Student Academic Complaints Procedures

This document applies to all students and all staff members of the University. 

To set out the formal procedures for the resolution of students’ concerns and complaints about specified teaching and learning matters raised under the Student Academic Complaints Statute (the Statute).

Support and advice

1. The University recognises that students and staff members involved in a process of resolving a student’s concern or complaint may need support and advice. The University will therefore take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate support services are available to provide confidential advice and guidance to staff members and students involved in such a process.

2. A student has the right to be supported by a support person or advocate through the resolution process under the statute.

Timeframe for raising academic concerns or complaints

3. Except as provided in item 4, a student must raise a concern or submit a complaint as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any case no later than three months after the event which is the subject of the concern or complaint.

• For a concern about a series of related events the date of the most recent specific event shall be deemed to be the relevant date for these procedures.
• Any concern regarding research supervision or for courses in programmes operating outside regular terms must be submitted within three months of the final grade or outcome being advised to the student.

4. An academic head may accept a complaint submitted more than three months after the event which is the subject of the complaint (“out-of-time complaint”) in either of the following circumstances:

• Where exceptional circumstances such as illness, injury, or events beyond the control of the student prevented them from submitting their complaint within the required time and the student submitted their complaint as soon as reasonably practicable after they were able to do so; or
• Where the delay was caused by a previous attempt to resolve the matter informally under item 5.

Informal processes for resolving students’ academic concerns

5. A student should attempt to resolve a matter of academic concern informally (unless they consider informal resolution to be inappropriate in the circumstances) by raising the concern with either a class representative, their Course Director or other teacher, their supervisor, academic head, programme adviser, or other person in a position of responsibility relevant to the concern.

6. A student may seek advice for an informal resolution by approaching a class representative, Auckland University Students' Association Advocacy or another student; any staff member including the instructor or supervisor concerned; the appropriate academic head, Course Director or programme leader; a Student Hub or international student adviser; a postgraduate adviser in a department, school, faculty or large-scale research institute; or the School of Graduate Studies.

7. If a student attempts to resolve a concern informally but this is not resolved to their satisfaction, then the student may make a complaint under the process set out below.

Submission of academic complaints

8. A complaint must be submitted by a student (the complainant) — or more than one student if the matters referred to in the complaint are shared — to the relevant academic head except in the following circumstances:

• A complaint in which the academic head is implicated or is the subject of the complaint, or has any other conflict of interest, should be submitted to the dean who will appoint an alternate to undertake the role of academic head in these procedures.
• A complaint in which the dean is implicated or is the subject of the complaint, or has any other conflict of interest, should be submitted to the Provost who will appoint another member of staff at Level 2 in the University Organisational Structure to undertake the role of both academic head and dean in these procedures.
• A complaint in respect to a course or activity managed directly by a faculty, should be submitted to the dean who will undertake the role of both academic head and dean in these procedures.
• A complaint in respect to a course or activity managed jointly by more than one faculty should be submitted to a dean of one of the faculties who will undertake the role of both academic head and dean in these procedures.

9. The complainant may seek advice before submitting a complaint and may be supported by an independent advisor.

Note - see Academic disputes and complaints for advice on submitting a complaint.

10. A complaint must only be submitted by a complainant who is directly affected by the matters referred to in the complaint. A complaint must:

• Be submitted in writing by, or on behalf of, the complainant or more than one complainant if the matters referred to in the complaint are shared;
• Clearly describe the matter giving rise to the complaint, including details of specific event, and which may include a suggested remedy;
• Be accompanied by all information and materials available to the complainant that are directly pertinent to the specifics of the complaint;
• Be submitted within the relevant timeframe in item 3 (except for an out-of-time complaint); and
• For an out-of-time complaint, be accompanied by evidence of the circumstances relied on by the complainant under item 4.

11. Once submitted, a complaint may not be expanded to cover matters not originally included.

12. If delays occur at any stage of the complaints process, then all parties will be notified in accordance with these procedures.

Academic head’s process for receiving complaints

13. Upon receiving a complaint the academic head must decide whether the complaint is within the scope of the Statute.

Note – To be within the scope of the statute, the complaint must be over a matter described in section 1 of the statute and not excluded under section 2 of the statute. Where the matter is within the scope of a complaint mechanism provided by another University process then the other process has precedence over the statute and these procedures.

14. Where an academic head decides under item 13 that a complaint is outside the scope of the statute, they must notify the complainant that the complaint is not accepted. The notification must specify the reason(s) why and may direct the student to another University process for resolving their complaint and/or to appropriate support services.

15. Where an academic head decides that a complaint is within the scope of the Statute they must accept the complaint unless they consider, acting reasonably, that any of the following apply.

• the complaint does not meet the requirements in item 10;
• for an out-of-time complaint, the evidence provided does not adequately demonstrate the circumstances relied upon by the complainant under item 4; or
• the complaint is trivial, frivolous, vexatious, or not made in good faith.

Note - Acceptance of a complaint is not an indication of its merit.

16. Where an academic head accepts a complaint under item 15, they must notify the complainant of the receipt of their complaint, provide the complainant with a copy of these procedures, and advise the complainant of the time period within which they may expect to receive a decision.

17. Where an academic head does not accept a complaint under item 15, they must notify the complainant that their complaint has not been accepted. The notification will specify the reason(s) why and may direct the student to an alternative process for resolving their complaint and/or to appropriate support services.

18. Where a complaint is determined to be frivolous, vexatious, or not made in good faith, the academic head may refer the matter to the Proctor for consideration under the Statute for Student Discipline.

19. The academic head may treat complaints from different complainants as a single complaint under the Statute where these complaints relate to the same or similar alleged events in the same course.

• Complaints related to research supervision should not be grouped unless a single event is the subject of multiple complaints.

Academic head’s process for investigation

20. If a complaint is accepted, the academic head will either investigate a complaint themself or appoint an independent investigator to investigate the complaint.

• If the academic head has previously assisted in trying to resolve the complaint informally then they must appoint an independent investigator.

21. The academic head or the independent investigator will:

• Provide relevant sections of the complaint to any relevant staff member(s) that are directly involved or subject(s) of the complaint, and invite them to make a written response.
• Gather information as necessary for the investigation, which may include interviews with the complainant and/or any other relevant student or staff member.
• Unless impracticable in the circumstances, complete their investigation within 28 days of receiving a complaint.

22. A staff member contacted by the academic head or independent investigator in response to the complaint may provide a written response. This written response must be provided within 14 days of being contacted unless the academic head or independent investigator determines otherwise.

Academic head’s provisional determination

23. In considering the validity of a complaint the academic head must be open-minded, act impartially and fairly, be guided by the independent investigator’s report (if any), and take into account:

• The complaint and any supporting information provided by the complainant;
• Any responses from relevant students or staff members, and any other relevant information gathered during the investigation; and
• Any other relevant information obtained from the academic head’s enquiries.

24. In normal circumstances the academic head will within 7 days of the completion of the investigation determine the validity of the complaint and either:

• Dismiss the complaint; or
• Uphold the complaint in full; or
• Uphold the complaint in part.

25. Where the academic head provisionally determines to uphold all or part of a complaint, they must also propose what they consider to be an appropriate resolution for the complaint.

26. The academic head must notify the provisional determination and any proposed resolution (if required) to the complainant, relevant staff members, and the dean with reasons for their provisional determination.

• The complainant may submit a written response to the provisional determination and/or proposed resolution within 14 days of the notification.
• Relevant staff members may submit a written response to advise the dean of any concerns they have with the provisional determination and/or proposed resolution within 14 days of the notification.

27. After the complainant and all relevant staff members have submitted a written response or after the time period for submitting a written response ends (whichever is the sooner), the dean will consider and make a decision on the complaint and its resolution (if required).

• In making their decision the dean will:
  • be open-minded and act impartially and fairly; and
  • consider all relevant information including the complainant’s response (if any) and the advice of relevant staff members (if any).
• In making their decision the dean may adopt, alter, or set aside the academic head’s determination and/or proposed resolution.
• To inform their decision the dean may seek and receive additional information, and at their discretion they may consult the complainant and any relevant staff members.
• The dean will normally make their decision within 14 days.
• If the dean does not have the delegated authority to implement a resolution, they will refer the matter with their recommended resolution for consideration by the staff member with delegated authority. If that staff member does not agree with the recommended resolution, the dean will either decide on an alternative resolution to the complaint or refer the matter to the Pro Vice-Chancellor Education for a decision.

28. Upon making their decision the dean must notify all parties of their decision with reasons and direct the academic head and/or other staff members, or request the staff member with delegated authority, to implement any resolution.

Review by the Provost

29. The complainant may request a review by the Provost of the dean’s decision under item 28 within 14 days of notification of the decision. This request must be made in writing to the Provost directly.

30. A review may only be requested on the grounds set out in section 13 of the statute.

31. Where the complainant requests a review by the Provost, the dean will forward to the Provost all relevant materials, including their findings, the academic head’s provisional determination and proposed resolution, the independent investigator’s report (if any), the original complaint, and copies of correspondence with the complainant and any relevant staff members.

32. The Provost will notify their decision on a review application to the parties as soon as reasonably practicable.

Monitoring and reporting

33. Deans will keep records of all complaints accepted under the statute and the details of their outcomes.

34. The Education Committee will receive and review summary reports from faculties each year on complaints accepted under the Statute and their outcomes, with year-on-year comparison. The identities of individuals will be protected in reporting.

35. The Vice-Chancellor’s Student Consultative Group will receive a report in each academic year from the Pro-Vice Chancellor Education summarising the complaints submitted under the Statute and their outcomes. The identities of individuals will be protected in reporting.

Academic head means head of department, school, or other teaching or research unit (or nominee).

Auckland University Students’ Association Advocacy means the advice and support service offered to students by the Auckland University Students’ Association.

Class representative means a student representative appointed for a course, cohort or programme under the Class Representation Policy.

Complainant has the meaning in item 8.

Course Director is responsible for the operation of courses and for students’ experiences of these. Course Director’s contact details will be available on Canvas for each course.

Dean means faculty dean (or nominee) or large-scale research institute director (or nominee).

Frivolous means a complaint that is lacking serious purpose.

Independent investigator means a senior member of academic staff not involved or implicated in the complaint in question, and who does not have any conflict of interest with any of the relevant parties. The independent investigator must not have been involved in any previous attempts to resolve the matter informallly.

Out-of-time complaint has the meaning in item 4.

Programme leaders include Programme Directors and Major/Specialisation Leaders who are responsible for the performance and quality of academic programmes and subjects, respectively.

Provost refers to the person for the time being holding the appointment of Provost.

Staff member refers to an individual employed by the University on a full or part-time basis. This includes permanent, fixed-term or casual staff members.

Statute means the Student Academic Complaints Statute.

Student Hub means one of the physical centres located on each campus to provide advice and support to students, as well as the accompanying online services.

Student means any student enrolled at the University at the time of the event that is the subject of a concern or a complaint.

University means Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland and includes all subsidiaries.

University process means formal processes provided by University statutes, regulations, policies, or procedures, as well as administrative processes authorised by a University statute, regulation, policy, or procedure to be developed and undertaken by faculties or service divisions.

Vexatious means a complaint that is primarily intended to cause annoyance or harm.

Academic disputes and complaints
Addressing Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination Policy and Procedures
Code of Conduct
Doctoral Supervision Policies and Procedures
Enrolment and Programme Regulations
Examination Regulations
General Regulations – Masters Degrees
PhD Statute
Privacy Act 2020
Privacy Policy
Privacy at the University of Auckland (privacy statement)
Statute for Student Discipline
Student Academic Complaints Statute
Student Academic Conduct Statute
Student Charter
University Organisation Structure

Owner: Pro Vice-Chancellor Education
Content manager: Manager, Academic Quality Office
Approved by: Provost
Date approved: 12 June 2024
Review date: 12 June 2024