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Case ref:201305983
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Date:October 2014
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Body:University of Edinburgh
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Sector:Universities
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Outcome:Some upheld, recommendations
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Subject:complaints handling
Summary
Mr C raised a number of issues with the university relating to practical matters and supervision in the first year of his post-graduate research. He then submitted more complaints about matters he was unhappy about, including a complaint about alleged bullying and harassment.
Mr C complained to us that the university had not dealt with the various issues he had raised with them and had not followed their complaints handling procedures. Our investigation found that the university did not progress all the issues Mr C raised as complaints and had not followed their procedures in dealing with all the complaints he had made, and so we upheld this aspect of his complaint.
He also complained that the university did not adequately investigate and respond to his complaints. We did not uphold this complaint, as we found that the university carried out thorough investigations, responded in detail to the issues they considered, and made several informal attempts to resolve the issues Mr C raised.
Recommendations
We recommended that the university:
- apologise to Mr C for not following their procedures in dealing with all his complaints; and
- consider how best to ensure consistent recording of frontline resolution complaints.