Source · SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman)

The Robert Gordon University

SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman) Partly Upheld Reference 201700286 Sector Education Category academic appeal / exam results / degree classification Decided 01 May 2018

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Full decision

Summary

Ms C complained that the university did not provide reasonable feedback following the re-examination of her thesis, provided inaccurate information about the timescales for submitting an appeal, did not process her appeal properly and provided her with inaccurate information about visa matters.

We found that the university provided Ms C with inaccurate information about timescales for submitting her appeal. Therefore, we upheld this aspect of Ms C's complaint. However, we did not make any recommendations as the university acknowledged this failure and apologised. The appeals procedure has also changed since Ms C's appeal.

We found that the feedback provided to Ms C after the re-examination of her thesis was reasonable and that her appeal was processed properly. Therefore, we did not upheld these complaints.

Finally, we found that Ms C had been given the wrong advice about visa matters at certain points, however there was also evidence that information provided to Ms C was on the basis of information from the Home Office, which the university were obliged to accept and pass on. On balance, we did not uphold this aspect of Ms C's complaint.

Related reading

View Decision Report 201700286 as a PDF (11.06 KB) Updated: December 2, 2018

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