Complaints Procedure

Student Complaints

Other Complaints

Complaints from members of the public may be submitted in writing to the Secretary’s Office, West Chapel, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, or to secretary@tcd.ie.

Staff complaints are outside the scope of this procedure and may be dealt with under the University’s grievance procedure.

Definition

Complaint: For the purposes of this procedure, a complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction by one or more members of the public about the University’s action or lack of action, or about the standard of service provided by or on behalf of the University which requires a response or resolution.

Scope

This procedure applies to complaints made by members of the public who are not students or staff including, but not limited to, visitors, event attendees, visiting speakers, alumni acting in a personal capacity, and users of public-facing services.

This procedure does not apply to student complaints[1] or student disciplinary matters, actions of students or staff which are not related to their studies or duties in the University, academic performance or progression, staff misconduct complaints or grievances, application or admission complaints, matters of academic judgement, failure to comply with the Disability Act 2005[2], clinical errors relating to health, disability or student counselling services, Freedom of Information or data protection requests, external entities (e.g. Students’ Union, student clubs, societies or publications, subsidiary companies, services provided by hospitals, Associated Colleges) or matters covered under other University policies such as the Dignity and Respect Policy or Sexual Misconduct Policy.

[1] _{Student complaints are dealt with under the Student Complaints Procedure.}

[2] _{Complaints relating to the failure to comply with the Disability Act 2005 must be made through the Disability Complaints Procedures – see https://www.tcd.ie/disability/complaints-/disability-act-2005-complaints-procedure/}

Procedure

Formal complaints must be submitted in writing within 30 days of the incident by email to secretary@tcd.ie or by post to the Secretary’s Office, West Chapel, Trinity College, Dublin 2. Complaints that are received outside of this timeframe will only be considered in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the Secretary’s Office.

Complaints should include the following information:

• Name and contact details. In certain cases we may ask for proof of identity.
• Description of the complaint.
• Dates, locations, and relevant correspondence.
• Desired outcome (if any).

Anonymous complaints will not be considered.

Office of the Ombudsman

If you are unhappy with our response to a complaint/appeal then you can make a complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman.  The Ombudsman is fair, independent, and free to use.

The best way to contact the Ombudsman is by:

• Clicking on the ‘Make A Complaint’ link at www.ombudsman.ie
• Or writing to: Office of the Ombudsman, 6 Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, D02 W773 
• Or calling the Ombudsman on 01 639 5600 if you have any queries or if you need help making your complaint.

Please note that the Ombudsman cannot investigate complaints about academic judgement. For more information on academic judgment please review the Ombudsman’s factsheet on education services which is available on its website.  You can also contact the Office of the Ombudsman.

Please note the Ombudsman process is not an appeal of a decision but an investigation of the administrative actions taken by our office in our interactions with you and in delivering the services we provide.