INSCAPE DESIGN COLLEGE

Policy & Procedures for dealing with Student Concerns

R0.0

2006/09/04

Concerns Policy

It is our stated intention ”to facilitate holistic learning to develop each individual to achieve their full potential in society.“ (Mission Statement). To this end, Inscape provides for students (or their parents / guardians / sponsors) to resolve problems that they encounter to the satisfaction of all parties.

Concerns Procedures

We appreciate it when students or their sponsors bring problems to our attention; when we are aware of a problem, we can fix it.

Adhering to a few key principles will help to satisfactorily resolve problems:

• Satisfaction is more easily achieved if the issue is addressed early,
• Concerns are more likely to be resolved if all parties approach them positively and with the intention of finding a satisfactory solution,
• Constructive proposals usually result in a satisfactory solution for all parties.

Most concerns fall into one of two categories:

Programme related

Misrepresentation

As offered in prospectus / on website

Quality of offerings

Person related: Academic staff / admin staff / students

Attitude / personality clashes

Performance of duties

Misunderstandings / mis-communication

Concerns guidelines

To facilitate satisfactory solutions, may we suggest the following:

• Deal with your concern/complaint right away. Don’t let it fester, as time passes it gets more and more difficult to resolve,
• As soon as possible after you have become aware of a problem, the student/s should approach the lecturer / staff member concerned putting their concern/s in writing, ie draw up a letter of concern. (See: Guidance for writing up concerns below),
• When discussing the concern, it is more likely to be resolved satisfactorily if the parties focus on finding a solution than on who is to blame for the situation,
• If the matter is not resolved satisfactorily, it should be escalated to the programme coordinator,
• If the matter is still not resolved satisfactorily, it should be escalated to the college principal,
• If the matter cannot resolved internally, it should be referred to the Department of Education. The DoE will not deal with complaints until all internal procedures have been exhausted.

Guidance for writing up concerns

When preparing a letter of concern, please bear the following in mind:

• The college cannot entertain anonymous complaints,
• Don’t make a ‘shopping list of concerns’. The gravity of the matter will become diluted by the other issues, and it suggests that that the other issues were not serious enough to be raised when they first occurred. List a maximum of five priority issues,
• Make a record of the matters with as much factual information as possible (eg: specify dates, peoples’ names and assignments) because it is easier to resolve substantiated complaints,
• If there is a complaint against a lecturer, the lecturer’s offence must be described. (The college will take action against any person found to victimise any other person because of a complaint that has been lodged),
• Remember that, in crits and performance appraisals, the college attempts to provide affirmation for achievements, and to accompany positive criticism with proposals for improvement. In your letter of concern, please recommend constructive, corrective action/s.

The process

• Upon receipt of a letter of concern, the staff member/s will try to resolve any concern with the student/s directly. The proposed resolution should be signed and dated by both parties and filed with the letter of concern in the concerns file.
• If the attempted resolution is unsuccessful, the aggrieved party/ies should submit the letter of concern to the programme co-ordinator who arranges a meeting between all parties concerned and - in the role of arbitrator - attempts to find a satisfactory solution. The proposed solution is written up and signed by both parties, and the programme co-ordinator, and is filed with the letter of concern in the concerns file.
• In the event that satisfaction cannot be achieved, the complainant/s submit the letter of concern to the college principal who arranges a meeting between all parties concerned who, in the role of arbitrator, attempts to find a satisfactory solution. The proposed solution is written up and signed by both parties, and the principal, and is filed with the letter of concern in the concerns file.
• The Department of Education will only handle complaints once all internal avenues have been exhausted.

end

proposed amendments in red

changes since previous release in italics