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COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
North East Scotland College (NESCol) is committed to providing an excellent education and high-quality services to our students from enrolment to graduation.

We value complaints and use information from them to help us improve our services.
If something goes wrong or you are dissatisfied with our services, please tell us. This leaflet describes our complaints procedure and how to make a complaint. It also tells you about how we will handle your complaint and what you can expect from us.
WHAT IS A COMPLAINT? We regard a complaint as any expression of dissatisfaction about our action or lack of action, or about the standard of service provided by us or on our behalf. WHAT CAN I COMPLAIN ABOUT? You can complain about things like: · the admissions process · the disciplinary process · a request for a service or for information which the College has not actioned or
answered · wrong information about academic programmes or college services · the quality and availability of facilities and learning resources · accessibility of College buildings or services · a failure or refusal to provide a service · an inadequate quality or standard of service, or an unreasonable delay in providing a
service · dissatisfaction with one of the College's policies or its impact on the individual · failure to properly apply law, procedure or guidance when delivering services · failure to follow the appropriate administrative process · conduct, treatment by or attitude of a member of staff or contractor (except
where there are arrangements in place for the contractor to handle the complaint themselves); or · disagreement with a decision, (except where there is a statutory procedure for challenging that decision, or an established appeals process followed throughout the sector). Your complaint may involve more than one college service or be about someone working on our behalf, such as a contractor.
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WHAT CAN'T I COMPLAIN ABOUT?
There are some things we can't deal with through our complaints handling procedure. These include:
· a request for information or an explanation of policy or practice · a disagreement with academic judgment · a concern about student conduct · a routine first-time request for a service · a request for compensation only · issues that are in court or have already been heard by a court or a tribunal (if you
decide to take legal action, you should let us know as the complaint cannot then be considered under this process) · disagreement with a decision where there is a statutory procedure for challenging that decision (such as for freedom of information and subject access requests), or an established appeals process followed throughout the sector · a request for information under the Data Protection or Freedom of Information (Scotland) Acts · a grievance by a staff member or a grievance relating to employment or staff recruitment · a concern raised internally by a member of staff (which was not about a service they received, such as a whistleblowing concern) · a concern about a child or an adult's safety · an attempt to reopen a previously concluded complaint or to have a complaint reconsidered where the College has already given their final decision · abuse or unsubstantiated allegations about the organisation or staff where such actions would be covered by the Safeguarding Child & Adult Protection policy, Disciplinary Policy & Procedure and our Complaints Unacceptable Actions Policy. · a concern about the actions or service of a different organisation, where the College have no involvement in the issue (except where the other organisation is delivering services on the College's behalf).
If other procedures or rights of appeal can help you resolve your concerns, we will give information and advice to help you.
WHO CAN COMPLAIN?
Anyone who receives, requests or is directly affected by college services can make a complaint to us. This includes the representative of someone who is dissatisfied with our service (for example, a relative, friend, advocate or adviser). If you are making a complaint on someone else's behalf, you will normally need their written consent. Please also read the section on Getting help to make your complaint on page 5.
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HOW DO I COMPLAIN?
You can complain in person at one of our campuses, by phone, in writing, by email or via our complaints form - click here
It is easier for us to resolve complaints if you make them quickly and directly to the college service concerned. So please talk to a member of our staff in the department you are complaining about. Then they can try to resolve any problems on the spot.
When complaining, tell us:
· your full name and contact details · as much as you can about the complaint · what has gone wrong; and · what outcome you are seeking.
OUR CONTACT DETAILS
Please contact us by the following means:
Quality Team North East Scotland College Aberdeen City Campus Gallowgate Aberdeen AB25 1BN
Telephone: 01224 612303 · Email: complaints@nescol.ac.uk
HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO MAKE A COMPLAINT?
Normally, you must make your complaint:
· within six months of the event you want to complain about, or · within six months of finding out that you have a reason to complain, as long as this
is no longer than 12 months after the event itself.
In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to accept a complaint after the time limit. If you feel the time limit should not apply to your complaint, please tell us why.
RETURNED COMPLAINTS
Due to the nature of complaints, the College acknowledges that people may behave in an uncharacteristic manner due to distress or displeasure. We ask that complaints are submitted using language that allows us to deal with your complaint effectively. Should the tone of a complaint be unacceptable, the College will return the complaint with an explanation of why the correspondence was unacceptable and request that this be amended so we can begin dealing with the issues raised.
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WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I HAVE COMPLAINED?
Our complaints procedure has two stages:
Stage one ­ frontline resolution We aim to respond to complaints quickly (where possible, when you first tell us about the issue). This could mean an on-the-spot apology and explanation if something has clearly gone wrong, or immediate action to resolve the problem.
We will give you our decision at stage 1 in five working days or less, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
If you are not satisfied with the response we give at this stage, we will tell you what you can do next. If you choose to, you can take your complaint to stage 2. You must normally ask us to consider your complaint at stage 2 either:
· within six months of the event you want to complain about or finding out that you have a reason to complain; or
· within two months of receiving your stage 1 response (if this is later).
In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to accept a stage 2 complaint after the time limit. If you feel that the time limit should not apply to your complaint, please tell us why.
Stage two ­ investigation Stage 2 deals with two types of complaint: where the customer remains dissatisfied after stage 1 and those that clearly require investigation, and so are handled directly at this stage. If you do not wish your complaint to be handled at stage 1, you can ask us to handle it at stage 2 instead.
When using stage 2:
· we will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within three working days · we will confirm our understanding of the complaint we will investigate and what
outcome you are looking for · we will try to resolve your complaint where we can · where we cannot resolve your complaint, we will give you a full response as soon as
possible, normally within 20 working days.
If our investigation will take longer than 20 working days, we will tell you. We will tell you our revised time limits and keep you updated on progress.
WHAT IF I'M STILL DISSATISFIED?
After we have given you our final decision, if you are still dissatisfied with our decision or the way we dealt with your complaint, you can ask the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) or the Scottish Qualifications Agency (SQA) (or other awarding body) to look at it. For qualifications that are regulated, if you remain dissatisfied with the way the awarding body has handled your complaint then you may complain to the qualifications regulator, SQA Accreditation.
The SPSO are not able to look at academic judgement and do not have the power to revise course awards. This can only be achieved through an academic appeals process. The SPSO consider complaints about the quality of service and maladministration, which may include issues surrounding course delivery.
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Further information on who to approach about your complaint is available from NESCol. In all cases, the complaint must first have been considered by the college.
The SPSO are an independent organisation that investigates complaints. They are not an advocacy or support service (but there are other organisations who can help you with advocacy or support).
You can ask the SPSO to look at your complaint if:
you have gone all the way through the College's complaints handling procedure; it is less than 12 months after you became aware of the matter you want to complain about; and the matter has not been (and is not being) considered in court.
Contact details for SPSO
By post/in person:
SPSO Bridgeside House 99 McDonald Road Edinburgh EH7 4NS
(Should you require a freepost envelope, the SPSO will be able to provide this. Please call SPSO on 0800 3777 330 to arrange.)
Advice line Freephone 0800 377 7330
Website www.spso.org.uk Online contact form www.spso.org.uk/contact-form
GETTING HELP TO MAKE YOUR COMPLAINT
We understand that you may be unable, or reluctant, to make a complaint yourself. We accept complaints from the representative of a person who is dissatisfied with our service. We can take complaints from a friend, relative, or an advocate, if you have given them your consent to complain for you.
Useful contact details:
Student Advice Centre: studentadvice@nescol.ac.uk Students' Association: nescolsa@nescol.ac.uk Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance: www.siaa.org.uk
We are committed to making our service easy to use for all members of the community. In line with our statutory equalities duties, we will always ensure that reasonable adjustments are made to help you access and use our services. If you have trouble putting your complaint in writing, or want this information in another language or format, such as large font, or Braille, please tell us in person, contact us on 01224 612303 or email us at complaints@nescol.ac.uk
We can also give you this leaflet in other languages and formats (such as large print, audio and Braille).
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Quick guide to our complaints procedure
Complaints procedure You can make your complaint in person, by phone, by e-mail, via the online form or in writing. We have a two-stage complaints procedure. We will always try to deal with your complaint quickly. But if it is clear that the matter will need a detailed investigation, we will tell you and keep you updated on our progress.
Stage 1: frontline resolution We will always try to resolve your complaint quickly, within five working days if we can. If you are dissatisfied with our response, you can ask us to consider your complaint at Stage 2.
Stage 2: investigation We will look at your complaint at this stage if you are dissatisfied with our response at Stage 1. We also look at some complaints immediately at this stage, if it is clear that they are complex or need detailed investigation. We will acknowledge your complaint within three working days. We will confirm the points of complaint to be investigated and what you want to achieve. We will investigate the complaint and give you our decision as soon as possible. This will be after no more than 20 working days unless there is clearly a good reason for needing more time.
The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman If, after receiving our final decision on your complaint, you remain dissatisfied with our decision or the way we have handled your complaint, you can ask the SPSO to consider it. There are some complaints that have an alternative route for independent review. We will tell you how to seek independent review when we give you our final response on your complaint.
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Aberdeen City Campus
Gallowgate, Aberdeen AB25 1BN

Aberdeen Altens Campus
Hareness Road, Altens Industrial Estate, Aberdeen AB12 3LE

Fraserburgh Campus
Henderson Road, Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire AB43 9GA

NESCollege www.nescol.ac.uk 0300 330 5550 complaints@nescol.ac.uk

https://www.nescol.ac.uk/about-nescol/corporate-information/quality/

IM_Mar 2021