Admissions Complaints Procedure
Admissions Complaints Procedure
Guildhall School of Music & Drama values all feedback as a mechanism for improving efficiency and customer service. Our aim is to resolve issues of dissatisfaction by conducting thorough and fair investigations of complaints so that, where appropriate, we can make evidence based decisions on the facts of each individual case.
There may be occasions where an applicant considers that the Guildhall School has failed to meet its high standards in the consideration of their application. If this is the case, you should follow the procedure set out below.
Who may complain?
Whoever signed the original application form should make the complaint. If you are under 16 years of age, your parent/guardian/carer should write a letter supporting your complaint.
Please note that:
- Disagreement with the academic judgement of the audition/interview/selection panel in reaching its decision based on aspects of your profile and/or performance at audition/interview does not constitute grounds for a complaint;
- If you were suffering from a certified illness or other documented extenuating circumstance which may have affected your performance this will not constitute grounds for a complaint if you failed to inform the relevant Production Arts & Drama Administration or Music Administrative Office or the Selection Panel beforehand or on the day.
Complaints will only be considered in relation to non-adherence to policy and procedure or poor customer service. However, you should feel free to raise a complaint without fear of disadvantage.
Complaints procedure
Please see our Policies page for our Admissions Complaint Procedure (see the section HE Admissions and Enrolment).
You may complain at any time within three months of the incident/situation leading to the complaint but the longer you leave your complaint the more difficult it will be to investigate and, if found to be significant, the harder to find a solution within the current application cycle.
Your complaint should be in writing and addressed to the Student Experience Team and should include full details of your application including your reference number. You will need to state clearly why you are complaining and the circumstances of your complaint and, where appropriate, submit supporting evidence. All supporting evidence should be provided at the outset, a complaint will not be reopened at a later date.
Your complaint will be acknowledged normally within 5 working days of receipt. The Student Experience Team will investigate your case by checking facts, reviewing records and reports, and seeking a response to the complaint from the relevant people concerned (such as members of the Selection Panel, the administrative staff involved and/or the students or graduates helping with the auditions).
The investigator will consider:
- What specifically is the complaint (or complaints)?
- What do you want to achieve by complaining?
- Do your expectations appear to be reasonable and achievable?
Once they have examined all the evidence and reached a conclusion about the validity of your complaint, the investigator will inform you in writing of the outcome. The investigator will endeavour to respond to your complaint within 10 working days of acknowledgement of the complaint, if the complaint is received within term-time. If the complaint investigation will take longer than 10 working days you will be kept informed.
What are the possible outcomes of my complaint?
The investigator will provide you with a reasoned decision for their findings and where appropriate will offer a remedy and/or make recommendations to the department in respect of changes to processes and procedures in response to your complaint.
If the investigator determines that your application was not treated fairly or your audition/interview was conducted in a manner which was prejudicial to you, you will be given the opportunity to re-audition within the application cycle, if this is still possible. If not, you will be offered another audition for a place at the School the following year, without being charged a further application fee. The complaint process cannot reverse a decision of a selection panel.
The School will keep a record of the details of your complaint: the circumstances, the nature of your complaint and the decision making process. This information will be kept in a secure place and kept confidential to those involved in the complaint investigation.
What next?
For the School’s doctoral programme only, which is validated by City University London, you have the further option of complaining to City University London; you should contact the Appeals, Complaints and Enhancement Office at City University London by emailing ace@city.ac.uk in the first instance.
For all other programmes, there are no further internal mechanisms for an admissions complaint within the School. Please also note that the remit of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education does not include admissions. However, should you wish to take your complaint further you are advised to consult your local Citizens Advice Bureau for advice on the legal avenues open to you or the Competition and Markets Authority.
How we use your data
Guildhall School is a department of the City of London Corporation (“the City of London”) and the City of London is the data controller. The City of London’s privacy notice which explains how the City uses your data can be found on the City of London website.
Where there are activities unique to the Guildhall School these are covered in more detail by the School’s Privacy Notice and by the privacy notice specific to Higher Education found on the privacy pages of the Guildhall website.
Relevant contacts
Student Experience Team
Email: casework@gsmd.ac.uk
Tel: 0207 382 7183
For doctoral programmes
Appeals, Complaints and Enhancement Office, City University London, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB | EMail: ace@city.ac.uk
Tel: 0207 7040 0234