Complaint

A complaint, according to the dictionary, is an ‘expression of grievance’. You can lodge a complaint, for example, if you are unhappy with a colleague’s behaviour or with the quality of teaching or a teaching facility. You can lodge a complaint about an issue that concerns you as an individual, for example if you have been subjected to undesirable behaviour by a University staff member or if a lecturer has not marked your thesis in good time.
 
However, if you know for a fact that a lot of students have the same complaint or if your complaint is about a general issue that not only concerns you individually, for example the level of your degree programme or the marking periods, it will be more effective to jointly approach the Faculty or University Council. Complaints cannot be lodged if a decision has an objection or appeal pending.

If you have a complaint, there are a number of things you can do.

Informal
The preferred approach is an informal one – simply talk to the person who caused the problem and try to reach a satisfactory solution. After all, you will want your problem to be solved as soon as possible, and taking the official approach of formal procedures and objections can take several weeks.
 
Check your faculty-website for the procedure to be followed:

• Faculty of Arts
• Faculty of Law
• Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences
• Faculty of Spatial Sciences
• Faculty of Philosophy

If the relationship or atmosphere between you and the person in question does not allow for informal talks, or your faculty is not listed above, you can ask your study advisor or the SSC student counsellors for advice.

Formal
You can also initiate the formal procedure by officially submitting a complaint. You can submit a complaint online to the Central Portal for the Legal Protection of Student Rights (CLRS) or address it in writing to:

University of Groningen
Central Portal for the Legal Protection of Student Rights
PO Box 72
9700 AB Groningen

A complaint is forwarded to the right body or officer for handling. You will immediately receive a message from the Central Student Legal Protection Desk (CLRS) to whom or which body your complaint has been forwarded.

Depending on the applicable complaints procedure, you will receive a message within 4 to 10 weeks.

Complaints cannot be lodged anonymously since both parties must be heard in order to satisfactorily solve a complaint.

Complaints must be lodged within a reasonable period of time and within a year at the latest.

Information about submitting a complaint about sexual harassment, aggression, violent and discriminatory behaviour can be found on the Submit SIAGD-complaint page.