Self Assessment on Guidance on Consumer Protection Law
27 July 2023 2024-10-26 18:48Self Assessment on Guidance on Consumer Protection Law
Self Assessment on Guidance
We have given due regard to and believe that we are compliant with consumer protection law. We think this because we:
- Have clear policies and procedures relating to information for staff and students, complaints procedures, Ethics protocols and terms and conditions, with the key and most onerous terms summarised in application form.
- Policies, procedures, and terms and conditions are all made available to students prior to application in a policies section of the CSA website and are also made available to staff and students on the student and student portal
- Consumer protection law issues are discussed in relevant committees and panels within the CSA governance structure including the Academic Board (who deal with all complaints, student registration, and non-academic appeals), Admissions committee (who deal with student enrolment), and the Academic Misconduct, Plagiarism are dealt in Disciplinary Committee.
- There is an annual review of all contracts with students, and all CSA policies and procedures by CSA senior management. All contracts and policies in which consumer law issues arise are further referred to the solicitor for review before being sent to the Board of Governance for approval.
The evidence that demonstrates this is set out below:
Overall approach to consumer protection compliance:
- Staff training is provided as part of the staff training on consumer law issues including complaints and appeals
- Additional external staff training was taken by centre manager, who then delivered training to staff on effectively handling complaints in compliance with the OIA Guidelines.
- Staff in key consumer law compliance roles as per staff development procedure attend trainings
- Information provided to students, including policies and terms and conditions, is governed by CSA’s Public Information Policy, which is made available on CSA’ student portal. This policy provides for review by CSA’s solicitor where appropriate.
Providing information to applicants and students: research and application stage, offer stage and enrolment stage
The School considers that the provision of appropriate and accurate published information and effective marketing and promotion of the School and its programmes makes a vital contribution to the student journey and the successful operation and success of the School.
Objectives
The objectives of the Information and Marketing Policy and its related procedures are:
Information
- to ensure that public information reflects the mission, values and strategy of the School and is accessible to students and stakeholders
- to ensure that public information provides an accurate and appropriate introduction to the School for prospective applicants
- to ensure that information provided for current students, both during induction and subsequently, is accurate and accessible
- to ensure that programme specifications and student handbooks are accessible, accurate and informative
- to ensure that all new printed and electronic public information is carefully checked for accuracy and completeness and signed off by an appropriate senior signatory
- to review the content and layout of information posted on the virtual learning environment and the School website on a regular basis to ensure its currency, accuracy and completeness
- to ensure that School`s use of social media is carefully planned and monitored to ensure maximum impact and to minimise the problems sometimes inherent in the use of these media
Marketing
- to ensure that marketing strategy and activities reflect the mission, values and strategy of the School, as defined in its Strategic Plan
- to ensure that promotional materials, both online and in hard copy, are used effectively as part of the marketing and promotional strategy
- to ensure that any recruitment agents are carefully selected before contracts are issued and that their activities are monitored on a regular basis
- to ensure that all advertising of the School`s programmes and activities is fit for purpose, accurate and trustworthy and compliant with the UK Code of non-Broadcast Advertising, Sales, Promotion and Direct Marketing
- to facilitate, where appropriate, links between the School and other educational providers and businesses so as to bring added benefit to the student community and to support local enterprise and education
Contract Terms and Conditions
- Ensuring the School terms and conditions are clear and transparent and including rules and regulations.
- Ensuring that all terms and conditions are fair to both the student and to the School.
- Terms and conditions will be a fair reflection and balance for both parties involved 'the student and the institution'
- Ensuring that any hidden / surprise terms or conditions are made clear and bought to the students’ attentions. Check that this information is not hard to understand or can get lost in large amounts of text.
- Ensuring that the School as an institution cannot enforce terms or conditions that are not balanced and unfair or unreasonable for the student.
Complaints and Appeals Processes and Practices
There are separate formal Academic appeals and Complaints and Grievances procedures, which have been developed in line with the Office of the Independent Adjudicator’s (OIA) Good Practice Framework, for applicants and registered students published here.
The School complies with regulations that apply to this sector in the broad sense but particularly with the appeals and complaints procedure. The School seeks to ensure that students are able to raise relevant complaints in an appropriate manner. In this respect, the School is guided by its complaints procedure that is published handbooks and reiterated at induction and other student’s meetings whenever possible. Students are further made aware of the complaint’s procedure, a copy of which is given to them as part of the induction pack during induction day. The procedure has three basic stages which are: 1 Informal stage, 2 Formal stage, 3 Adjudication stage. The complaint may be resolved at each of the stages, but where there is no reasonable resolution, the complaint may then be escalated up to the last stage if necessary..
There are clear policies and procedures that reinforce the management of all academic appeals and student complaints. The procedures aim to protect and enhance the student learning experience. The School aims to become, a member of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) which will further enhance the resolution of student complaints should they occur. Students who have a concern, or wish to appeal an admission, grading or progression outcome can access the appropriate guidance and documentation through the website or by requesting a hard copy from the Student Welfare Officer. All the complaints received are discussed at various at meetings, with the Board of Governance being the overall body responsible for resolution. Should the student decide to appeal outside the establishment, the OIA will be informed, and an adjudication process will then ensue.
Whenever the School engages new staff, these are introduced to School policies and procedures as part of their induction and training for their role. An explanation is provided by the induction mentor and the supervisor on how to support students should they wish to lodge an appeal or a complaint. The procedure is also illustrated on the appeal documents setting the process out in some detail, including the timescales within which the School will aim to resolve the complaint or provide the student with a response. The Student Welfare Officer, administration staff and module lecturers can also advise students how to make a complaint and provide guidance as to which member of staff is the initial point of call for the complaint in the first instance. Guidance is also included in the Student Handbook as a point of reference. To date, there have been no significant complaints that have been directed at the School as all the complaints are resolved within the initial stages.
The School Appeals and Complaints procedures work alongside those of the awarding body. Staff are required to make use of, and comply with, the policies and procedures and, as appropriate, they are also responsible for directing students properly when necessary to the relevant procedures of the awarding body. The majority of student complaints and academic appeals are dealt with at the informal stage, with appropriate actions taken to ensure a positive outcome.
If students feel that their complaint has not been satisfactorily dealt with by the School, and when all informal and formal stages have been exhausted, the School will support the student in taking their concern to the Office of the Independent Adjudicators (OIA) to which the School will subscribe. If the OIA or student informs the School that a complaint or academic appeal has been raised with them, the Student Welfare Officer will be responsible for ensuring that all necessary documentation is submitted in line with internal timelines and policies to facilitate a timely conclusion for the student.
