117.The nature of the relationship between the provider and the students’ union or student representative body varies between providers. It is important to explain to students how they can raise complaints about the actions of their student representative body.
118.Some providers are obliged by law to make sure that there is a complaints procedure available to individual students and groups of students who want to complain about their students’ union. The students’ union procedures must include provision for an independent person appointed by the provider’s governing body to investigate and report on complaints.(Section 22 of the Education Act 1994 sets out the responsibilities of universities for their students’ unions).
119.All providers should make sure that complaints about the students’ union or other student representative body are handled fairly and promptly and that an effective remedy is provided when a complaint is upheld.
120.If a student who has made a complaint or academic appeal is in dispute with the student representative body, either about that issue or about something else, it is good practice for the provider to direct the student to other sources of support.
121.Where a student complains to the provider about the student representative body, it is good practice to explain what the provider’s role is and what it can and can’t do, particularly if the student is seeking a remedy that the provider can’t deliver.
122.Generally, we can’t look at complaints about the actions of an independent student representative body. However, we can consider a complaint about a student representative body where it is part of the legal entity of the higher education provider, or where the complaint concerns the provider’s obligations relating to its student representative body. Where a provider has considered a complaint about a student representative body it should give the student a Completion of Procedures Letter at the end of that process.
Case study 12: Late submission – waiting for advice from the students’ union
A student makes an academic appeal about their end of year results. The student explains that they have missed the deadline to send in their appeal because they were waiting for advice from the students’ union. They provide evidence that shows the students’ union promised to get back to them and had told the student that the deadline was not important. The provider decides to accept the appeal and advises the student how they can make a complaint to the students’ union.
