1. The Impact of Discontent Dr Sharon Gedye Dr Emily Beaumont Prof Debby Cotton Reema Muneer

2. Context Rising tuition fees in the UK Student as a consumer/customer? (Woodall et al., 2014) Student satisfaction – student voice

3. Research Question What are staff’s perspectives on student complaints and appeals? What students complain/appeal about? Why? Impacts – positive and negative Departmental/institutional response to complaints/appeals Can complaints/appeals be handled more effectively?

4. Research Methods Sample (UK based HEIs)  Academic staff  Complaints and appeals staff  SU sabbatical offices and SU advice centre staff Online survey of each group - mix of closed and open questions Mixed methods analysis. Quantitative data explored further with qualitative analysis of responses.  Academic staff (77 respondents)  Complaints and appeals staff (59 respondents)  SU staff (45 respondents)

5. Number of complaints received by the OIA (OIA, 2015)

6. Structure of complaints procedures COMPLAINT SENT TO THE OIA CHALLENGE DECISION FOR REVIEW RAISE UNRESOLVED COMPLAINT FORMALLY THROUGH COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS OFFICE RAISE COMPLAINT INFORMALLY DISSATISFIED BUT DO NOT COMPLAIN Invisible complaints Adapted from Cooper –Hind and Taylor, 2012, based on OIA 2009

7. Academic staff on what students complain about Complaints based on Timetabling58% Course content and delivery47% Facilities39% Delay38% An individual29% Disabilities (0%) (Complaints office – 31%; Student Union -24%) Thesis/dissertation supervisions (17%) (Complaint office – 39%; Supervision- 47%)

8. Structure of complaints procedures COMPLAINT SENT TO THE OIA CHALLENGE DECISION FOR REVIEW RAISE UNRESOLVED COMPLAINT FORMALLY THROUGH COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS OFFICE RAISE COMPLAINT INFORMALLY DISSATISFIED BUT DO NOT COMPLAIN Invisible complaints Adapted from Cooper –Hind and Taylor, 2012, based on OIA 2009

9. Academic staff on why students complain 1. Range of reasons – some more genuine than others! “I think there are many real issues for many students but in my experience we have a lot of students who sit an exam, fail and then appeal sighting emotional distress” To change a situation “Most complain because they are unhappy with a process and want to see it changed.” “A genuine concern to maximise their classification or rejoin a programme that they have been removed from.” Nothing to lose “Desperation!” “as a last ditch attempt” “Because they are chancers and want to try and improve their grade by appealing”

10. 2. Higher fees means students demand better services- even better grades “Students expectations are high particularly now that tuition fees are high.” “Unhappiness at perceived 'value for money' in a £9k fee regime” “They perceive that they are consumers who pay for a degree.” “Because students are feepayers, they believe that they are entitled to a better level of service.” “There is an increasing I have a right to this, I have paid for this therefore you will need to give me every support to achieve. ” Academic staff on why students complain

11. 3. Expectations are not managed Students unaware of own responsibilities “At MSc level, where I lecture, in many cases, complaints are down to lack of clear expectation setting prior to the course. For example we have an expectation that the students will be quite self-sufficient and they perhaps expect much more hand holding.“ Academic staff on why students complain?

12. Positive impactsNegative impacts 1. Processes/Practice – challenged and improved “Successful complaints can lead to improving practice and fairness not only for the student, but for dedicated colleagues who have to deal with the issues of poor practice and systems.” “They can sometimes have genuine concerns and can highlight bad practice and poor teaching standards, or help to invigorate a jaded curriculum.” 1. Students test the boundaries – consequences for learning? “Some students misuse the system, complaining rather than taking the responsibility for their own learning.” “Some students use the procedures to avoid striving for the standards they should be reaching.”

13. Positive impactsNegative impacts 2. Student voice – transparency and accountability “It is very easy for the staff to see their side of the story and the students often see things in a way that we would never imagine so dialogue has to be continuous and open.” “Accountability is important when students invest so much time and now also invest so much money in higher education.” 2. Can be demoralising and disempowering for staff “It can become a stick to beat staff with, a challenge to 'perform' in a way that keeps students happy.” “Constant demoralising of teaching staff because management have little experience of handling complaints or because the obsession with the sacred cow of 'satisfaction' clouds proper judgement.”

14. Positive impactsNegative impacts 3. Necessary for students with genuine circumstances “Students often have valid points that can be incorporated into the course programme to improve learning.” “Some are due to institutional incompetence, which needs to be highlighted, challenged and fixed.” 3. Extremely time- consuming “Amount of time utilized in dealing with them – negative on both staff workload as well as unfair to other students.” “…. academic staff are presently burdened with far more bureaucratic paperwork than at any time in the history of higher education. A more 'litigious' culture will only increase this, taking yet more time away from staff who already struggle to balance research and teaching with bureaucracy.”

15. Does your department respond effectively to complaints? Does your institution responds effectively to complaints? %

16. Positive impact Negative impacts Students do not take responsibility for their learning institution only values speedy resolution and student satisfaction Time consuming! Damages staff-student relationship Identifies poor practice and prompts improvements Necessary to have strong procedures in place for students with genuine circumstances Accountability Academic staff perceptions about complaints and appeals Student voice Defensive education Transparency

17. Informal handling of complaints Academic staff are disappointed when students do not approach them directly before making a formal complaint (Cooper-Taylor & Hind, 2012). Student Union – Does institution deal effectively with informal complaints? (Yes 20%; No 42%; remaining skipped) Complaints and Appeal staff- Do you have a mechanism for monitoring informal complaints? Inconsistent (Yes 32; No 34%; remaining skipped)

18. Structure of complaints procedures COMPLAINT SENT TO THE OIA CHALLENGE DECISION FOR REVIEW RAISE UNRESOLVED COMPLAINT FORMALLY THROUGH COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS OFFICE RAISE COMPLAINT INFORMALLY DISSATISFIED BUT DO NOT COMPLAIN Invisible complaints Adapted from Cooper –Hind and Taylor, 2012, based on OIA 2009

19. Practical Implications Open dialogue – encouraging informal resolution Proactive rather than reactive approach Trends in complaints/ appeals used to inform staff training Managing student expectation Wider dissemination of results

20. Thoughts and feedback about how your departments/institution could support academic staff in earlier resolution of student complaints and appeals ? Thank you!

21. References Cooper Hind, H. and Taylor, J. (2012). Student complaints: an accurate measure of student dissatisfaction? Higher Education Review, 44(3):54-80 OIA (2009). Report of the OIA Student Survey 2009, London: OIA OIA (2015). Office of the Independent Adjudicator Annual Report 2014. http://www.oiahe.org.uk/media/99897/oia- annual-report-2014.pdfhttp://www.oiahe.org.uk/media/99897/oia- annual-report-2014.pdf Woodall, T., Hiller, A. and Resnick, S. (2014). Making sense of higher education: students as consumers and the value of the university experience. Studies in Higher Education, 39(1): 48-67