Source · SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman)

University of Edinburgh

SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman) Partly Upheld Reference 201305983 Sector Education Category complaints handling Decided 01 October 2014

View The University of Edinburgh scorecard

Full decision

Summary

Mr C raised a number of issues with the university relating to practical matters and supervision in the first year of his post-graduate research. He then submitted more complaints about matters he was unhappy about, including a complaint about alleged bullying and harassment.

Mr C complained to us that the university had not dealt with the various issues he had raised with them and had not followed their complaints handling procedures. Our investigation found that the university did not progress all the issues Mr C raised as complaints and had not followed their procedures in dealing with all the complaints he had made, and so we upheld this aspect of his complaint.

He also complained that the university did not adequately investigate and respond to his complaints. We did not uphold this complaint, as we found that the university carried out thorough investigations, responded in detail to the issues they considered, and made several informal attempts to resolve the issues Mr C raised.

Recommendations

We recommended that the university: apologise to Mr C for not following their procedures in dealing with all his complaints; and consider how best to ensure consistent recording of frontline resolution complaints.

Related reading

View Decision Report 201305983 as a PDF (12.49 KB) Updated: March 13, 2018

View original on SPSO (Scottish Publ… website

Other decisions involving University of Edinburgh

Reference Date Summary Outcome
202201211 01 Jun 2023 C complained about how the university handled their complaint that related to their disability and housing. We found that the … Upheld
201903883 01 Dec 2020 C, a solicitor, complained on behalf of their client (A) who was formerly an international student at the university. A … Not Upheld
201800154 01 Oct 2020 C was enrolled on a programme at the University of Edinburgh. C complained about the university's response to reports of … Not Upheld
201803667 01 Sep 2020 C complained about the university's handling of their complaint in relation to language used by an external tutor that C … Upheld
201807417 01 Nov 2019 Mr C complained about the university’s handling of an academic appeal. Mr C had appealed a decision reached by the … Upheld
View all decisions for this organisation