How to Submit a Formal Complaint

Before submitting a formal complaint please ensure that either:

• You have attempted to resolve the matter with the area of the College concerned, but are not satisfied with the outcome; or
• Informal resolution is inappropriate because of the nature of the complain 

Please complete and submit a formal complaint form, together with any evidence you have which explains your point of view (including any attempts to resolve the issues so far)

An electronic copy of the Formal Complaint Form can be found here. If you cannot access the form this way, the Student Services Centre, your School Admin team or the Students’ Union can download one for you. 

You should submit your completed complaint form electronically to Complaints@royalholloway.ac.uk

 

Help and Advice

Royal Holloway is a friendly and caring community, offering numerous services to support your wellbeing and to help you get the most out of your time at the College.  We understand that there many factors that can negatively influence your university experience, but there are also many places you can go for advice and guidance. Please follow this link to the College’s Student Welbeing pages.

The Advice & Support Centre at the Students’ Union is able to provide support and advice before, during and after a complaint (tel. +44 (0)1784 276700).

If you have any questions about the Student Complaints Procedure  you can contact either the Student Services Centre (studentservices@royalholloway.ac.uk ) or the Academic Investigations team (Complaints@royalholloway.ac.uk).

 

General information to note

Please ensure that you submit your complaint as quickly as possible, and within three months of the incident or action being complained about. If you submit a complaint outside of this deadline it will not normally be investigated.

It is expected that you will act on your own behalf when communicating with the College. You are not prevented from obtaining advice and assistance from any party, including lawyers, but a complaint is an internal rather than a legal process so it is not appropriate for you to be represented by a lawyer, and no advantage will be gained by doing so.

If you do appoint a third party representative, the College will communicate directly with that representative, and not with you, until advised otherwise. You must therefore be sure that your representative knows about your complaint and is able to devote sufficient time to it.

If you decide to appoint legal representation, the College reserves the right to appoint their own which may result in your complaint taking longer to investigate. 

All complaint forms submitted are kept on file by the Academic Investigations team and an  anonymised report on all formal complaints is made annually to the College Council. 

If your complaint is considered by the Academic Investigations team to be frivolous or malicious, it may be rejected.  In serious cases, disciplinary action may be taken under the regulations governing non-academic offences.