Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to provide you with an update regarding Student Policy and Integrity Services, which is part of the broader Student Administration Services area. The team was established earlier this year and comprises Student Policy and Integrity Advisors, Ms Linda Frost and Mr Tom Fowles, under the direction of the Senior Student Policy and Integrity Advisor, Mr Robert Houghton.

While the team is physically located on level 2 of the Student Centre, it is available to assist with complaint management and investigations of serious academic integrity breaches and student misconduct matters at the College or Portfolio level. If you are seeking support from the team, please phone extension 15099 or email: studentpolicy@flinders.edu.au. This shared email box will allow the team members to manage and triage enquiries more effectively.

For your information, the team has recently updated the Student Appeals and Complaints webpage which now provides students with a central lodgement point for complaints and appeals. The new webpage is also significantly simplified for students in terms of language and navigation to relevant information around complaints and appeals.

The webpage can be viewed at: http://flinders.edu.au/complaints-appeals/, or by navigating Quick Links > Current Students > Life at Flinders > Student complaints and appeals.

As part of the new services, students can send their complaints or appeals to a shared email box: studentcomplaints@flinders.edu.au. Complaints will be triaged by the team and sent to the relevant College or University service for investigation and resolution. The team will also be able to assist complaint handlers with policy advice and guidance on how to manage the complaints process.

The revised student webpage is the first step of a broader review of the University’s student complaints and appeals processes. The team is currently working with the IDS Business Improvement team on a web form to assist students to lodge complaints and appeals (effectively replacing the email process). As some of you are aware, the project that recently commenced seeks to improve:

· the student experience by streamlining processes for lodging and managing formal student complaints and appeals, and by improving the visibility and awareness of the Student Complaints and Appeals Policy and related policies, procedures and processes;
· the experience and skills of staff who handle complaints as a result of enhanced training and support;
· tracking and reporting capability to enable the University to analyse formal student complaints and appeals data and respond to trends, and
· timely and appropriate resolution of complaints.

The team is looking forward to start working more closely with Colleges and Portfolio areas, and is planning a road show later this year.

In the meanwhile, if you have any questions or feedback, don’t hesitate to contact myself or Robert.

Please feel free to forward this email to staff in your area as you see appropriate.

Regards,

Annika Danielsson │Director, Student Administration Services