Complaints

You can obtain information about the Procedure from the University’s Quality Management Office by emailing complaints@salford.ac.uk. You can also obtain independent advice and support from the Students’ Union Advice Centre by emailing advicecentre-ussu@salford.ac.uk or booking an appointment.

You must submit the complaint yourself. We can only look at a complaint submitted by someone else if you give written permission for another person to do so. You will need to complete a third party consent form and send this via email to complaints@salford.ac.uk or post it to the Quality Management Office. 

You can submit a joint complaint with other students provided that the names of all students who are connected to the complaint are disclosed to the University and the case is conducted through a lead contact or spokesperson. All students should complete the group complaint consent form. 

You can’t submit a complaint anonymously. If you are making a complaint the providers of the service or individuals have a right to know what is being complained about and by whom. A copy of your complaint will therefore normally be provided to those who are the subject of the complaint. 

We hope that most issues can be resolved at the first stage of our Procedure.  You can raise your concerns by letter, e-mail or orally within 20 working days of the event or issues which you wish to complain about.  You may find it useful to complete the stage 1 student complaint form which guides you through the information we would need to look into your complaint, or you can write it in your own words. Please provide as much information as you can, as well as providing any available supporting evidence, to enable us to understand you concerns.  

You should raise your concerns with relevant staff either in your School, or in the relevant professional service department, depending on the issue. If you are unsure who to speak to, please contact your School, the relevant department, or the Quality Management Office via complaints@salford.ac.uk. 

The University will aim to review the issues you have raised within 15 working days. 

If the stage 1 process fails to resolve your concerns, you can submit a stage 2 complaint using the stage 2 student complaint form.  It is important that you provide as much information as possible about your complaint and any supporting evidence. It would also be helpful if you are able to explain any actions you would like to see arising from your complaint and why you did not agree with the stage 1 outcome. 

Completed forms should be sent via email to complaints@salford.ac.uk. 

You need to ensure that your complaint is received by the University within 10 working days of the response provided at stage 1. 

Your complaint will be acknowledged by the Quality Management Office and if your complaint has been received in time and your concerns can be reviewed through the Student Complaints Procedure, it will be sent to the relevant school or service for investigation. You will receive information about how we will investigate your complaint. 

A written response will be sent to you, normally within 30 working days from the date the investigator is appointed. 

If you have received the outcome of your stage 2 complaint and you are unhappy with the outcome, you can request a review of the outcome. This is the final stage in the Procedure. 

The reasons or grounds on which you can seek further review are: 

• That there was a procedural irregularity at stage 2 of the Student Complaints Procedure which has materially disadvantaged you, the student; 

• The emergence of new and relevant evidence which, for good and reasonable cause, was not available during stage 2; or 

• That evidence is available to show that the outcome reached at an earlier stage was unreasonable. In this context, unreasonable shall be taken to mean perverse, i.e. that the outcome was not a possible conclusion which a similar hearing or process of consideration might have reached. 

You will need to complete a stage 3 complaint form and send this via email to complaints@salford.ac.uk. 

The timescale to submit your stage 3 complaint is 10 working days from the date the letter advising you of the stage 2 complaint. 

When we receive your stage 3 complaint, the Director of Academic Quality (or nominee) will review your request to see if it meets of any of the valid grounds for further consideration.  If your request is valid, you will be invited to attend a complaint review panel to discuss your complaint. If your request is not valid, we will write to you to explain why. 

If you have followed every stage of the Complaints Procedure and you are not satisfied with the outcome, the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) which is the ombudsman for Higher Education may be able to undertake an independent review of your complaint. You will need a letter from the University which states that you have completed the University’s internal complaints procedure. Further information about the OIA’s scheme can be found on their website.

The University has put a number of steps in place to support students during the current period of strike action. If you have any concerns or questions, you should raise these in the first instance with your programme leader or School Office: 

If that does not resolve your concerns, we have a two stage complaints process in place to consider complaints arising from strike action.