BARBRI SQE Student Complaints Procedure

In this Procedure all references to a post holder at BARBRI should also be read as referring to any person (including external parties) to whom the roles and responsibilities of that post holder have been delegated.

In this Procedure the following terms are used:

1. CONCERN - A concern is an informal oral or written expression of dissatisfaction about the standard of a service or facility provided by or on behalf of BARBRI by a Student.

2. COMPLAINT - a complaint is a formal expression of dissatisfaction about the standard of a service or facility provided by or on behalf of BARBRI or any action or lack of action by BARBRI by a Student. A Complaint must be made in writing, following the process set out in this Procedure.

3. ACADEMIC APPEAL - An academic appeal is a request for a review of a decision of an academic body charged with making decisions on Student progress, assessment and awards. An academic appeal must be made in writing, following the process outlined in Kaplan’s SQE Complaints Procedure.

4. The Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) - the OIA is an independent body set up to review individual student complaints against colleges and universities in England and Wales. Current or former students may only take their complaint to the OIA once the College’s internal complaints procedures have been exhausted and a Completion of Procedures letter has been issued. The OIA must receive a completed Scheme Application form within twelve months of the date of the Completion of Procedures letter.

5. PROCEDURE - means this Student Complaints Procedure

6. SERVICE – MEANS THE DELIVERY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING BY BARBRI IN RELATION TO A STUDENT’S SQE PREP COURSE 1 AND/OR THE SQE PREP COURSE 2 WHERE APPLICABLE AND ANY RELATED PROVISION OF TEACHING AND LEARNING FACILITIES AND SUPPORT WHETHER ACCESS TO THOSE SERVICES IS PROVIDED DIGITALLY OR PHYSICALLY. THE SERVICE WILL BE DELIVERED VIRTUALLY AND/OR FACE TO FACE WHERE APPLICABLE.

7. STAFF – MEANS AN EMPLOYEE OF BARBRI.

8. STUDENT – A REFERENCE TO A STUDENT OR STUDENTS means current registered students of BARBRI or a former registered student of BARBRI who completed their studies within a period of 3 months of their Complaint.

BARBRI is committed to providing all of its Students with a high quality educational experience and welcomes feedback from its Students. We recognise that from time to time problems do arise and that Students may occasionally wish to express concern or dissatisfaction with aspects of the Services provided by BARBRI. If any Student is dissatisfied, every reasonable attempt will be made to resolve the issue informally. Should any student wish to explore a more formal means of resolving their issue. BARBRI operates this Procedure (which outlines the process for raising Student Complaints and the roles and responsibilities of all parties within the process). We aim to use the feedback gathered from this procedure positively to help BARBRI improve the Services which we offer and enhance the Student experience.

Students will never be disadvantaged or treated less favourably if they raise a Concern or make a Complaint in good faith, regardless of the outcome.

Complaints will be handled sensitively and confidentially. Information will only be released to those who need it for the purposes of investigating and responding to a Complaint. To ensure a fair process, individuals named in a complaint will be made aware of the allegations to ensure that they have a proper opportunity to respond.

This Procedure is intended to be clear, transparent and fair to all parties. All Complaints which are made in good faith will be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated.

Anyone accessing this Procedure and all Staff involved in investigating and responding to a Complaint should act reasonably and fairly towards each other in accordance with the terms of this Procedure at all times.

Informal resolution will be promoted in as many cases as possible. It is generally in the interests of all parties to resolve any concerns expeditiously and without the need to escalate to a formal Complaint

Students may submit individual or group Complaints as set out in this Procedure. Anonymous Complaints will only be accepted at BARBRI’s discretion as set out in this Procedure.

BARBRI will use all reasonable endeavours to adhere to its published deadlines; where this might not be possible a Student will be kept informed and a revised deadline provided. This Procedure will normally be completed within 90 days of a Complaint being made, with effect from Stage 1 of this Procedure being initiated.

BARBRI will be accountable and will apologise if mistakes have been made or BARBRI has fallen short of reasonable expectations. Where necessary action will be taken to ensure such mistakes do not happen again. Complaints will be monitored and where problems are identified, changes to practice will be effected. An annual report on complaints will be produced for the BARBRI leadership team.

If what is being requested as an outcome is more than BARBRI can reasonably provide or is not possible, BARBRI will let a complainant know at an early stage.

Where Complaints are considered to be vexatious or frivolous, BARBRI may terminate consideration of a Complaint. Please see paragraph 6.3.1 of this Procedure for full information.

This Procedure will be applied consistently throughout all BARBRI facilities, and service areas.

This Procedure is based on both the UK Quality Code for Higher Education, and the best practice outlined by the OIA.

This Procedure applies to all Concerns and Complaints relating to the Services (as defined in this Procedure) provided by BARBRI to its Students.

This Procedure comprises of three stages:-

1. Stage 1: an informal approach with emphasis on conciliation and local resolution;

2. Stage 2: a formal procedure which may include mediation; and

3. Stage 3: a request for a review of stages 1 and 2.

This Procedure is for all Students. A Student who wishes to make a Complaint must invoke Stage 1 (the informal stage) within three calendar months of any alleged incident and the which is the cause of the Complaint. Students who have left BARBRI either through completion of studies or who have withdrawn for any other reason, or deferred or interrupted their studies may invoke this procedure within three calendar months following the termination of their studies.

Students may raise issues which may also be covered by different BARBRI procedures. In these circumstances BARBRI will have discretion to decide how to progress matters in the best interests of all parties involved. This may involve deciding which matter should take precedence or whether interlinked matters can be considered together under one procedure.

Complaints can be wide-ranging and might include, but not be limited to:

1. teaching and supervision;

2. unfair treatment or inappropriate behaviour by a staff member;

3. misleading or incorrect information;

4. the quality and standard of any service that BARBRI provides or its failure to provide that service;

5. dissatisfaction with BARBRI’S policies and or procedures;

6. disputes in relation to the payment to BARBRI of all or part of course fees due from a Student for the SQE including steps taken by BARBRI to recover SQE course fees against a Student in the event of non-payment.

There are issues that cannot be considered through this Procedure. These include:

1. A Complaint about a Student’s behaviour or appeals by a Student regarding decisions taken under BARBRI’s Student Disciplinary Procedures. Such issues would be dealt with under BARBRI’s Student Disciplinary Procedures;

2. Complaints about academic decisions made regarding progress or awards including appeals against the SQE assessments or the decisions of the SQE Assessment Board. These decisions are dealt with by Kaplan directly and any Student who disagrees with an academic decision can access the Kaplan SQE Complaints Procedure for any academic complaints;

3. Appeals against decisions taken by BARBRI regarding requests for disability support by Students under its Disability Support Procedures . These appeals are dealt with under BARBRI’S Disability Support Review Process;

4. Those matters which are currently being considered by the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA), a court or tribunal;

5. Routine first time requests for information;

6. A request under the Freedom of Information Act or the Data Protection Act 2018;

7. A request for an explanation of a policy, procedure or practice;

8. Complaints made by applicants regarding admissions decisions;

9. Complaints about bullying, harassment and victimisation;

10. An attempt to have a Complaint reconsidered where BARBRI has completed its procedures or the complainant has entered another of BARBRI’s procedures regarding the same or similar matter;

11. Complaints from Staff. Such complaints would be dealt with via BARBRI’s HR Procedures.

The above list is not exhaustive

During all stages of this Procedure, a Student may be accompanied to meetings by a member of:-

1. BARBRI; usually either a member of Staff, or a fellow Student;

2. only in exceptional circumstances and by prior agreement may a Student be accompanied by someone who is external to BARBRI; and

Complaints can be wide-ranging and might include, but not be limited to:

1. teaching and supervision;

2. unfair treatment or inappropriate behaviour by a staff member;

3. misleading or incorrect information;

4. the quality and standard of any service that BARBRI provides or its failure to provide that service;

5. dissatisfaction with BARBRI’S policies and or procedures;

6. disputes in relation to the payment to BARBRI of all or part of course fees due from a Student for the SQE including steps taken by BARBRI to recover SQE course fees against a Student in the event of non-payment.

There are issues that cannot be considered through this Procedure. These include:

1. A Complaint about a Student’s behaviour or appeals by a Student regarding decisions taken under BARBRI’s Student Disciplinary Procedures. Such issues would be dealt with under BARBRI’s Student Disciplinary Procedures;

2. Complaints about academic decisions made regarding progress or awards including appeals against the SQE assessments or the decisions of the SQE Assessment Board. These decisions are dealt with by Kaplan directly and any Student who disagrees with an academic decision can access the Kaplan SQE Complaints Procedure for any academic complaints;

3. Appeals against decisions taken by BARBRI regarding requests for disability support by Students under its Disability Support Procedures. These appeals are dealt with under BARBRI’S Disability Support Review Process;

4. Those matters which are currently being considered by the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA), a court or tribunal;

5. Routine first time requests for information;

6. A request under the Freedom of Information Act or the Data Protection Act 2018;

7. A request for an explanation of a policy, procedure or practice;

8. Complaints made by applicants regarding admissions decisions;

9. Complaints about bullying, harassment and victimisation;

10. An attempt to have a Complaint reconsidered where BARBRI has completed its procedures or the complainant has entered another of BARBRI’s procedures regarding the same or similar matter;

11. Complaints from Staff. Such complaints would be dealt with via BARBRI’s HR Procedures.

The above list is not exhaustive