Complaints and Appeals Policy – International Students
Imperial has a documented complaints and appeals policy together with procedures that cover the action to be taken in the event of a complaint or appeal, the required follow-up to the complaint or appeal, the recording of the complaint or appeal and the action taken.
Policy
Informal Process
Any international student with a question or complaint may raise the matter with staff of the Imperial and attempt an informal resolution of the question or complaint.
Questions or complaints dealt in this way do not become part of the formal complaint process and will not be documented, recorded or reported on unless the Imperial staff member involved determines that the issue question or complaint was relevant to the wider operation of the Imperial. A diary entry in the SMS (student management system) is made though.
Students who are not satisfied with the outcome of the question or complaint are encouraged to register a formal complaint.
Formal Complaints
Students who are not satisfied with the outcome of the informal process, or, who want to register a formal complaint may do so. To register a formal complaint a student must complete the student complaint form and contact the Imperial Student Support Officer to arrange a meeting. At this meeting the complaint can be raised and a resolution attempted.
Imperial will respond to any complaint or appeal the overseas student makes regarding his or her dealings with Imperial, Imperial’s education agents or any related party Imperial has an arrangement with to deliver the overseas student’s course or related service.
At the stage of the complaint meeting, the complaint must be recorded in writing and signed and dated by the complainant and the Student Support Officer. The complaint is recorded in writing by completing the student complaint form prior to the meeting or a new document can be prepared and signed during the meeting.
- Each party to the complaint may be accompanied and assisted by a support person at any relevant meetings.The student will have an opportunity to formally present their case, in writing or in person.
The Student Support Officer will then attempt to resolve the complaint with the student and any other parties who may be involved. Assessment of complaint must commence within 10 working days of the complaint being lodged in writing and a maximum time of two weeks will be allowed for the resolution unless all parties agree in writing to extend this time. This period is called the resolution phase.
At the end of the resolution phase (two weeks or such other time as agreed to by all parties in writing) the Student Support Officer will report the Imperial decision to the student. The Imperial decision and reasons for the decision will be documented by the CEO and placed in the students file with a written statement of the outcome including details and reasons for the decision.
Following the resolution phase the Imperial immediately advise the student of this and implement any decision and/or corrective and preventive action required from the complaint.
- If a student is dissatisfied with the outcome of the formal complaint process then they may lodge an appeals process by completing the appeals form.
Internal Appeal Process
Internal appeals may arise from a number of sources including appeals against assessment, appeals against discipline actions and appeals against decisions arising from complaints. The essential nature of an appeal is that it is a request by a student to reconsider a decision made by the Imperial.
A student’s enrolment must be maintained whilst an appeal is in progress and the outcome has not been determined.
The appeals process is initiated by a student completing the student appeals form.
The appeal resolution phase must commence within 10 working days of the internal appeal being lodged in writing.
A maximum time of 30 working days from the commencement of the appeal resolution phase will be allowed for the appeal resolution unless all parties agree in writing to extend this time.
After a student makes an internal appeal, Imperial will appoint a person or body to hear the appeal and propose a final resolution. This person or body must not be the same as any person or body that heard the original complaint.
Students appealing an assessment or RPL outcome will be given the opportunity for reassessment by a different assessor selected by the Imperial. Costs of reassessment will be met by the Imperial. The recorded outcome of the assessment appeal will be the most favourable result for the student from either the original assessment or the reassessment.
The outcome of the internal appeal and reasons for the outcome will be recorded in writing with a written statement of the outcome including details and reasons for the decision and signed and dated by the student and the Imperial and placed in the student file.
Following the internal appeals phase the Imperial immediately advise the student of this and implement any decision and/or corrective and preventive action required from the appeal.
There are no further avenues within the Imperial for complaints or appeals after the internal appeals process has been completed, however an external appeals process is available if the appellant doesn’t agree with the decision.
If the overseas student is not successful in the Imperial’s internal complaints handling and appeals process, Imperial will advise the overseas student within 10 working days of concluding the internal review of the overseas student’s right to access an external complaints handling and appeals process at minimal or no cost.
External Appeal Process
The purpose of the external appeals process is to consider whether the Imperial has followed its student complaint and appeals procedure, not to make a decision in place of the Imperial. For example, if a student appeals against his or her subject results and goes through the Imperial internal appeals process, the external appeals process (if accessed) would look at the way in which the internal appeal was conducted; it would not make a determination as to what the subject result should be.
Overseas Students wishing to lodge an external appeal should contact the Overseas Student Ombudsman.
For contact details and information on how to make a complaint, please go to http://www.oso.gov.au/making-a-complaint/.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for overseas students/providers and other information about the Overseas Students Ombudsman are available at http://www.oso.gov.au/frequently-asked-questions/
Student Enrolment and Imperial Action
Until the complaints and appeals process is completed, Imperial must maintain the student’s enrolment throughout the internal appeals process for all types of complaints or appeals. To ‘maintain the student’s enrolment’ for international students means Imperial does not notify DHA of any change to the student’s enrolment status through the Provider Registration and International Student Management System (PRISMS).
If the internal or any external complaints handling or appeal process results in a decision or recommendation in favour of the overseas student, Imperial must immediately implement the decision or recommendation and/or take the preventive or corrective action required by the decision, and advise the overseas student of that action.