Decision Report 201901820

Summary

C complained about the university's handling of a late application they made for extenuating circumstances after their personal circumstances impacted on their attendance at university. C considered that, in handling their application, the university had failed to follow their procedures, failed to communicate clearly and accurately, and failed to ensure their appeal guidelines were clear.

We found that the university had departed from their normal procedures on a number of occasions, but to the benefit of C, allowing for additional late appeals than were required by the regulations. On balance, we considered that the university had communicated clearly and accurately, despite incorrectly suggesting a request for additional information had been made at one stage. We also considered that their appeal guidelines were reasonably clear, given the complex subject matter and academic audience, and were encouraged by the support made available to students wishing to appeal, as well as the procedures for reviewing guideline content. Therefore, we did not uphold the complaint.