Complaints Policy

Article 1: Definitions

This document is known as the Complaints Policy (“the policy”). It is a policy which enables all students enrolled, including students in the process of seeking enrollment, at the Kuwait International Law School (KILAW), to file a complaint. In this policy, key terms are defined as follows:

Complaint: is a written complaint by a student or students that relates to a problem they have encountered with:

  • Any aspect of KILAW in so far as it directly affects them;
  • Any KILAW faculty, staff or administrators;
  • Any student service;
  • Any campus facility;
  • Or any other matter connected with their experience at KILAW.Complaint or grievance period: The student must submit their complaint within a reasonable period of time from the date of the incident which is the subject of the complaint, or from the date of notification or knowledge of any decision against the student which is the subject of the complaint. Some types of complaints and grievances have specific timeframes within which a complaint must be filed. The student must pursue those complaints pursuant to the forms and deadlines relevant to them.

    Students’ Complaints Committee: The committee designated by KILAW to investigate and review any complaint by a student against a faculty member or a member of KILAW’s administrative staff.

    Complaints Form: The form with the title “Complaints Form” which must be completed in full by the student(s) and submitted in person to the Student Affairs Committee or the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs.

    Special Form: some complaints or petitions must be submitted on a Special Form, including petitions regarding final exam grades.

KILAW’s Complaints Policy 1

Petition: refers to a type of complaint, usually regarding exam marks, course marks, attendance or re-sitting a final exam whereby procedures and forms are already in place and should be used before using the Complaints Form.

Article 2: Types of complaints
The following types of complaints can be submitted on the Complaints Form:

  1. Complaints against any KILAW faculty members, staff or administrators.
  2. Complaints about academic matters such as the curriculum, course books, teaching methods, assessment, course materials, etc.
  3. Student complaints about the conduct of other students.
  4. Complaints about the election process and/or the results.
  5. Complaints about the school facilities and services such as the library, cafeteria, medical center, sports facilities, copy center, book store, classrooms etc.
  6. Complaints about a lack of necessary supplies or access for students with disabilities.
  7. Complaints about the equivalence of academic credits.
  8. Complaints about student orientation procedures.
  9. Complaints about disciplinary actions or academic dismissal.
  10. Any other complaint considered acceptable by the Student Complaints Committee.
  11. Petitions about final exam results.
  12. Petitions about a decision as to whether an absence is an “Excused” absence or an “Unexcused” absence.
  13. Complaints about admission, registration and suspension of enrollment.

KILAW’s Complaints Policy 2

  1. Petitions pertaining to a decision to prevent a student from attending the final exam for poor attendance.
  2. Petitions regarding refusal to accept an excuse to sit a make-up final exams.
  3. Petitions about internal course marks
  4. Petitions about final course marks.

Article 3:Procedures regarding the submission of a complaint or a petition

  1. Submitting a Complaint Form shall not have any negative effects on the student (or students) who complain(s).
  2. The student must complete all the questions on the Complaints Form with accuracy and clarity, as concisely as possible, without prejudice to the contents and must agree to provide more information, as requested by the competent committee.
  3. This form must be submitted to the Student Affairs Committee or the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs. Complaints related to faculty and/ or staff will be reviewed by the Students Complaints Committee.
  4. The student must file the complaint within a reasonable period of time from the time at which the subject of the complaint occurred, or the time at which he/she was notified of a decision against him/her. Some types of complaints (eg. final grades) have strict timeframes to be observed
  5. A complaint that is not submitted by the end of the semester in which the subject of the complaint occurred will not be accepted for consideration by the competent committee.

KILAW’s Complaints Policy 3

  1. The Student Affairs Committee shall review the complaints submitted directly to it by the students or by KILAW Students’ Association and refer them to the competent authorities if necessary.
  2. The student must respond in a timely manner to any request for further information made by the competent committee
  3. The concerned committee shall notify the student personally of the decision issued or send it via e-mail.
  4. The concerned committee shall conduct a proper, full and fair investigation including receiving inputs from all related parties and giving all parties the opportunity to be heard (in writing or orally as the case may be) before making any recommendation or reaching any decision.
  1. If the student does not agree with the decision, he/she may appeal to have the complaint reconsidered by the same committee or by a higher authority.
  2. If the student’s complaint is substantiated, in whole or in part, the competent committee shall inform the student and the concerned parties of the necessary action to be taken to implement the decision.
  3. Complaints or petitions may be reviewed and dismissed for lack of evidence, and in this case, the student shall be promptly notified of this.
  4. A copy of the decision and the complaint shall be kept on the student’s file.
  5. All correspondence and evidence relating to a complaint shall be kept in a secure location for at least five years from the date of submission of the

KILAW’s Complaints Policy 4

complaint. Access to this material shall be restricted to authorized personnel

only.
16. All aspects of the complaints process shall be treated in confidence and the

rights to privacy of all the parties shall be respected at all times.

Article 4: Complaints which have special policies, procedures and forms

Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding Articles, the following complaints shall have special procedures that the student must follow including a Special Form:

  1. Petitions about the final exam results: A student must fill in the form designed for final exam results complaints and submit it to the appropriate authorities within 48 hours, from the time he/she received the exam result. If the complaint is rejected, the student can appeal to the dean.
  2. Whenthestudentcomplainsaboutafacultyoradministrativemember,the complaint must be personally submitted in writing to the committee of students’ complaints investigations in its location. Whether the complaint is sustained or dismissed, the student can refer it to the Dean.
  3. Petitions regarding a dismissal decision or regarding registration or suspension of enrollment in any semester should be filed with the Dean of Admissions and Registration

Article 5: Any contradictions

This policy, and the rules and regulations mentioned herein, apply to all programs, unless there is an existing policy, rule or regulation which already

KILAW’s Complaints Policy 5

applies. If there is any contradiction between the Arabic and the English versions of this policy, the Arabic version will prevail.

Article 6: Review

This policy is subject to review in June 2019 and thereafter every five years.