How this service works
What happens after you submit a complaint to Example University, what the words on your complaint page mean, and how long things take.
What happens after you submit
- Your complaint is logged and given a reference beginning CMP-. Quote it if you contact anyone about it.
- A member of staff reads it and works out which part of the University's procedure applies.
- They look into it. If they need something more from you they will ask on the Messages tab of your complaint.
- They decide, and send you an outcome. It appears at the top of your complaint page.
Reporting an incident is different
If something has happened to you or to someone else — harassment, discrimination, sexual misconduct, bullying, a hate incident, violence — you can report it through the university's incident report form without an account, and anonymously if you prefer. That is not a complaint: nobody investigates it unless you ask, and its purpose is to tell the university what is happening and to offer you support. If you leave your details and agree to be contacted, an adviser will get in touch. You can still make a complaint afterwards, which does need an account.
What the status means
The status on your complaint page says where it has got to. It does not always move in a straight line — a complaint can go back to being looked at after staff have asked you something.
- Your complaint has been received and logged.
- A member of staff is looking into your complaint.
- We need more information from you. Reply on the Messages tab of this complaint.
- This complaint has been concluded.
- This complaint is closed.
- This complaint was withdrawn and is no longer being pursued.
You cannot change the status yourself, and you cannot withdraw a complaint through this site. If you want to withdraw one, contact the complaints team and they will do it.
How long it takes
Where the stage of your complaint has a target, your complaint page shows a response due date. Some early stages have no fixed target, and the page says so rather than inventing one.
Targets are counted in working days, so they are longer in calendar terms than they look. If a date passes without a reply, nothing happens automatically — contact the complaints team.
Messages
Your complaint has a Messages tab. Use it to add something, to answer a question staff have asked, or to ask how it is going. Staff use the same thread to reply.
Everything in the thread is visible to both of you — there are no hidden notes in it — and it becomes part of the record of your complaint. When there is something new for you, a number appears next to My complaints at the top of the page.
Nothing is emailed. A new message shows here and nowhere else, so check back rather than waiting to be told. Once a complaint is closed or withdrawn you can still read the thread, but nobody can add to it.
Changing your complaint
While it is still open you can use Change this complaint to correct the text, the outcome you are asking for, the category or the date. The earlier version is kept as part of the record, and staff are told it changed.
Once it is resolved or closed you cannot edit it here. Contact the complaints team.
How you will know something has happened
The bell at the top of the page shows the last five things that happened on your complaints — a reply from staff, your complaint being picked up by a case handler, or its status changing. A red dot means there is something you have not looked at.
Nothing is emailed to you. You will only see these by signing in, so it is worth checking back.
Files and evidence
Once your complaint is submitted, open it and use the Files tab to attach evidence — PDFs, Word documents, images or plain text, up to 4 MB each. You cannot attach anything to the form itself.
Anything you attach can be seen by the staff handling your complaint. Files cannot be added once the complaint is closed or withdrawn.
The outcome
You will see one of Upheld, Partly upheld or Not upheld, with a letter written by the person who decided. "Not upheld" means the complaint was considered and not agreed with — it is not an error, and it does not mean you were wrong to raise it.
If a letter is later corrected, the date shown stays the date you were first told. That is the date any deadline for asking for a review runs from.
Artificial intelligence
An AI service helps staff find the parts of the procedure that apply. It does not decide anything, you are never shown its assessment, and it is never sent to you as the answer to your complaint.
How your complaint information is used covers what is sent, what is removed first, and your rights over it.