The University of Sheffield
Student Conduct and Appeals Office

Pilot for the Early Resolution of Student Complaints (PERC)

PERC is a conciliation service running throughout semester 2 of the 2012-13 academic session, as one strand of the informal stage of the complaints procedure.  Trained student volunteer conciliators will meet with a student who has concerns about University services or the delivery of teaching, in an attempt to resolve their concerns at an early stage.

The Pilot is being run in conjunction with the Students' Union and supported by the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, the Government backed student ombudsman scheme for resolving complaints and appeals.

A conciliator will meet (ideally only once) with the student and listen to their concerns to see if early resolution can be achieved.  The conciliator will then submit a short confidential report on each conciliation to the Student Conduct and Appeals Office (SCA) and this will form part of the record keeping process for the Pilot.

If no resolution seems possible, the conciliator will signpost the student to the appropriate University procedure and/or to the Student Advice Centre (SAC) as appropriate, using a standard referral form.  If the student then fills out a Complaints Form, they will be asked to tick a box as to whether or not they have used the conciliation service.

The Student Conduct and Appeals Office (SCA) is co-ordinating the Pilot, ensuring that the case is suitable for conciliation and putting students in touch with a volunteer conciliator.  Appointments for a conciliation meeting can be made by emailing sca@sheffield.ac.uk.

Project Team