Complaints

Aberystwyth University is committed to providing a high-quality service and experience to staff, students and members of the public.

However, there may be rare occasions where a mistake occurs and/or where individuals feel that their expectations have not been met by AU. In such circumstances, individuals are encouraged to submit feedback to AU, and are equally entitled to lodge a complaint. We need to know when things go wrong in order to put things right and, where appropriate, make improvements for the future.

If you are a registered student, an applicant or a member of staff if you wish to raise concerns regarding a breach of the Welsh Language Standards, our Fundraising activities or the services provided by the Department of Information Services, please see below. The University’s expectation is that relevant matters are considered in accordance with the most appropriate procedure.

If you are a member of the public, or a parent or guardian of a student full details on how complaints are considered can be found in the Public Complaints Procedure.

Students

Students can submit their feedback to AU via the Your Voice Matters / Tell Us Now portal at: https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/student/your-voice-matters/

Students have recourse to a specific Complaints Policy. All such complaints should be lodged in accordance with this Policy, which is outlined at: https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/academic-registry/handbook/complaints/

Students, who have concerns that they have been treated unfavourably or be subjected to bullying or harassment because of race, colour, ethnic or national origin, sex or sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership status, religion or belief (or no religion or belief), maternity/pregnancy, gender identity or status, age, trade union membership, disability, offending background or any other protected characteristic, can raise concerns according to the Code on Dignity and Respect at https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/sscs/student-dignity-respect/

Complaints submitted by the parents or guardians of Aberystwyth students will be treated as General Public Complaints unless they are received with the explicit written permission of the student.

Staffing Matters

As employees of the University, staff have recourse to a number of bespoke policies and procedures, and it may be more appropriate to consider any complaint in accordance with those processes.

These policies and procedures include:

  • Staff Disciplinary Procedure (Ordinance 34)
  • Staff Grievance Procedure (Ordinance 35)
  • Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures relating to the Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, and Pro Vice-Chancellors (Ordinance 38)
  • Whistleblowing (Public Interest Disclosure)
  • Dignity & Respect at Work Policy
  • Procedure for the Investigation of Misconduct in Research

Copies of these policies and procedures can be found at: https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/corporate-information/policies/

Applicants

Applicants wishing to make a formal complaint in regard to an aspect of the undergraduate or postgraduate admissions service should follow the guidance available at: https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/academic-registry/handbook/ug-admissions/ (for undergraduate admissions) or  https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/academic-registry/handbook/pg-admissions/ (for postgraduate admission).

Welsh language Standards

Suspicions that Aberystwyth University has breached the terms of its Welsh Language Standards should be submitted via the form available at: https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/cgg/bilingual-policy/complaints-procedure/

Fundraising

Complaints with respect to fundraising undertaken by the University should be submitted to the Development and Alumni Relations Office in accordance with that department’s Fundraising Complaints Procedure, which is available at:
https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/development/about/complaints-procedure/

Information Services

Complaints with respect to the Information Services department should be submitted in accordance with that department’s Complaints Procedure, which is available at: https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/is/regulations/complaints/

Complaints which can / cannot be considered

Unless there is another, more appropriate Complaints Procedure to which a Complainant has recourse, this Procedure can normally deal with most types of complaints, including those in relation to:

  • suspicions of unlawful and unethical employment practices, including in supply chains; and
  • a perceived failure to follow the University’s own processes, including in relation to decision-making.

Unfortunately, there are occasions when it would not be appropriate for the University to consider a complaint in accordance with this Procedure. Such occasions include where:

  • there is another, more appropriate Procedure to which a Complainant has recourse;
  • the complaint is in relation to the Students’ Union, which as an independent organisation has its own, separate Complaints Procedure (available at www.abersu.co.uk);
  • the complaint is submitted anonymously, and the University cannot therefore issue a response to the Complainant (although the University may choose to investigate whether there are any grounds for the complaint);
  • the Complainant disagrees with a decision taken by a democratic body within the University in accordance with the institution’s processes; and
  • a complaint is not made with 30 University working days of an issue arising, or becoming known to the Complainant.

 Submitting a Complaint

Every effort should be made in the first instance to resolve a complaint directly with the University department(s) concerned. This is referred to as a ‘Stage 1 Resolution’ in the Public Complaints Procedure.

Should it be necessary to escalate a complaint to the ‘Stage 2 Procedure’, please do so using the following form, normally within 10 University working days of the conclusion of the first Stage:

Stage 2 Procedure Form