Student Case Management

The complaints procedure is for current students of the University.

In some cases, we can also consider complaints from students who have left the University but we expect students to raise a formal complaint within three months of the incident in question.

If you are making a complaint from outside of the University you will need to complete an external form.

For more information, see: I want to make a complaint

If a group of students wants to make a collective complaint, the group should identify a single spokesperson to communicate with the Student Case Management team throughout the process.

Each member of the group must also:

• provide their student ID number and consent to participate in the group complaint 
• be able to demonstrate that they were personally affected by the matter of the complaint

To make a complaint first check you have the correct form 

• Our case request form (internal) is for students currently studying at the University.  You will need your student ID, and course title to complete the form. 

The internal form is not compatible with mobile devices. You can contact us at scm@mmu.ac.uk if you have any difficulties.

• Our SCM case request form is for students who are no longer enrolled at the University or don’t have IT access for some other reason.

Please note that you cannot attach any evidence with the SCM form.  If you have evidence you wish to submit you will need to email it to scm@mmu.ac.uk quoting your generated case number and student ID.

You may find it helpful to speak to a member of the Students’ Union Advice Centre before submitting your complaint. They will also be able to help you with completing the form and attaching any evidence you may have. 

Admissions and accommodations complaints

There are separate complaints procedures for admissions and University accommodation.

To contact Admissions regarding a complaint or appeal you can email adm.appeals@mmu.ac.uk or phone the relevant admissions team.

To submit a complaint regarding your University accommodation use the Student Living complaint form.

If you have decided to make a complaint, you will need to complete one of our case request forms.

Existing students will need to use the case request form (internal).

The internal form is not compatible with mobile devices.  Contact us at scm@mmu.ac.uk if you have any difficulties.

Former students or students who do not have IT access will need to use the SCM case request form.

You cannot attach evidence to the SCM form. You will need to email scm@mmu.ac.uk  after submitting the form if you have any evidence to provide. Remember to include your case number and student ID so we know what your evidence relates to.

Once you have accessed the form you will need to select complaint from the case type drop down and input your details.

You will then need to: 

• confirm if you are disabled or have a specific learning difficulty (such as dyslexia) or a long-term health condition that you believe is relevant to your case, and provide details about this
• fully explain the details of your complaint
• confirm whether you have already taken any action or spoken to anyone in an attempt to resolve this matter. If you have, please give details, including the outcome. It is usually advised that you attempt to resolve the matter
• provide details of how the issues reported have impacted you 
• tell us what outcome you expect to receive
• attach any relevant evidence you might have and confirm you have done this. If you wish to add multiple files, first save and name them all in the same location on your device, then use ctrl and left mouse click to select multiple documents

You will also need to confirm that you have read and understood our privacy notices before you can submit your complaint:

• student misconduct complaints
• student complaints

Once your complaint is submitted you will receive an acknowledgement email with a case number.  Please ensure you quote the case number in all your correspondence with the Case Management Team.

The Student Case Management Team will then take these steps in processing your case:

• check that the matters you have raised fall within the scope of the student complaints procedure. We may need to refer your case to be considered under another procedure if appropriate. For example, if your complaint relates to your assessment results, it may need to be considered under the academic appeals procedure.
•  try to resolve the complaint without a formal process: this is known as an informal resolution
• decide to progress your complaint in line with the formal procedure

You can also request that your case be considered in line with the formal procedure if you are unhappy with the informal outcome.

If your case does go through the formal process, it would be assigned to an investigating officer, normally a member of the Student Case Management team.  

If after receiving the outcome you are not satisfied, you may be able to request a review of the outcome.

Reviews can only be requested on the following grounds:

• that the correct procedures were not followed in consideration of your case through the earlier stages of the complaints procedure
• that the outcome of the formal stage was not reasonable
• that there is new material evidence that for good reason was not available at an earlier point in the complaints procedure

A review is not a re-hearing of the original complaint. New or additional complaints cannot be raised at this point.

To request a review of your complaint, you need to complete the Review Request Form within 10 working days of receiving your complaint outcome letter.

The Student Case Management Team will initially consider whether the grounds for review have been met. You will receive a decision on whether your review request has been accepted.

Reviews will normally be conducted by a pro-vice-chancellor, director or equivalent of a professional service area. Reviewers will have had no prior involvement in the case.

A reviewer can either uphold the decision previously reached on the complaint, or overturn the outcome.

The outcome of the review stage is the University’s final decision on the complaint. It is the end of the University’s complaints procedure and you will be given a completion of procedures letter.

If after this point you are still not happy with the outcome, you can ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator to consider the complaint. 

If your case is progressed through the formal process you will be invited to attend a meeting with the investigating officer, discuss the issues you raised in your complaint and to help them with their investigation.

You can be accompanied to the meeting, usually by a fellow student or an advisor from the Students’ Union Advice Centre.

The investigating officer may also meet with staff as part of the investigation to gather any information they need in order to investigate your complaint fully.

Relevant staff members or teams will be made aware of the issues you have raised, and will be given an opportunity to comment or provide information.

Once the investigating officer has completed their investigation, they will produce a report. This report will be considered by a university complaints panel, who will determine the outcome of your complaint. Once the outcome has been approved by the panel chair, the Student Case Management Team will send you a report setting out the findings of the investigation and the outcome.