UK Quality Code for Higher Education: Advice and Guidance - Principle 12
Publication date: 21 Sep 2026
Principle 12 - Operating concerns, complaints and appeals processes
This guidance explains how providers operate concerns, complaints and appeals processes that are fair, transparent, accessible and effective. It emphasises early resolution, clear communication and continual improvement, helping providers support students and applicants while learning from outcomes to enhance practice across the organisation.
This supports you to develop accessible and inclusive processes, ensure that policies and procedures are fair, transparent and aligned with sector expectations, use outcomes and feedback to enhance teaching, learning, and the wider student experience, and strengthen organisational learning, accountability and continuous improvement.
How this works in practice
This guidance is structured around six Key Practices, which focus on: creating accessible and transparent procedures; meeting external requirements; resolving issues proportionately and promptly; and using monitoring, review and outcomes to drive continuous improvement in teaching, learning and the wider student experience.
Providers create processes that are easy to access, fair to navigate and focused on resolving issues while supporting organisational learning. This guidance also includes the following practices.
- Clear and accessible routes for raising concerns, complaints and appeals.
- Opportunities to resolve issues early and informally where appropriate.
- Transparent policies, timescales and decision-making processes.
- Staff training and support to ensure consistent and impartial handling of cases.
- Regular monitoring and review of processes, outcomes and emerging themes.
- Using feedback and outcomes to improve teaching, learning and the wider student experience.
Download presentation-friendly tables and diagrams
Figure 1.
Figure 2.
Key Practices
Students and applicants can raise concerns, complaints and appeals through processes that are fair, accessible and designed to support early resolution.
What this means
Providers ensure that concerns, complaints and appeals processes are accessible, inclusive and easy to understand for all students and applicants. Processes support early resolution wherever possible, apply throughout the student lifecycle - including recruitment and admissions - and let participants raise issues confidently, without fear of disadvantage or unfair treatment.
In practice
Providers typically:
- make concerns, complaints and appeals processes easy to find and understand for applicants and students throughout the student lifecycle
- provide accessible formats, inclusive language and reasonable adjustments to support participation by all students
- offer opportunities to resolve issues early and informally, before formal processes become necessary
- ensure concerns about recruitment, selection and admission can be raised and resolved through clear processes
- train staff to identify barriers, respond sensitively and support students throughout the process.
Why this matters
Accessible, inclusive and robust processes help to make sure that all students and applicants can raise concerns confidently and receive fair consideration, by:
- helping students and applicants understand how to raise concerns, complaints and appeals, and what support is available throughout the process
- reducing barriers to participation by providing accessible information, inclusive approaches and appropriate adjustments where needed
- supporting early resolution of issues, helping to address problems quickly and avoid unnecessary escalation
- promoting confidence that concerns will be handled fairly, consistently and without fear of disadvantage or reprisal
- ensuring that concerns arising during recruitment, selection and admission can be raised and resolved through clear and transparent processes.
Resources
Office of the Independent Adjudicator, Good practice framework
Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, How to handle complaints
Competition and Markets Authority, Consumer law advice for higher education providers
Office for Students, Student protection and choice: students as consumers
Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman, Principles of good complaints handling
Students, staff and advisers can easily understand, access and navigate concerns, complaints and appeals processes.
What this means
Providers make sure that these policies and procedures are clearly communicated, easy to find and straightforward to understand. Information is accessible to students, those supporting them and those operating the processes. Formal and informal stages are clearly distinguished, helping individuals to understand their options, responsibilities and routes for escalation.
In practice
Providers typically:
- publish concerns, complaints and appeals information in clear, student-friendly language and accessible formats
- explain the difference between concerns, complaints and appeals, including when each process should be used
- clearly distinguish between informal resolution and formal procedures, including routes for escalation
- provide information through a range of formats, such as guides, FAQs, flowcharts and online resources
- ensure staff, student representatives and advisers receive up-to-date guidance and training
- communicate decisions, outcomes and further options consistently and transparently.
Why this matters
Clear information helps students engage confidently with processes and supports fair, efficient and consistent handling of concerns, complaints and appeals, by:
- helping students understand their rights, options and the steps involved in resolving issues
- reducing confusion, misunderstandings and inappropriate use of different processes
- supporting consistent advice and decision-making across teams, departments and partner organisations
- promoting transparency, making timescales, responsibilities, outcomes and routes for review or escalation clear
- increasing confidence that concerns, complaints and appeals will be handled fairly, consistently and in accordance with published procedures.
Resources
Competition and Markets Authority, Consumer law advice for higher education providers
Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO), Statement of complaints handling principles
Office for Students, Securing student success: Regulatory framework for higher education in England, Condition C2 Annex A: Initial and general ongoing conditions of registration
Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, Good practice framework
Office for Students, Student protection and choice: students as consumers
Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman, Principles of good complaints handling
Providers align concerns, complaints and appeals processes with the requirements of relevant national and international oversight bodies.
What this means
Providers make sure that their concerns, complaints and appeals policies and procedures meet the expectations of relevant external bodies responsible for reviewing, hearing or overseeing cases. This includes complying with applicable requirements, timescales and reporting expectations, while making sure that students understand when and how issues may be escalated beyond the provider.
In practice
Providers typically:
- align policies and processes with the expectations of relevant ombudsman services, regulators and other oversight bodies
- maintain clear procedures that explain responsibilities, timescales and routes for escalation
- ensure staff understand external requirements and apply them consistently when handling cases
- manage records and information securely to support internal review and external scrutiny
- provide clear signposting to external bodies and issue required documentation at the appropriate stage
- review processes regularly to reflect changes in regulatory, legal and sector expectations.
Why this matters
Alignment with external requirements helps make sure processes are credible, consistent and fair, while supporting accountability and public confidence, by:
- helping students understand their rights and any opportunities to seek an independent review of their case
- promoting confidence that concerns, complaints and appeals are handled in line with recognised sector expectations and standards
- supporting consistency across different modes and locations of study, including partnership and transnational provision
- reducing the risk of procedural errors, delays or non-compliance with external requirements and expectations
- helping providers learn from external feedback and strengthen the fairness, transparency and effectiveness of their processes over time.
Resources
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Guidelines on quality assurance in higher education
Competition and Markets Authority, Consumer law advice for higher education providers
Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO), Statement of complaints handling principles
Office for Students, Securing student success: Regulatory framework for higher education in England, Annex A, Condition C2 Initial and general ongoing conditions of registration - Office for Students
Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, Good practice framework
Office for Students, Student protection and choice: students as consumers
Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman, Principles of Good Complaints Handling
Concerns, complaints and appeals are resolved as quickly as possible through fair, proportionate and student-centred approaches.
What this means
Providers take action that is appropriate to the nature, seriousness and complexity of the issues raised. Processes are designed to support early resolution wherever possible, while ensuring cases receive the level of scrutiny and expertise needed to achieve fair outcomes. Providers also consider wider improvements that may prevent similar issues in future.
In practice
Providers typically:
- encourage early and informal resolution of issues where appropriate, helping to avoid unnecessary escalation
- triage cases to identify those requiring urgent attention or specialist support
- ensure decision-makers have the expertise, authority and information needed to reach fair outcomes
- request evidence that is proportionate to the nature and complexity of the case
- communicate clearly and sensitively with students throughout the process, including when there are delays
- implement improvements that address both individual circumstances and underlying causes.
Why this matters
Proportionate and timely action helps resolve issues fairly, reduce unnecessary escalation and maintain confidence in institutional processes, by:
- helping students to achieve timely outcomes and reducing the stress that long or overly complex processes can create
- helping make sure decisions are fair, evidence-based and appropriate to the circumstances of each individual case
- enabling providers to focus resources where they are most needed, including cases involving significant risk or vulnerability
- promoting trust, demonstrating that concerns, complaints and appeals are taken seriously and handled with care and consistency
- creating opportunities to address underlying issues and reduce the likelihood of similar concerns in the future.
Resources
Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA), Putting things right
OIA, Good practice framework: handling complaints and academic appeals
Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, Good practice guidance: Alternative complaint resolution approaches
Providers systematically monitor and review their processes to ensure they remain effective, fair, inclusive and aligned with institutional values.
What this means
Providers routinely evaluate how concerns, complaints and appeals processes operate in practice. Monitoring examines performance, trends and timeliness, while review considers whether processes remain fit for purpose, accessible and effective. Together, these activities identify improvements, strengthen accountability, assure fairness and ensure that learning from cases contributes to institutional enhancement and a better experience for students and staff.
In practice
Providers typically:
- maintain a defined schedule for monitoring and reviewing processes
- analyse performance data, trends and case resolution times
- review decisions for consistency, fairness and impartiality
- involve independent or cross-departmental colleagues in reviews
- report findings through governance and oversight structures
- integrate insights from EDI, student support and quality teams
- use student feedback to inform process improvements and enhancements.
Why this matters
Effective monitoring and review helps make sure concerns, complaints and appeals processes remain fair, responsive and aligned with institutional priorities, while generating evidence that supports enhancement and continuous improvement, by:
- identifying emerging issues and recurring themes early
- confirming that processes remain fair, consistent and effective
- strengthening accountability through oversight and reporting
- promoting organisational learning and shared improvement
- supporting innovation and enhancement beyond compliance.
Resources
- QAA guidance on collaborative provision and transnational education
- QAA Scotland, Enhancement Themes
- Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA), Good practice framework
- OIA, Annual reports and case summaries
- Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO), Complaints process quality assurance tool and model complaints handling procedures
- Office for Students, Guidance on student complaints and appeals
Providers use outcomes from concerns, complaints and appeals systematically to identify opportunities for improvement and enhance teaching, learning and the wider student experience.
What this means
Providers do more than resolve individual concerns, complaints and appeals. They use outcomes as evidence for improvement, identifying trends, recurring issues and opportunities for enhancement. Effective recording, analysis and reporting arrangements help make sure lessons learned lead to changes in policies, practices, services and learning experiences, creating a culture of continuous improvement and responsiveness.
In practice
Providers typically:
- record outcomes consistently and proportionately across all cases
- analyse trends, themes and recurring issues
- share findings through committees, forums and governance structures
- monitor actions that are taken as a result
- use outcomes to inform staff development and training
- communicate improvements to students and other stakeholders
- review policies and practices in response to evidence and feedback.
Why this matters
Using outcomes effectively helps providers move beyond resolving individual cases, making sure that learning leads to meaningful improvements for current and future students, by:
- identifying trends and systemic issues requiring action
- informing improvements to teaching, services and support
- strengthening evidence-based decision-making and planning
- encouraging openness, accountability and organisational learning
- demonstrating that student feedback drives positive change.
Resources
Academic Registrars’ Council (ARC), Student casework practitioner group
QAA, guidance on transnational education
This is a fantastic resource to support us in managing our academic appeals and complaints processes. The guidance helps us to focus on what really matters to our students in terms of procedural transparency, identifying individual student needs and ensuring that we are regularly reflecting on how we can improve our processes with the student at the heart. We have recently used the resource to redesign our student guide to the academic appeal process, focussing on developing resources in a wide range of formats for different student needs, providing much more information about what to expect from the process and ensuring that there are clear referral processes for student support.
Andrew Peterson, Head of Academic Quality, University of Leicester