Feedback
At the ANU College of Law, we are interested in your feedback. Feedback helps us to know what we are doing well, and what we can do better. At the ANU College of Law, you can provide feedback to us in the following ways;
- speaking to staff at the ANU College of Law directly,
- completing your teaching and course evaluation surveys,
- sending us written feedback via the ANU College of Law website.
What to do if you have a complaint
Although we endeavour to always do our best, problems may arise. You may experience issues in a course, in your assessment, or in the behaviour of another student or member of staff.
If you are a student and you wish to make a complaint, the following policy and procedure apply:
Broadly, problems will fall into one of two broad categories: ‘reviews and appeals’ and ‘grievances and complaints’. The category depends on what the problem is. If you are unsure, you are welcome to raise the problem with either the College Student and Education Support Senior Manager, the Associate Dean of Education or the Dean of Students.
Reviews and Appeals
This category of problems relates to issues arising from your course or program. This might include problems relating to fees, assessment reviews, academic performance, discipline matters, Library and IT access, and residential halls and colleges.
This category of problems is dealt with through reviews of decisions or appeals under specific procedures.
- For information about how to appeal a grade at the ANU College of law please refer to the assessment review and appeals page
- For information about how to appeal another type of decision made by an ANU Law school staff member please also refer to the assessment review and appeals page
- For all other problems, appeals and complaints, please refer to Academic problems, appeals, complaints process.
Grievances and Complaints
Please note that if you have been sexually harassed or assaulted, this is not considered a general grievance. The ANU has specific procedures for raising and dealing with these matters at Respectful Relationships.
Should the complaint involve discrimination. Please see the following policy: ANU Policy Library - Procedure - Prevention of discrimination, harassment and bullying.
Any other problem is likely to be a grievance. Complaints considered here would typically involve a breach of the ANU Code of Conduct, or the Code of Practice for Teaching and Learning.
 Stages to resolve grievances and complaints
The following is an outline of the process to resolve a general grievance of complaint.
Stage 1 Informal resolution.
This stage may start by a student raising the matter with the Dean of Students for advice and support, and for guidance about the substance of the complaint and options for resolution. We strongly encourage you to make an appointment to speak with the Dean of Students first, as it usually is the most constructive path to resolving grievances and complaints.
After seeking advice or support, a student can either
- do nothing,
- approach the individual concerned to discuss (including with support of the Dean of Students), or
- decide to request a formal review.
Stage 2 Formal Review
A formal complaint can be lodged where an attempt at informal resolution has been unsuccessful or is not appropriate. Formal complaints cannot remain anonymous.
The formal complaint needs to be in writing and must be lodged with the ‘responsible person’. This is usually the Manager responsible for the area, for example, for an issue with a course the responsible person is the convener; where the problem is with a staff member, then the responsible person is Head of School. If you do not know who the responsible person is, you can ask the College Student and Education Support Senior Manager.
Once a written complaint is received, the responsible officer should respond within 10 working days.
The responsible officer will consider the matter and will raise the matter with the person about whom the complaint is made. The responsible officer often organises a discussion with the complainant (including with support people) to hear full details of the complaint, and then decides the matter (in accordance with relevant policy), records the resolution of the matter, and monitors the situation.
Possible outcomes may include;
- The complainant gains a better understanding of the situation and is satisfied with the response,
- An oral or written apology,
- An oral or written caution,
- The parties agree to participate in some form of mediation or counselling.
Disciplinary action is not normally an outcome of this process. If the responsible officer believes that a person’s behaviour is misconduct, this process may be terminated and the complaint referred under the ANU’s disciplinary provisions.
Stage 3 Formal Appeal
If the outcome of the formal review process is not satisfactory, then the complaint can be escalated. This would involve raising it with the Dean of the College, or the nominee of the Dean, who will act as an impartial mediator. The mediator will attempt to resolve the complaint, including undertaking further investigations if necessary, considering the nature of the complaint and will make their own determination.
Possible outcomes may include;
- The complainant gains a better understanding of the situation and is satisfied with the response,
- An oral or written apology,
- An oral or written caution,
- The parties agree to participate in some form of mediation or counselling.
Disciplinary action is not normally an outcome of this process. If the mediator believes that a person’s behaviour is misconduct, this process may be terminated and the complaint referred under the ANU’s disciplinary provisions.
Stage 4 External Review.
A student may refer a complaint to an external body, such as the Australian Human Rights Commission or the Ombudsman, at any time.
Help
There are many individuals at the ANU who can help with a complaint or grievance.
- Dean of Students
- ANU Students’ Association (ANUSA)
- ANU Accessibility
- ANU Counselling Centre
- Other staff as appropriate to the circumstances. This might include the Associate Dean of Education, the SubDean, the Head of the Law School, the Head of the School of Legal Practice, or the Student Administration Manager.
Policies
Relevant policies include:
- Student complaint resolution procedure: https://policies.anu.edu.au/ppl/document/ANUP_000468)
- Student complaint resolution policy https://policies.anu.edu.au/ppl/document/ANUP_000468
- ANU Code of Conduct: https://policies.anu.edu.au/ppl/document/ANUP_000388
- ANU Code of practice for teaching and learning: https://policies.anu.edu.au/ppl/document/ANUP_000726
- ANU Law school Guide to Appropriate Student Behaviour: https://law.anu.edu.au/appropriate-student-behaviour