Any student can lodge a formal complaint, appeal or objection. The Complaints Desk is located at Student Services (Contact Centre at boerderij).
Maybe you have already discussed the matter without success with the concerned body or person before you submitted your complaint at the Complaints Desk. Or perhaps you might find this a difficult step to make your own. Or maybe you have questions about the procedure or want some help in drafting a complaint. In that case, it is well-advised to discuss the matter with a confidential advisor. Students can consult a student counsellor.
Types of complaints
The Complaints Desk deals with education/student-related matters. It does therefore not include issues such as broken coffee machines or access cards, but for example:
- Complaints on how UT or its employees or (administrative) bodies behaved in a specific situation. These complaints will be handled by the Complaints Committee;
- Objections to decrees issued by UT administrative bodies (e.g. a decree relating to a decision by the Executive Board to allocate a sum for graduation support with which the student does not agree). These objections will be handled by the Arbitration Committee;
- Objections to decrees by or on behalf of the Executive Board taken in the framework of the UT Enrolment Regulation. These objections will also be handled by the Arbitration Committee;
- Decisions by the Examination Board and examiners with which the student does not agree. The Board of Appeal for Examinations (in Dutch CBE, see paragraph below) is responsible for the assessment.
How to lodge a complaint?
If you wish to lodge a complaint, objection or appeal, you can do so digitally. Please sign your letter and send it to studentservices@utwente.nl. The letter needs to contain your name, address, student number, phone number and email address. Please attach relevant documents as well. Eventually, it is possible to print the letter and hand it in at the Student Services Desk. The document needs to be provided as a PDF file.
What next?
The Complaints Desk will send you a confirmation of receipt of the complaint within a few days. Subsequently, your letter will be looked at in more detail and you will be informed how your complaint, objection or appeal is to be dealt with. In most cases, this will mean being dealt with by the Board of Appeal for Examinations, the Arbitration Committee or the Complaints Committee.
Can I appeal against the decision?
Certain decisions on objections taken by the Executive Board offer students the option to appeal to the Raad van State (page in Dutch only). Where applicable, this option is indicated in the decision by the Executive Board. For more information, please visit the website of Gedragscode Hoger Onderwijs for the Code of Conduct International Student in Dutch Higher Education. Additionally, there are videos available with general information about the Code of Conduct and the complaint procedure.
Contact
The Complaints Desk is located at Student Services in the Contact Centre.
More information on all kinds of UT regulations can be found in the University of Twente Students' Charter.
Board of Appeal for Examinations (CBE)
Do you disagree with the decision of an examiner or the examination board of your programme, such as a grade for a course, rejection of a request for an extra resit or, for example, with an NBSA? You can submit a notice of appeal.
- Always keep in mind the 6-week appeal period: your notice of appeal must reach the Complaints Desk within 6 weeks of the date of the decision.
- Is this not possible? The submit a pro forma appeal within 6 weeks. In this case, you must let it be known in time that you disagree with the decision. You will then be given a period in which to submit your grounds for appeal.
If you submit a notice of appeal too late, your appeal may be declared inadmissible. Only if you file late due to a very special personal force majeure situation can the appeal still be considered. But such a force majeure situation is not considered to exist easily.
- After receiving your appeal, you will sometimes be asked for additional information.
- The person who took the decision (defendant) will be asked whether an amicable settlement is possible. This means that the defendant invites you for a meeting to discuss the issue.
- If this discussion does not lead to a solution, the defendant will prepare a response to your appeal. You will receive a copy of this response.
- You will then indicate whether the response is reason for you to withdraw or continue your appeal.
Hearing
- If you pursue the appeal, a hearing will be scheduled where you are expected to attend. The defendant will also be invited to the hearing.
- At the hearing, you will be heard by the CBE. If you want legal assistance???/, you have to seek it yourself.
Decision of the CBE
- After the hearing, you will receive a written decision from the CBE. This will state whether the decision you appealed is upheld or whether the defendant must make a new decision.
- Do you disagree with the CBE's decision? Then you can appeal that decision to the Raad of State within six weeks.
As a student, you pay a court fee of € 50. The court fee is the amount you have to pay to have your appeal heard. As a student, you will also not be ordered to pay your educational institution's legal costs if you are ruled against.