Policy category: Middlesex Policies

Policy 003: Complaints and Grievances Policy

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  1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE

1.1 This policy describes how the Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) supports students who are engaging with and making use of the Student Complaints and Grievances. If you are not sure who to speak to, seek advice from the Student Hub at your campus or via studentsupport@acm.ac.uk.

1.2 This policy explains, in an open, transparent and accessible way, how ACM deals with student complaints and grievances.

1.3 Complaints against ACM made by students are treated seriously and, if found to be justified, are acted upon to ensure that our students’ interests are protected.

1.4 ACM is committed to providing a high-quality experience for each student and encourages all students report any cause for concern in a timely manner.

  1. POLICY STATEMENT

Student grievances and complaints

2.1 The guiding principles are that complaints shall be:

  1. treated seriously and with fairness;
  2. dealt with promptly, sensitively and at the appropriate level of ACM;
  3. treated consistently across ACM;
  4. progressed through two stages – an informal stage and, if necessary, a formal stage;
  5. dealt with and resolved, wherever possible, informally and with the least amount of disruption as is possible.
  6. without prejudice to a student’s or group of students’ right to pursue remedies outside ACM and the awarding body, having exhausted ACM and/or the awarding body’s complaints procedures
  7. In order to be considered, any student complaint must be submitted no more than six calendar months after the event or problem relating to the complaint.

2.2 The procedures detailed below are designed to manage all forms of student complaints. ACM reserves the right to refer student cases to be investigated under the Appeals Policy and Procedure if deemed appropriate.

2.3 These complaints procedures and any decisions made under them are not intended to give rise to legal rights, or obligations on ACM or its awarding bodies to pay compensation either in respect of a decision made pursuant to the procedures or for a breach of these procedures. This policy is intended to facilitate ACM to resolve grievances.

2.4 Complaints can only be accepted and acted on when received from the student themselves or, where the student is under 18 or deemed to be unable to act in their own interest, from the Parent or Guardian previously declared to ACM.

2.5 Students are strongly encouraged to provide ACM feedback to allow ACM the opportunity to act on the feedback at the earliest opportunity before raising a complaint. If after receiving feedback they still wish to seek further advice they should refer to the stages below:

  1. Informal Complaint – Students should raise the complaint with the relevant team responsible to be invited to an in-depth discussion for early resolution. If unsure who to contact complaints@acm.ac.uk can assist students at this stage.
  2. Formal Complaint – Students can submit a complaint form for a formal investigation of the issue, where they are not happy will all previous early resolution responses. This is submitted to complaints@acm.ac.uk The complaints panel will meet to review all formal complaints raised.
  3. Validating body/ partner institution review – following the outcome of a formal appeal students may request a review by the validating body/ partner institution. Students can appeal the result at stage 3 of a formal complaint where they feel there was a material error in the way the complaint was processed. When the review has been concluded, the student will be issued with a Completion of Procedures (CoP) letter.
  4. (HE students only) Following this, any student who is dissatisfied with the final decision on their case may be able to apply to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) for Higher Education. Information and eligibility rules are available at: oiahe.org.uk.

2.7 Students must submit complaints within the timescale stated within the complaints procedure. If there is a delay in submitting a complaint, the complainant may be asked to explain the reason for the delay, and the delay may be grounds for the complaint to be rejected. If significant time has passed, it may be difficult and/or impossible for a fair and proper investigation of the circumstances and detail of the complaint.

2.8 If the student or applicant is not satisfied with the decision at the conclusion of ACM’s Formal stage or if the recommendations made at this stage are not implemented, they may appeal in the first instance to ACM’s awarding body for their programme, which will follow its own process, as noted in 2.9 below.

2.9 For information on the complaints policy of their relevant awarding body, students should refer to:

  1. Degree students:
 Student Complaints and Grievance Procedures, Middlesex University Regulations
  2. Diploma Students: University of the Arts London’s Student Complaints Procedures
  3. Diploma Students, where a grievance relates to funding: East Surrey College Complaints Procedure

2.10 For applicants, decisions made by the awarding institution will be final, in line with their regulations.

2.11 For relatively minor queries or complaints, students and applicants are encouraged to raise them in the first instance to a relevant member of staff. The appropriate member of ACM staff may be able to resolve the issue without needing to make use of these Student Complaints and Grievances Policy, and corresponding Procedure.

Group Complaints

2.12  
ACM recognises that students may wish to lodge complaints collectively. In such instances students are asked to nominate one spokesperson with whom ACM staff will liaise to address the complaint. The spokesperson should endeavour to gather the views of all of the students who wish to lodge the complaint. If Stage 1 does not satisfactorily address the complaint, the spokesperson should complete a written explanation of the complaint (either a report or via the Student Complaints Form), which should be agreed by the entire group before submission. Students may opt to have their elected Student Representative act as spokesperson for the group.

Possible Outcomes from an Upheld Complaint

2.13 Where a complaint is upheld, ACM may instigate in any one or a combination of the following resolutions

  • A change in teaching content or teaching/support staff where applicable
  • A partial or full refund of fees paid
  • A opportunity for a student to repeat certain teaching without additional cost
  • A altered date the student ceased study on a course.
  1. POLICY OWNER

3.1 The policy lead is responsible for the cyclical monitoring and review of the policy in liaison with the Quality Assurance Team. The Student Complaints and Grievances Policy lead is:

3.2 Decisions and appropriate actions in support of the implementation of the Policy will be authorised by the following designated staff:

  • Quality Assurance and Enhancement Manager
  • Student Services Manager
  • Registry Manager
  • Senior Management, including Executive Senior Management
  1. SUPPORTING INFORMATION

4.1 Internal Documents

  • Academic Appeals
  • Academic Integrity
  • Admissions
  • Student Disciplinary
  • Equality and Diversity

4.2 External Documents

  • Middlesex University Regulations: Student complaints and grievance procedures
  • University of the Arts, London: Student Complaint Procedures
  • East Surrey College: Client Feedback Policy
  • QAA Quality Code, Chapter B9: Academic Appeals and Student Complaints
  1. DOCUMENT HISTORY AND NEXT REVIEW

Version:                      3.0

Approved on:             03 September 2024

Approved by:             Academic Board

Next review due:      August 2025

Download Policy 003_Complaints and Grievances_AY2324

Policy 002: Academic Appeals Policy

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Policy 002: ACADEMIC APPEALS

  1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE

1.1.  This Policy aims to explain in an open, transparent and accessible way how ACM approaches an appeal against the decision of an ACM Assessment Board or Final Exam Board.

1.2.  This Policy outlines the provisions in place for a student appeal of an Academic outcome.

1.3.  This Policy applies to all students and is designed to ensure that students are treated in a fair and equitable manner.

1.4 This Policy applies to ACM students on HE programmes, including Foundation programmes.

FE students

1.5 ACM applies UAL’s Academic Appeals Policy and Procedure to its UAL-validated Level 3 diploma programmes. FE students should therefore follow UAL’s Academic Appeals Policy and Procedure HERE and pay close attention to Section 2 in the UAL Policy in order to determine whether they have grounds to appeal. All appeals from ACM FE students should be sent to diplomaleadership@acm.ac.uk

  1. ACADEMIC APPEALS

Definition of an academic appeal

2.1 An academic appeal is a request from a student for a decision of an ACM Assessment Board or Final Exam Board to be reviewed because it is believed that an injustice has occurred. 

2.3 If an academic appeal has valid grounds (see relevant section below), the relevant decision of the ACM Assessment Board or Final Exam Board will be reviewed in the light of any new information provided by the student by following ACM’s Academic Appeals Procedure. If the appeal is upheld in full or in part, the decision of the relevant body may be rescinded, ACM may take other suitable actions, or some combination of the two.

2.4.  An appeal may only be made against a published assessment result which has been made by an ACM Assessment Board or Final Exam Board. This includes provisional results where these have been communicated. Students can therefore appeal decisions made by specially delegated Boards and provisional decisions made by a Board at which an External Examiner has not been present. 

2.5 Students wishing to understand a grade which has not yet been approved by an ACM Assessment Board or Final Exam Board should first do so informally through assessment@acm.ac.uk  If the issue cannot be resolved at this level, the programme team , who can be contacted at assessment@acm.ac.uk can assign an appropriate tutor to discuss the issue in full.

2.6 Students who have a complaint or grievance concerning the provision of a programme of study or academic service which they believe has affected the quality of their academic performance, should, before submitting an academic appeal, follow ACM’s Student Complaints and Grievance Procedures (POL 003).

Grounds for lodging an Academic Appeal

2.7 Academic Appeals against ACM Assessment Board or Final Exam Board decisions may be made on any of the following grounds:

  • That a student’s performance in an assessment suffered through illness or other factors which the student was unable or for valid reasons unwilling to inform the ACM Assessment Board or Final Exam Board (FEB) through the extenuating circumstances procedures before it reached its decision.
  • That there has been an administrative or procedural error in the management of the assessment.
  • That the assessment was not run in accordance with the programme regulations.
  • That the ACM Assessment Board  or Final Exam Board has failed to consider material circumstances relating to the delivery of a module, which adversely affected a student’s performance in assessment. This ground will only be considered acceptable if the circumstances have been the subject of a Student Complaints and Grievance procedure, and the case of the complaint has been upheld, and steps have not been taken to mitigate the effects of the circumstances.
  • An Academic Appeal against a penalty imposed for academic misconduct on grounds listed in the Academic Integrity Policy.
  • That some other identified irregularity has occurred. 

Invalid grounds for an Academic Appeal

2.8 An appeal may be rejected for any of the following reasons, or if it is judged to be vexatious or frivolous, without further recourse to the Academic Appeals procedures:

2.9 The Academic Appeal is a disagreement with the academic judgement of an ACM Assessment Board or Final Exam Board in assessing the merits of academic work, or in reaching a decision on progression, or on the final classification of a qualification, which has been reached in accordance with the regulations. (This is sometimes referred to as a challenge of academic judgement.) 

2.10 The student did not understand or was not aware of the published assessment regulations and procedures for an assessment, module or programme. 

2.11 The appeal is on the grounds that poor teaching, supervision or guidance affected academic performance. In such circumstances a student should submit a complaint in accordance with the Student Complaints and Grievance Procedure. An academic appeal on such grounds will only be considered if a complaint has been upheld, wholly or in part. 

2.12 No contemporaneous, independent, medical or other evidence has been submitted to support an application that academic performance was adversely affected by factors such as ill health as per the Extenuating Circumstance policy and procedure (POL 006).

2.13 The student was not aware of the procedures for presenting extenuating circumstances to the ACM Assessment Board or Final Exam Board.

2.14 No valid reason has been submitted as explanation for not submitting evidence of extenuating circumstances at the appropriate time before the ACM Assessment Board  or Final Exam Board.

2.15 The academic appeal concerns a medical condition which pre-dates the relevant assessment(s), and which the student has not raised with ACM without good reason; or which has been raised with ACM as a matter for educational adjustments and has been duly considered.

2.16 The student was subject to a disturbance or illness during an assessment and that there is no valid reason for this not to have been brought to the attention of the ACM Assessment Board or Final Exam Board before it met. 

2.17 The student had changed address or other contact details without informing ACM, resulting in assessment information being sent to an out-of-date address.

2.18. ACM receives the appeal later than the time limit, which is 21 working days from the date the student is notified of the decision of the ACM Assessment Board or Final Exam Board. The only exceptions to this deadline are as outlined below. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the appeal is submitted to ACM on time.

Before making an Academic Appeal

2.19 There is a time limit of 21 working days for the submission of a formal appeal to appeals@acm.ac.uk from the date of ACM Assessment Board or Final Exam Board results being communicated.

2.20 If an academic appeal arises following due process of the Student Complaints and Grievance Procedure, the time limit is 21 working days from the date the student receives the written result of this procedure.

2.21 If an appeal arises following due process of the Academic Integrity Policy, the time limit is 21 working days from the date the student receives the written result of this procedure. 

2.22 An appeal investigation should normally be completed within 21 working days of the appeal being acknowledged after submission to appeals@acm.ac.uk If an appeal investigation cannot be completed within the usual 21 working day timeframe ACM will notify the student in writing at the end of the usual timeframe. They will provide a clear explanation as to why the investigation is going beyond usual timeframes and provide an indication to the student as to when they can expect an outcome.

2.23 The staff team assigned to the appeal will consider the case and may advise the student:

  • That the ACM Assessment Board or Final Exam Board will reconsider its decision taking account of this new information;
  • That the ACM Assessment Board or Final Exam Board’s decision was based on a fair evaluation of the student’s assessment performance and will not be reconsidered; 
  • In any other way deemed appropriate, including that the student may consider requesting a review of the appeal outcome. 

2.24 Students should only make a formal appeal if:

  • They have been unable to receive an early resolution outcome from relevant members of staff;
  • They are dissatisfied with the outcome of these informal early resolution discussions.

Progression of an appellant while an appeal is being considered

2.25 The decision of the ACM Assessment Board or Final Exam Board remains in force until it is formally notified by the Secretary or nominee of the ACM Assessment Board or Final Exam Board to have been rescinded. Therefore, the student remains responsible for:

  1. Conforming to the requirements of the existing Board decision, such as preparation for reassessment or repetition of curriculum, pending the outcome of the appeal;
  2. The consequence of not complying with these requirements should the subsequent decision of the appeal process not be in the student’s favour.

2.26 While the appeal is being processed, the appellant:

  1. Shall normally be permitted to continue to the next stage of their studies unless there are exceptional circumstances or the student is appealing a termination of studies (also known as deregistration). This will not prejudice the outcome of the appeal. 
  2. If the appeal concerns a termination of enrolment (deregistration) following an investigation into academic misconduct, the appellant will normally be suspended while the appeal is under consideration. Appellants in this position must obtain written permission from a member of the Academic Leadership Team or an appropriate nominee to continue studies or use ACM facilities during this period. Permission should be sought by writing to appeals@acm.ac.uk 

2.27 The provision under 2.26 (a) above is designed solely to ensure that a student whose appeal is upheld is not academically disadvantaged, and it should not be interpreted as acceptance of the appeal. Satisfactory progress during the consideration of an appeal will not be admissible as evidence at any stage in the appeal procedure. During any such interim period of attendance, tuition fees will only accrue in the event of the appeal ultimately being resolved in the appellant’s favour.

2.28 If a final qualification has been awarded, ACM staff will upon request provide confirmation for potential employers that an outcome is under appeal.

2.29 If a final qualification has been awarded, ACM staff will upon request provide confirmation that a finalist may attend the graduation ceremony.

2.30 Appellants may normally proceed with their studies (subject to 2.26(a)) until the date of the letter formally notifying the appellant of the final outcome of their appeal (i.e., dismissal of the appeal or the ACM Assessment Board or Final Exam Board’s reviewed decision). This letter will inform the appellant whether they are entitled to continue on the programme. 

Confidentiality

2.31 Academic appeals will be kept as confidential as possible within ACM. Appellants who notify ACM that information has been included of a highly confidential and personal nature will, if requested, be informed in advance of the staff members to whom the information will be disclosed.

2.32 Documents pertaining to an appeal will be kept in confidence for six years. After this period, apart from a copy of the notification to a student of the final decision, they will be destroyed.

  1. RESPONSIBLE PARTIES

3.1 The policy lead is responsible for the cyclical monitoring and review of the policy in liaison with the Institutional Quality and Compliance Committee. The Academic Appeals Policy lead is: 

  • Quality Assurance and Enhancement Manager

3.2 Decisions and appropriate actions in support of the implementation of this Policy will be authorised by any or all of the following designated staff:

  • Academic Registrar
  • Quality Assurance and Enhancement Manager
  • Executive Dean of Education
  • Dean of Academic Practice and Enhancement
  • Head of Assessments
  • Head of Quality and Standards
  • Chair and Secretariat of the ACM Assessment Board / Final Exam Board
  1. SUPPORTING INFORMATION

4.1 Internal

  • Academic Appeals Procedure
  • Extenuating Circumstances Policy
  • Fitness to Study Policy
  • Complaints and Grievances Policy
  • Student Conduct and Discipline Policy
  • Safeguarding Policy
  • Equality and Diversity Policy
  • Data Protection Policy

4.2 External

  • Office for Students (OfS) Conditions B1 – B6
  • Office of the Independent Adjudicator Good Practice Framework (Handling Complaints and Appeals)
  • UAL Awarding Body qualifications resources (for FE) (Link: http://www.arts.ac.uk/about-ual/awarding-body/resources/ )
  • Data Protection Act 1998
  • UK QAA Quality Code, Chapter B9: Academic Appeals and Student Complaints
  1. DOCUMENT HISTORY AND NEXT REVIEW

Version:                       3.4

Approved on:              01 September 2025

Approved by:              Student Experience and Opportunity Board

Date of next review:  August 2026

Download here: POL_002_Academic Appeals_2025-26