The School is committed to ensuring a high-quality student experience and upholding transparency through our Student Complaints and Academic Appeals Policy. We provide a clear, accessible procedure for addressing complaints and appeals, in compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. Our approach is informed by best practices, ensuring fair and effective resolution of issues to support our students.
This Policy has been developed in line with the applicable laws, regulations, regulatory advice, and sector best practices, including the following:
A student complaint is defined as a formal expression of dissatisfaction by a student regarding the School’s actions, omissions, or the quality of services provided directly by the School or on its behalf. This includes:
For dissatisfaction with Examination Board decisions, students should use the Academic Appeals procedure outlined in the Academic Regulations.
This definition clarifies the scope of what constitutes a student complaint and directs students to the appropriate procedure for issues related to Examination Board decisions, ensuring that complaints are handled efficiently and correctly.
This procedure is available to:
Eligibility is not affected by how student fees are paid, whether directly, by a sponsor, or through a student loan provider.
This rule ensures that all individuals connected to the School, regardless of their fee payment method or status, can utilise the complaints procedure, ensuring broad access and fairness.
This Policy will be available to the public on the School’s website and on the Automated Governance System (AGS). Complaints can be submitted via the AGS or email, ensuring accessibility for students.
Providing the Policy on multiple platforms ensures that it is readily accessible to all students, facilitating ease of use and ensuring transparency in the complaints process.
Students should raise a complaint, as defined in this policy, as soon as they become aware of the issue, but no later than 3 months from when the concern arises. The School may extend this deadline in exceptional circumstances.
This rule ensures that complaints are addressed in a timely manner, while allowing flexibility for exceptional cases, to maintain fairness and effectiveness in resolving issues.
If a student complaint is submitted to the Student Wellbeing Team after the 3-month limit, the Team may choose to consider it if exceptional circumstances are present. If the complaint is not accepted, a Completion of Procedures letter will be issued, indicating that the complaint is out of time. This letter can be used to contact the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (Stage 3 of the Complaint Resolution Stages).
This rule ensures that late complaints are handled fairly while providing a clear process for students to escalate their concerns if the complaint is not accepted due to being submitted past the deadline.
Former students may submit a complaint within 3 months of their withdrawal or last day of attendance, whichever is earlier. The School may extend this deadline at its discretion if exceptional circumstances are present.
This rule ensures that former students have a fair opportunity to raise complaints within a reasonable period while allowing flexibility for exceptional situations.
Complaints should be submitted via the complaints link on the AGS or emailed to the Student Wellbeing Team at complaints@lsi.ac.uk. The Team will:
This rule ensures that complaints are managed systematically and confidentially, with proper tracking and support, while maintaining transparency and adherence to data protection policies.
When submitting a complaint, the following information must be provided:
Providing comprehensive details ensures that complaints are clearly understood and properly addressed, facilitating an effective resolution process.
Once a complaint is logged in the AGS, it will follow these stages:
This structured approach ensures complaints are addressed systematically, starting with informal resolution and escalating to formal and independent review if necessary, providing a clear path for resolution.
Students should first raise any issues directly with the relevant person, such as a staff member, student, or personal academic tutor, as many concerns can be resolved informally through conversation. If preferred, students can initiate this process via the AGS or by emailing the Student Wellbeing Team, who will assist. If resolved, the AGS will be updated, and records will generally be removed automatically after 6 months. If the informal route does not resolve the issue, the complaint can proceed to Stage 2.
Complaints will usually start at Stage 1. However, they will progress to Stage 2 if:
This rule ensures that complaints are handled appropriately and promptly, escalating to a formal resolution if informal methods are unsuitable or ineffective, or if the student’s status changes.
Upon registering a Stage 2 complaint, the Student Wellbeing Team must, within 5 working days, review:
The possible outcomes after this review are:
This process ensures complaints are assessed thoroughly and fairly, with clear steps for resolution or escalation. It maintains procedural integrity and aims for timely and effective resolution.
If a student is unhappy with the Team's rejection or the outcome of mediation or a formal investigation, they may request a review of the decision. This can be done via the AGS or by emailing the Team.
This process ensures that students have a clear and accessible avenue for challenging decisions, promoting fairness and transparency in the complaint resolution process.
A request for an outcome review must be submitted within 10 working days of receiving the relevant decision.
This timeframe ensures that reviews are conducted promptly and that any issues are addressed in a timely manner, maintaining the efficiency and integrity of the complaint resolution process.
Students must specify the grounds for requesting an outcome review as follows:
Clearly outlining these grounds ensures that the review process is fair and focused, addressing specific issues or new information that may affect the decision.
Upon receiving a request for an outcome review, the Director of Education will:
This process ensures that reviews are conducted impartially and that students have a clear path to escalate their complaints if needed.
Within 28 days of completing the School’s complaints procedures, the School will issue a Completion of Procedures Letter to the student, confirming that the internal process is exhausted. If the student is still dissatisfied, they may refer the matter to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) within 12 months from the date of the letter. Further information is available on the OIA website (https://www.oiahe.org.uk).
This rule ensures students are informed when internal complaints procedures are complete and provides a clear path for escalating their concerns to the OIA if needed.
Complaints are usually made by individual students. However, a group of students may lodge a complaint if the issue affects them collectively or if they seek the same remedy. Complaints cannot be submitted by third parties who are not directly involved with the matter.
This rule ensures that complaints are relevant and directly related to those affected, maintaining the integrity of the process and preventing external parties from influencing the outcome.
The Student Wellbeing Team may consolidate two or more individual complaints with similar or identical issues or remedies into a group complaint. This may be done if it is considered a more efficient or effective way to investigate the matter.
Consolidating similar complaints streamlines the investigation process, making it more efficient and ensuring consistency in handling related issues.
For group complaints, students must appoint a lead student to act as the contact person for the group. The School will communicate only with this lead student throughout the complaint process.
Having a designated lead student ensures clear and efficient communication, avoiding confusion and ensuring that all group members receive consistent information.
To include their complaint in a group complaint, each student must give written consent to the Complaints Team. This consent must cover:
If a student does not provide this consent, their evidence will not be considered in the group complaint investigation, and they must submit an individual complaint instead.
Written consent ensures all group members are informed and agree to the handling of their complaint. It also maintains the integrity of the investigation by ensuring only consenting members' evidence is used.
Students may be accompanied at all stages by:
No other persons or representatives, including legal representatives, are permitted. Details of the accompanying person must be provided in advance of all meetings.
Limiting accompaniment to School students and staff ensures consistency and maintains the focus of the complaint process on internal resolution. Advance notice allows for proper preparation and organisation of meetings.
The School may terminate consideration of a complaint if the student:
If a complaint is terminated, the student may request an outcome review from the Director of Education within 10 working days.
Termination may be necessary to maintain a constructive process and ensure that complaints are handled fairly and efficiently. The review request provides an opportunity to address concerns about the termination decision.
The School may reject a complaint if it is deemed frivolous, vexatious, or lacking merit. This includes complaints that:
If a complaint is rejected, the student may request an outcome review from the Director of Education within 10 working days.
Rejecting such complaints ensures that the complaint process remains focused and effective, preventing misuse and maintaining fairness. The review request allows the student to contest the rejection decision.
The Module Examination Board and Programme Examination Boards, authorised by the Academic Board, are responsible for:
Students may challenge decisions made by these Boards through an academic appeal. Appeals must be based solely on procedural irregularity, such as missed stages or unconsidered evidence. Appeals cannot challenge the Boards' judgement or decisions on the merits of the case.
Academic appeals differ from complaints, which address general School processes, and from applications for extenuating circumstances. For details on the academic appeal process, refer to the School Examination Boards and Academic Appeal Regulations.
This rule ensures that students understand the scope and limitations of academic appeals, clarifying that appeals must address procedural issues rather than the Boards' judgement. It helps maintain a clear distinction between appeals, complaints, and applications for extenuating circumstances.
Staff will receive training on:
This training ensures that staff manage complaints with fairness and sensitivity, prevent conflicts of interest, and offer necessary support, thus upholding the integrity and effectiveness of the complaints process.
The Student Wellbeing Team will:
These actions ensure transparency in handling complaints and appeals, maintain up-to-date communication with students, and support oversight and accountability through regular reporting to the relevant committees.
The following metrics will be measured and regularly reviewed as performance indicators for the School to ensure the effectiveness of this policy and associated operations.