Passed: March 2022 (15th)

What do you want? / Why do you want it? 

Many students take up their right to complain during their studies, which can have a significant negative effect on the health and well-being of all those involved in the process. Such complaints can vary from sexual harassment to academic appeals, however, all are dealt with using the same process.

The University of Leeds, Student Cases, have amassed a backlog of student complaints since 2020, resulting in prolonged waiting times; surpassing the 20-day threshold in which a response is promised with some cases taking 12 months or more to provide an outcome. On top of this, the lack of information regarding case progression impacts student wellbeing, finances, running costs of services and course completion rates. The University has a legal obligation to support students in an acceptable manner, with a duty to provide pastoral support and take steps to protect the student's health, safety, and wellbeing. 

During 2020/21, the Office of the Independent Adjudicator received a record number of student cases (c.2500) due to universities unsatisfactory handling of complaints, for instance, extended waiting times and inadequate student support. 

The University of Leeds’ current complaints policies, processes and procedures are out of date and inadequate, with the University’s efforts to implement solutions being expected to take 18 months to have an impact on waiting times. 

We want to support current and new students by providing some urgently needed short-term solutions for this issue. We propose that following a complaint submission Student Cases will: 

● Implement a more effective logging system 

● Provide an automated response including; case number, student cases contact details, contact details for other forms of support, expected progression flowchart and link to knowledge owl. 

● Implement an improved and objective triage system that can prioritise urgent cases. 

● Assign a specialised case workers to improve efficiency 

● Provide consistent communication with students regarding the progression of their case 

Immediate action is required to improve the University’s policies, processes and procedures to improving the efficiency and transparency of the complaints process and prioritising student well-being.