining why a review is requested as well as any evidence in support of this.
If you don't request a review, this will be noted on any Completion of Procedures letter you receive, which could affect your ability to ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator to review your complaint.
A request for a review may be made only on one or more of the following grounds:
a) procedural irregularity in the way in which the decision was reached;
b) new evidence that was not available during consideration of the complaint and where it would have been impossible for that evidence to have been made available at the time;
c) the decision was not reasonable given the circumstances of the case
The Casework Team will decide on the evidence available whether or not a review should be carried out, and whether a review will result in an Amended Outcome Letter or a referral to a Complaints Review Panel.
If it is decided not to carry out a review, you will be given a Completion of Procedures letter, including reasons for the decision.
The Complaints Review Panel may request another response from the person, Department or Service being complained about, if you have submitted new evidence. A hearing may be arranged. The panel can change the original decision in any way it thinks is appropriate, or to instruct the original Panel to reconsider the matter. You will be given a Completion of Procedures letter once the review is finished.
The Completion of Procedures Letter allows you to make a complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, if you are still unsatisfied with how your complaint was dealt with at UCL.
Please see our information about the Office of the Independent Adjudicator.
Academic Appeals
The Academic Appeals Procedure is a formal process where you can request a review of a decision made by the Board of Examiners or an equivalent academic body (for Postgraduate Research Students) responsible for making decisions about student assessment, progression or award.
The purpose of the Academic Appeals procedure is to request a review of whether UCL applied it's Regulations and Procedures correctly, and whether any decision was reasonable and proportionate.
- What grounds can I make an Academic Appeal?
You can submit an appeal on one or more of the following grounds:
i. there were circumstances that significantly affected the student’s academic performance, where for compelling reasons, the relevant Extenuating Circumstances Panel was not made aware of the circumstances through the Short-term Illness and other Extenuating Circumstances Procedure;
ii. there occurred a procedural irregularity in the assessment process where this could not be resolved informally or through the Material Irregularity Procedure;
iii. there is substantive evidence that one or more of the examiners can be shown to have been biased or prejudiced against the student in one or more specific assessments.
Extenuating circumstances (such as medical or other sudden and disruptive events) should be reported to UCL at the time they happen. If you submit an appeal on ground i, you must have compelling reasons with supporting evidence, explaining why you were unable to tell UCL sooner about your circumstances.
You cannot make an Academic Appeal based on your disagreement with an examiner's assessment of your performance - for instance, to complain about the decision of academic staff on the quality of your work. This is defined as academic judgement which is a judgement made about a matter where the opinion of an academic expert is essential.- What can't be addressed in an appeal?
The following matters cannot be considered under this Procedure:
i. appeals against Informal Results which have not been ratified by a Board of Examiners;
ii. appeals against Results considered at Interim Board of Examiners meetings;
iii. appeals that are more appropriately considered under a different procedure;
iv. appeals from third parties without written consent from the registered student;
v. disagreement with academic judgement, the examiners’ assessment of the performance of a student in an assessment, or against academic decisions properly arrived at in accordance with approved Procedures. In this context, disparities in a student’s performance between assessments (or between examinations and a student’s expectations) are not necessarily evidence of procedural irregularity or bias in the assessment process;
vi. appeals which are not substantiated by evidence where there is no valid reason for this;
vii. vexatious or frivolous appeals;
viii. appeals relating to academic outcomes that have already been contested via the Academic Appeals Procedure;
ix. appeals that are submitted after 10 working days of the date of the official notification of a Board of Examiners decision or outcome of an equivalent academic body and where there is no good reason which can be evidenced as to why they could not submit this in time.- When should I submit an Academic Appeal?
You must submit an appeal within 10 working days of the date of the official notification of a Board of Examiners decision or outcome of an equivalent academic body for Postgraduate Research students. If you're not sure whether you have received your official results, you can check with your Department.
Appeals against informal results will not be considered.
For Undergraduates, results are confirmed in July following the main boards of examiners, and September following the Late Summer Assessments. For Postgraduate Taught students, some Term 1 and 2 results are also released in July, but this doesn't happen for all programmes. Otherwise, most results are released in November when you've completed your dissertation and the Boards of Examiners have met, or in March if you've resat or deferred your dissertation.
If you send an appeal after 10 working days, you must have a good reason and evidence for the delay.- Preparing the Academic Appeal
To submit an Academic Appeal, you will need to complete all sections of the UCL Academic Appeals Procedure - Stage 1 Academic Appeal Form to submit your appeal. When doing this, make sure you state the date of the official notification of the decision and are clear about what grounds you are appealing on. You should also include a clear and succinct explanation as to why you are unhappy with the decision. You must include all matters you want to be considered because you cannot introduce new matters later on.
Here you can find our helpful guide to completing an Academic Appeal Application form
You can talk to our Advice Service at any point during the process to get support in putting your appeal together.- The Academic Appeals Process
Your appeal and any supporting documentation will be sent to an Appeal Assessor within the relevant Faculty for consideration. There may be times when an appeal is reviewed by an Appeal Assessor within the Casework Team.
Your appeal will be considered based on your written statement and supporting evidence you give, so it is important you provide all the details you have. The Appeal Assessor may ask for more information from staff, other students or external agencies.
Exceptionally, your appeal may need further consideration by a paper-based Appeals Panel and/or a hearing. You don't need to attend the paper-based panel but it is expected that you would attend a hearing.- Appeal Outcome
If your appeal in deemed ineligible, it will not be taken forward and you will be issued with a Completion of Procedures (COP) Letter. Appeals may be ineligible where they challenge academic judgement or are sent after the appeal deadline, without compelling reasons for doing so.
If your Stage 1 Academic Appeal is eligible for review and after investigation, your appeal may be upheld, partially upheld, or not upheld. This decision will normally be issued within 20 working days of you being informed that the case is eligible to be considered.
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome reached at Stage 1, you may request a review of the decision under Stage 2.- Stage 2 Appeal Review
You can request a Stage 2 Appeal Review, once you have received the outcome of the Stage 1 Appeal. You cannot introduce new issues to your Appeal at this point. The Appeal Assessor will only consider whether the grounds for Review have been met.
Your appeal must be based on the following grounds:
i. that there is an administrative or procedural error in the handling of the appeal at Stage 1;
ii. there is new and relevant evidence to support the appeal which for good reason was not available and could not reasonably have been provided at the time the appeal was submitted;
iii. based on the evidence the outcome was not fair or reasonable in the circumstances of the case.
You must submit a request within 10 working days of receiving your Stage 1 decision and use the UCL Academic Appeals Procedure - Stage 2 Appeal Review Form
How can the Advice Service Help Me?
Our advisors can:
- tell you more about the procedures, what to expect, and what is expected of you
- advise you about drafting your statement (but can't complete one for you), deciding on the evidence you need to collect and putting together a strong case
- accompany you to a panel meeting
- if you are not satisfied with the response from UCL, we can advise you on how you can take your complaint forward outside of the university.
You can get in touch with our team via our online registration form.