Complaints

Complaints

The University’s procedure for considering student complaints is contained in Ordinance XXXVIII (Student Complaints Procedures). The emphasis of the complaints procedure is to handle complaints promptly and effectively, providing early resolution where possible.

On this page

  • Guidance on:
    • Before making a complaint
    • The Student Complaint Procedure
    • Time limits to a complaint
    • Other related procedures
    • Sources of independent support
    • The role of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator
  • Frequently Asked Questions 
Ordinance XXXVIII: Student Complaints Procedures →

Before making a complaint

From time to time, things may happen which you are unsure about or were not expecting and you may feel dissatisfied or unhappy as a result. Many of these issues can be resolved informally without the need for a complaint.

Students are encouraged to raise any concern at the earliest possible opportunity and, in the first instance, with the member of staff most closely involved with the matter. The aim will be to resolve the complaint quickly and informally to the satisfaction of all parties.

If the matter is not resolved, you should contact the Dean of your School or Director of the relevant Professional Service and ask them to consider the issue as a complaint.

Student Complaint Procedure

If your concern has not been resolved informally, you should submit a formal complaint. A formal complaint should be made in writing and emailed to studentcomplaints@lboro.ac.uk.

A student complaint is defined as: ‘the expression of a specific concern relating to matters or services provided by Loughborough University that affect the quality of a student’s learning opportunities or student experience.’ A complaint may relate to an academic or non-academic matter.

Further information about how to submit a complaint is provided in the FAQs below.

Loughborough University is committed to being an anti-discriminatory institution. We are therefore committed to ensuring that the complaints process is fair, transparent, accessible and equitable for all students. Please see the FAQs for further information about our committeemen to considering all complaints, including those that may involve a protected characteristic. 

Time limit

Ordinance XXXVIII applies to all current and recent students, up to and including a period of three months following the end of a student’s period of registration.

A complaint must be made within three months of the last event of concern to which it refers. A complaint submitted later than three months will normally be deemed out of time and will not be considered. If a complaint is deemed to be out of time you will be issued with a Completion of Procedures Letter (see FAQs).

A complaint submitted later than three months may be considered in exceptional circumstances, if there is evidence of ‘good cause’ that a student was prevented from submitting the complaint within the time limit.

Other procedures

Academic studies or assessment

Matters relating to your academic studies or assessment are often best dealt with by approaching the relevant member of academic staff; this may be your personal academic tutor, module leader or another designated member of staff identified by the School. The member of staff will seek to resolve the matter through informal discussion. If in doubt about who to approach, contact the student support team in your academic School.

If you have concerns about academic assessment or a mark you will need to submit an academic appeal which will be considered under Regulation XIV for undergraduate and postgraduate taught students and Section 15 of Regulation XXVI for doctoral researchers.

Applicants

Applicants who may wish to make a complaint should use the Admissions Appeals and Complaints Policy.

Misconduct or harrassment

Matters relating to misconduct or harassment by another student or member of staff are considered under the relevant disciplinary procedure unless a student wishes to complain about how the University dealt with the matter under these procedures:

Independent support

Loughborough Students' Union

Loughborough Students’ Union Advice provide independent and impartial advice to students who may wish to make a complaints and can be contacted at lsuadvice@lsu.co.uk or lsulondonadvice@lsu.co.uk.

Loughborough University Student’s Union is separate from the University but works in close partnership. The Loughborough Students’ Union Advice service provides independent and impartial advice to students and students are advised to contact LSU Advice at an early stage when they are considering submitting a complaint at lsuadvice@lsu.co.uk or lsulondonadvice@lsu.co.uk.

LSU advice cannot tell you whether your complaint will be successful or what the final outcome will be, but they can support you by reviewing a draft of your complaint, providing feedback on its clarity, and options for supporting evidence.

Student Advice and Support Service

The University’s Student Advice and Support Service provide support and information on a range of matters, including finance, housing, working during your studies and international student advice.

Office of the Independent Adjudicator

Loughborough University subscribes to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) scheme for student complaints. When the internal complaint procedures at Loughborough are you will be issued with a Completion of Procedures letter. If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome to your complaint once it is concluded, you can submit a complaint to the OIA.

You may wish to seek support from LSU Advice if you are considering making a complaint to the OIA. 

Information about the OIA

FAQs

When you submit a complaint please provide the following:

  1. a clear, brief summary of the main issues(s)
  2. what action you have taken to resolve your complaint
  3. supporting evidence
  4. the resolution or outcome you are seeking

It is helpful for you to provide this information under the numbered headings above as it helps  to assess your complaint promptly and advise you how it can be best resolved.

Yes. Supporting evidence is really important  to consider your case and it can be difficult to consider a complaint where there is no evidence.

Supporting evidence will often be in the form of email correspondence you have had with relevant parties. It helps if you organise your evidence chronologically and make clear the most important bits.

We recognise that providing supporting evidence might not be possible in some cases, and if you feel this applies to your situation, you should explain that as part of your complaint.

Supporting evidence should normally be submitted at the same time as your complaint, but if you are unable to obtain evidence prior to the deadline, you should submit your form, and explain when you expect to provide the supporting evidence.

The complaint investigation will collate relevant evidence in considering your complaint, for example obtaining statements from the School, Service Area, or person complained about.

Loughborough University undertakes that a student will not suffer detriment nor be disadvantaged for raising a complaint if they have done so in good faith. If you feel that you are suffering detriment as a result of submitting your complaint you should raise this as soon as possible.

The Equality Act [2010] protects specific characteristics in the following categories: age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage or civil partnership (in employment only); pregnancy and maternity; race ethnicity and nationality; religion or belief; sex; and sexual orientation.

If you feel that you have been treated differently or unfairly based on one these protected or any other personal characteristic, please be assured that your complaint will be treated seriously.

Where the Academic Registry determines there is a need for specialist advice on a complaint related to a protected characteristic it will consult with Veronica Moore, the University’s EDI Director.

The University is committed to ensuring all students are able to express themselves freely in accordance with the Freedom of Expression Code of Practice.

Open debate, challenging discussion and the advancement of novel perspectives are fundamental to the University’s mission to advance knowledge and wisdom. Without freedom of expression and academic freedom this mission cannot be completed. Loughborough University is therefore committed to promoting freedom of expression and academic freedom. Freedom of expression is always bounded by the law.

Anonymous complains will not normally be considered except for in exceptional circumstances where there is a compelling case, supported by evidence, for the matter to be investigated. Raising a concern anonymously can make it difficult to investigate a complaint as well as communicate the outcome. If insufficient information is provided to allow an anonymous complaint to be investigated, the matter will be closed.

Where an issue affects a number of students, those students may submit a ‘group complaint’. In such circumstances, the University may ask the group to nominate one student to act as the group representative, and may then communicate only through the representative and expect them to liaise with the other students in the group. However, while complaints may be submitted and potentially investigated collectively, it may be that distinct individualised resolutions are appropriate to take into account the specific circumstances of each student involved.

A formal complaint will be investigated by the Academic Registrar’s nominee who will be the complaint handler.

The complaint handler will acknowledge your complaint and let you know what actions they are taking to investigate it. Normally the complaint handler will send you a summary of the key issues in your complaint to ensure it has been clearly understood.

The complaint handler will seek relevant information to consider your complaint, this may involve contacting your academic school, professional service department, or other relevant parties to obtain written statements in response to your complaint.

The complaint handler will share all relevant information considered for a complaint before a decision is made. This is to ensure transparency and that you have a full opportunity to comment on any information considered for your complaint.

Complaints will be handled with an appropriate level of confidentiality, with information released only to those who need it for the purposes of investigating or responding to the complaint. No third party will be told any more about the investigation than is strictly necessary in order to obtain the information required from them, and to ensure a thorough and fair investigation.

We seek to deal with all complaints as quickly as possible and you will be kept updated with the progress of your complaint.

For the formal complaint stage you will normally be notified of the decision and the reasons for it, no later than 30 working days from submission.

For more complex cases, or where key individuals are not available to comment for reasons beyond the University’s control, this timescale may be exceeded. If a complaint will take more than 30 working days you will be notified of the delay and provided with an expected timescale for completion.

If your complaint is dismissed at the formal stage, you may request a final review. The final review does not usually consider the complaint afresh or undertake any further investigation but considers the following:

  • Whether an appropriate investigation was undertaken at the formal stage.
  • Whether the outcome of the formal stage was reasonable and in accordance with the facts as far as it has been possible to determine these.
  • Whether there is new relevant evidence which the student was unable, for valid reasons, to provide earlier in the process.

A final review must be made in writing and emailed to studentcomplaints@lboro.ac.uk within ten working days of the formal complaint outcome.

When submitting the final review you must indicate why you are dissatisfied with the outcome to the formal stage and under which of the grounds of 15 above you are submitting the review.

Once the internal procedures of the University are complete you will be issued with a Completion of Procedures Letter, which will confirm the decision on your complaint and the reasons for the decision.

The University’s internal procedures are complete when you are issued with a final decision: this will be an outcome to a final review or when a complaint has been deemed out of time.

Updated 22 April 2026