Raising concerns or complaints
Guidance on Complaints about Learning Opportunities is provided in Section G of the University’s General Regulations. Any PGR students experiencing issues with their programme which may give rise to a complaint are strongly advised to familiarise themselves with these regulations.
1. Problems with supervision
If you are experiencing issues or problems with your supervision that are detrimental to achieving the required learning outcomes and have hampered your progress with your doctorate, the University expects that your first step will be to discuss your concerns informally, with your supervisor, to describe the difficulties you are experiencing.
If this informal discussion does not bring about a satisfactory resolution to the matter then you may find it helpful to discuss your concerns with the PGR Director for your School/Department/Centre in the first instance (or, if your supervisor is the PGR Director, then the Head of School/Department/Centre or his/her Deputy).
As a next step, the Faculty PGR Directors are:
- FAHS: Professor Margaret Rogers or alternatively, Dr Geoff Cooper
- FBEL: Professor Mark Saunders or alternatively, Dr Jane Marriott
- FEPS: Professor Klaus Moessner or alternatively, Dr Gianne Derks
- FHMS: Professor Susanna Hourani or alternatively, Dr Deborah Cooke
You may find that other general issues can be resolved by raising them through your student representative for consideration at Programme- and Faculty-level PGR committees. The Students’ Union also offers advice and guidance to students with concerns or complaints. If you wish to seek support from the Students’ Union, please contact Kathy Jones on extension 3265 or Katherine.Jones@surrey.ac.uk .
If raising problems through these channels does not bring about a satisfactory resolution, you are entitled to make a formal complaint to the University. You should consult Section G of the General Regulations (link above) if you wish to make a formal complaint.
2. Complaints about other services and facilities
If you experience an instance of poor service that affects your learning you should consider making an informal complaint to the member of staff explaining how the poor service has affected your studies. Such an informal approach at the outset may help to avoid a repetition of the poor service and lead to improvement for you and others.
Where complaints made informally are not acknowledged, or do not lead to improvement, you may make a formal written complaint to the Head of the relevant University Service, as follows
| Service | Postholder |
|---|---|
| The Library and Learning Support (including the Researcher Development Programme) | Director of Library and Learning Support Services (Ms Jane Savidge: j.savidge@surrey.ac.uk) |
| Audio-visual services | Director of IT (Mr Roger Stickland: r.stickland@surrey.ac.uk) |
IT Services | Director of IT (Mr Roger Stickland: r.stickland@surrey.ac.uk) |
Academic Registry | The Academic Registrar (Ms Caroline Johnson: c.johnson@surrey.ac.uk) |
| Student Support Services | Director of Student Support Services (Mr David Dickinson: d.dickinson@surrey.ac.uk) |
More information about complaints and appeals can be found on the Office of Student Complaints, Appeals and Regulation (OSCAR) website.