Source · SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman)

University of the West of Scotland

SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman) Partly Upheld Reference 201508817 Sector Education Category policy/administration Decided 01 September 2016

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Complaint record keeping failures

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Summary

Mr C complained that his university withdrew him from a course due to lack of engagement and about the handling of his appeal.

We found the university's process for withdrawing Mr C was not applied in line with their policy and there was an issue with the accuracy of records that it was the university's responsibility to make and keep. We upheld this aspect of the complaint.

We found that the university followed the process for appeals appropriately. We did not uphold this aspect of the complaint.

Recommendations

We recommended that the university: apologise to Mr C for failing to ensure accurate attendance records were maintained and for not giving consideration to his improved attendance following receipt of the emails from the university; remind relevant staff of the importance of maintaining accurate attendance records; and reflect on the findings in this case and ensure the student engagement policy reflects the need for appropriate exercise of discretion as part of due process.

Other decisions involving University of the West of Scotland

Reference	Date	Summary	Outcome
201808431	01 Jul 2020	C complained about the way the university made the decision to remove them from their course. C complained that they …	Upheld
201808647	01 Jun 2020	Mr C complained that the university had unreasonably withdrawn him from his course of study. He considered that, contrary to …	Not Upheld
201808010	01 Oct 2019	Mr C, a solicitor, complained on behalf of his client (Mr A) about the university's handling of an academic appeal. …	Not Upheld
201701825	01 Oct 2019	Ms C complained that the university failed to follow their procedures correctly when they decided that she should be removed …	Upheld
201810707	01 Sep 2019	Ms C complained that the university did not carry out a reasonable investigation into her complaints. In particular, Ms C …	Not Upheld

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University of the West of Scotland

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