Student Complaints

We value your feedback and take all complaints seriously. Our HE Complaints Policy and Procedure is designed to address any issues you may encounter during your time with us. This policy covers all Tameside and Open University HE students. Whether it’s dissatisfaction with tuition, student support, or any other concerns, we are here to listen and resolve them fairly and consistently.

If you are studying in partnership with Chester University please see their Student Complaints Procedures and for Huddersfield University see their Student Complaints Procedure.

Please click here for our Formal Student Complaints Form.

Making a complaint

There three stages to the complaints procedure:

Stage one: Informal Resolution

If you have a complaint, we encourage you to raise your concerns under Informal Stage with your teacher, HE Quality Officer or other member of staff. This can be done in person or via email. In most cases your concerns can be resolved with an explanation and/or solution at local level.

Stage two: Formal Complaint

If you feel that your concerns were not resolved at stage one or you believe your complaint to be a serious nature that requires formal investigation, you can submit a formal complaint under stage two.

You should submit your formal complaint by using the complaint form along with your supporting evidence to the HE Quality Officer to HEquality@tameside.ac.uk within 20 working days of the incident/issue occurring.

Stage three: Review Request

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your stage two complaint you can request a review of this decision under stage three of the complaints procedure. However, it should be noted a review request can only be made if you have grounds to do so.

For further information on the complaints procedure please refer to the HE Complaints Policy and Procedure.

Academic Appeal

An academic appeal is an appeal against the decision of an academic body that makes decisions on student progress, assessment, and awards (e.g., boards of examiners, teachers, etc) based on the below grounds: 

• A procedural irregularity in the assessment process. 
• Bias or reasonable perception of bias. 
• Circumstances affecting performance where, for good reason, the board of examiners was not made aware of the significant factors relating to the assessment of your work when it made its original decision. 
• A challenge to the outcome of an extenuating circumstance consideration of personal circumstances which have affected your performance. 

For you are a Chester University partnership student you should submit your appeals using their Academic Appeals Policy. For Huddersfield University partnership student, you should use their Appealing a result procedure.

Please click here for our Academic Appeals Form.

Submitting an Appeal

For all HE Tameside and Open University partnership students the HE Academic Appeals Policy and Procedure should be followed. There are three stages to the procedure:

Stage one: Informal Appeal

You should discuss any concerns about your academic results with your teacher, course lead or HE Quality Officer prior to submitting a formal appeal. They will be able to help you with explanation and give you information about how your results were considered. An informal appeal should be submitted within 10 working days of the academic decision being made.

Stage two: Formal Appeal

If you are not satisfied with your informal appeal response or believe your appeal should be escalate to stage two in the first instance, you can submit a formal appeal using the Academic Appeal form. Your formal appeal should be submitted within 15 working days of the decision being made or within 5 working days of your stage one outcome.

Stage three: Review Request

If you are unsatisfied with your stage two outcome and have grounds to do so, you can submit a review request. For further information please refer to the HE Academic Appeals policy.