Grievances FTP

The criteria for an eligible grievance are as follows:

(i)     procedural irregularity in the conduct of the consideration of the case;

(ii)     there is new evidence that can be substantiated, including exceptional circumstances, which was not known at the time and may have affected the outcome had it been known to the Committee and that there is a valid reason for not making it known at the time.

Submitting a grievance

Students who wish to submit a grievance should do so within 14 days of the date of the outcome letter your Grievance relates to (not including University closed days or Bank Holidays, but including weekends). It should be submitted to the Secretary to Council (Mrs Clare Stevenson) using the Student Grievance Submission Form either by email (grievances@keele.ac.uk) or in writing (addressed to Mrs Clare Stevenson, Secretary to Council, c/o Governance Officer, Legal, Governance and Compliance, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG) providing as much information about the background of your case as possible, which of the two criteria above that you fulfil and any documentary evidence you have in support of your case.  Please do not forget to provide your current email address. 

The process

You will receive an email of acknowledgement (or letter) once we have received your grievance.

The Secretary to Council (or his/her nominee) will gather all of the information relating to your case including the files from the Fitness to Practise Appeals Committee to determine whether you have established a case for a grievance (whether you have in fact been able to meet one or both of the criteria for a grievance). 

Students who establish a case

In most cases a document-based review is enough to establish a case for grievance. However, if your case is particularly complex your case may be considered at a hearing. 

A panel of three members of Council will hear your case, you will be invited to attend with a friend or representative, which is advisable (see Section 2 of the Statutes, which sets out who is entitled to accompany you) and there will be a full exchange of documentation no less than 7 days in advance. 

If your case is successful it will be referred back to the Fitness to Practise Appeals Committee for re-consideration.

You will be issued with a Completion of Procedures letter, which explains that your case has been completed and that if you remain dissatisfied you retain the right to submit a complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA), which is an independent body established to consider student complaints.  The OIA will only accept cases from students who have exhausted all internal procedures and have been issued with a Completion of Procedures Letter. 

Further details of the OIA can be found at: http://www.oiahe.org.uk

Students who do not establish a case

You will be issued with a Completion of Procedures letter, which explains that your case has not been successful. 

It will also explain that you retain the right to submit a complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA), which is an independent body established to consider student complaints.  The OIA will only accept cases from students who have exhausted all internal procedures and have been issued with a Completion of Procedures Letter. 

Further details of the OIA can be found at: http://www.oiahe.org.uk

Contact details for grievances

Clare Stevenson, Secretary to Council
Email: grievances@keele.ac.uk
Address: c/o Governance Officer, Legal, Governance and Compliance, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG

Fiona Dumbelton, Governance Manager
Tel: 01782 733373
Email: f.dumbelton@keele.ac.uk
Address: Legal, Governance and Compiance, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG