Complaints Policy - Sydney Community College
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Complaints Policy

Aim

To ensure that student grievances are managed consistently and effectively.

Policy

To ensure all complaints/grievances are appropriately evaluated, they must be in writing. The College will respond to student complaints/grievances in a fair and timely manner.

Procedure

Before making a complaint/grievance, it is strongly recommended that wherever possible, a student discusses the issue with the class tutor/trainer and progresses to a claim only if the solution proposed by the class tutor/trainer is unsatisfactory.

How to lodge a complaint

The College policy is that we will provide a quality learning experience and that all assessment will be in line with national standards.
If a student believes that the course has not been a quality learning experience (and/or in the case of an accredited/VET course – see Training Policies – an assessment has been unfair), then redress and/or refund may be sought. A student may seek redress or refund if they believe that:

  1. The College has not delivered what was promised in the course promotion. (the promotion consists of the course description, agenda, learning outcomes, venue and class times);
  2. The quality of teaching is not to a reasonable standard. Note: The quality of teaching cannot be reasonably assessed in less than 25% of the allocated teaching time;
  3. In the case of an accredited/VET course, an assessment was unfair;
  4. A student was treated unfairly;
  5. The venue and/or equipment are not to a standard which would enable the achievement of the stated course outcome.

The College will not consider a claim for refund unless a student has attended at least 25% of the sessions of a course – half day in the case of a one day course

Claims for refund, credit or reassessment

To claim a refund, a credit or a reassessment under 1 – 5 above, a student must inform the College in writing identifying which areas 1-5 above have been below standard, providing a full explanation substantiating the claim. This may be done via email to Customer Service, or by post to:

The Principal
Sydney Community College
2A Gordon Street
ROZELLE NSW 2039

The matter will be reviewed by a staff member who may seek further information including the opinion of the tutor, an independent subject expert, and a survey of opinions of other class members. The student will be notified by e-mail or post of the decision within 14 days or if this is not possible, the student will be given a date when the matter will be decided.

Whilst a claim is under consideration, it is recommended that a student continue to attend the course. If a student continues to attend a course or completes the course and then makes a claim, this will not prejudice a claim for refund or credit.If the decision of the College is in favour of the student, an offer of refund or credit may be made. Depending on the nature of the complaint/grievance, this may be a full refund, a part refund or an offer of credit to the same course in a future term or a reassessment of the student. All transactions may attract an administrative charge of $25.

Should a student not be satisfied with the decision of the College, the matter may be referred to the NSW Department of Fair Trading.

In the case of an accredited/VET course, the student may lodge a complaint to the Australian Skills Quality Authority. Further information on ASQA’s complaints procedures can be found on the ASQA website, however, students may lodge a complaint to ASQA only after exhausting the College’s internal complaints procedures (see Training Policies).

Policy last reviewed: July 2020

College policies