Have Feedback or a Complaint? Let Us Know by Following The Procedures Below and We’ll Try to Help
Feedback helps us become aware of areas that can be streamlined or changed to suit everyone better, while a complaint identifies a problem that may need addressing. In the first instance in both cases, we strongly encourage you to speak with someone about your feedback or complaint, but please be aware that in some cases, you will need to put your complaint in writing for us to investigate it.
We use the following terms on this page:
- “You” means the person with feedback or a complaint; and
- “We” means “The National School of Aesthetics”; and
- “In writing” is defined as:
- a signed and dated letter where the signature matches the signature on file (where available) or on ID
- an email from an email address that matches the email address on file
- Please note: You need to make sure your written complaint goes to the correct person. For example, the Student Liaison Officer should not receive a written complaint about a tutor or the Principal as the Student Liaison Officer is a) not in the education team and b) neither a tutor’s or the Principal’s superior. This is your responsibility.
Quick Links about Feedback and Complaints
Feedback
Feedback helps us improve what we offer and how we offer it. Your feedback can be helpful to us, your fellow ākonga / students, and future ākonga / students too.
Feedback is different from a complaint because feedback can be less formal in nature and can usually add value or produce positive discussions around how to improve the experience for both us and our ākonga / students.
Our team is small, and we operate in certain ways, bound by previous or current regulations set on us by both New Zealand based and internationally based governing bodies. Sometimes, though, these regulations are no longer valid or current but have somehow become embedded in our organisation and may need us to look at them with a critical lens.
Our student body is made up of ākonga / students from a wide range of experiences, and sometimes those experiences have been extremely positive. If you feel your positive experience could help us improve the way we do things, we are more than happy to hear about it.
If you have feedback you’d like to give, feel free to:
- Come see one of us in at a quiet time to have a chat about it. (Please make an appointment first to ensure we are free and can devote your attention to you.) Please ensure you see the person responsible for what you’re giving feedback on.
- Flick us an email with your ideas.
- Text us or call us and have a conversation around it.
- Discuss it with the student council member for your class to bring up at the next student council meeting
We also seek out feedback through:
- Programme evaluations (usually mid-year and end-of-year)
- Employment surveys
- Student council meetings
- Direct discussions with students on particular matters
In contrast, a complaint usually:
- Comes from a person without prompting; and
- Seeks to correct a specific perceived wrong or voices dissatisfaction with a specific person or event.
If you have a complaint, please see the Complaints Procedure.
The Complaints Procedure
Before You Go Through the Complaints Procedure
- If you feel safe in doing so, write or explain to the person that you are unhappy with their behaviour.
- Many complaints can be resolved easily by merely talking with the person or people involved.
- Remember to use “I” statements, e.g. “I feel I am unfairly targeted in class.” Using “I” statements helps people be more responsive to criticism and complaints that way, and therefore it can make things easier to solve.
- If you do not feel safe or do not feel the matter is resolved, proceed to make a complaint.
Your class’s student council member may be able to help by bringing up certain issues at their quarterly student council meeting. Subjects that they can discuss are:
- The health and well-being of the overall ākonga / student population (in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and its subsequent amendments)
- Timetabling
- Assessments (not the results or experiences of an individual ākonga / student but overall class or student results or experiences)
- Facilities
- Health and safety concerns
- Lesson delivery
Complaints should be made as close to the time of the event as possible to ensure the evidence you and we gather is fresh.
- We accept no liability or responsibility for complaints not made through the complaints procedure or complaints made after one month after:
- You have completed your programme; or
- The scheduled finishing date of the programme; or
- You have withdrawn from the programme: whichever comes first for you.
Types of Complaints
Complaint or Dispute about an Academic Matter
If you have a complaint about an academic matter, please see the procedures below to see how to progress. These procedures vary depending on whether your dispute or complaint is informal or formal.
Examples of complaints or disputes about academic matters:
- You feel your grade does not reflect the true nature of your performance during an assessment.
- You feel you were somehow disadvantaged during the assessment and would like that taken into consideration.
- You feel your answer on a written test was correct even though another answer was given as the correct answer.
Informal Complaint or Dispute about an Academic Matter
If you have an informal complaint or dispute about an academic matter, you should:
- See the tutor responsible or the Principal and arrange a time and date to meet to discuss the matter.
- Meet with the tutor responsible or the Principal at the time and date arranged to discuss your complaint or dispute
- You may wish to write or outline your complaint or dispute down prior to the meeting. This will help you focus your thoughts on the matter and help us understand it better.
- See the “Types of Investigations” section for the next part of the process.
Formal Complaint or Dispute about an Academic Matter
If you have a formal complaint or dispute about an academic matter, you should:
- Put that complaint in writing.
- It cannot be anonymous because we may need to check back with you on any areas we are unsure about. (We will attempt to maintain your privacy.)
- It cannot be verbal due to the serious nature of the complaint.
- You should ensure the complaint contains all relevant information. Once we receive the complaint, you cannot expand or enlarge it. This helps us focus on the matter(s) at hand in the complaint.
- Ensure you have evidence or examples to back-up your claims.
- Give that complaint to the Principal.
- See the “Types of Investigations” section for the next part of the process.
If the matter is something that can be resolved informally, we will suggest that solution first and foremost.
Complaint about a Team Member
If you have a complaint about a team member, you must:
- Put that complaint in writing.
- It cannot be anonymous because we may need to check back with you on any areas we are unsure about. (We will attempt to maintain your privacy.)
- It cannot be verbal due to the serious nature of the complaint.
- Ensure you have evidence or examples to back-up your claims.
- Give that complaint to the person in charge of that team member.
- Complaint about a beauty therapy tutor? Submit to the principal.
- Complaint about a nail technology tutor? Submit to the principal.
- Complaint about an ops team member? Submit to the CEO.
- Complaint about a director? Submit to another director or the CEO.
- See the “Types of Investigations” section for the next part of the process.
If the matter is something that can be resolved by you and the team member speaking about it face-to-face, we will suggest that solution first and foremost.
Complaint about an Informal Matter
If you have a complaint about an informal matter, you should:
- Speak with your tutor, the Principal or Ops team member to see how it can be resolved.
- Please make sure it is a team member who can help you best.
- See the “Types of Investigations” section for the next part of the process.
Examples of complaints about an informal matter include:
- Every time you use a certain sink, it seems to be clogged.
- Another ākonga / student keeps leaving her bag on the Great Hall floor instead of in a cubby hole.
- Two ākonga / students in your class keep pairing up together, not allowing others to work on them.
Most complaints should fall under this category.
Complaint about a Serious Matter
If you have a complaint about a serious matter, you should:
- Put that complaint in writing.
- It cannot be anonymous because we may need to check back with you on any areas we are unsure about. (We will attempt to maintain your privacy.)
- It cannot be verbal due to the serious nature of the complaint.
- Ensure you have evidence or examples to back-up your claims.
- Give that complaint to the Principal or a member of senior management.
- See the “Types of Investigations” section for the next part of the process.
Examples of complaints of a serious matter include:
- A classmate of yours has bullied or harassed you or a classmate in a sustained way. (Example: You’ve spoken with the classmate, and no resolution has come from that.)
- You feel a part of the building is unsafe, and previous conversations have not led to a definitive outcome.
- You feel a specific rule, regulation, policy or procedure is having, or has had, an adverse effect on your time studying with us (within reason).
If the complaint is about alleged criminal activity, we may pass that complaint on to the New Zealand Police or appropriate authorities.
If You Feel We Are Failing to Meet the Outcomes or Requirements of the Tertiary and International Learners Code of Practice
If you feel we are failing to meet the outcomes or requirements of the Tertiary and International Learners Code of Practice, you should follow the Complaints Procedure under “Complaint about a Serious Matter” through to the resolution or clarification.
Types of Investigations
We look into the matter and explore options to resolve the issue(s), if required.
Where the complaint is informal and can be easily resolved at the time, we may skip the investigation stage and come to an outcome or resolution.
- If your complaint is informal and can be easily resolved at the time, see the “Outcome or Resolution” section for the next part of the process.
Informal Investigation
If we feel the complaint would be best resolved by meeting face-to-face and discussing the issue(s) raised, we will set up a meeting between the parties and try to talk out a resolution.
- See the “Outcome or Resolution” section for the next part of the process.
No Action
Sometimes, we might be unable to take any action on the complaint. This may happen when:
- We cannot substantiate the complaint (we cannot find any matching evidence to confirm the complaint).
- The complaint does not meet our policy thresholds.
- The complaint is about something outside of the school we have no control over.
- See the “Outcome or Resolution” section for the next part of the process.
Formal Investigation
If we feel the complaint is serious, we should:
- Investigate the complaint and its allegations.
- Act in line with our established policies and procedures if the complaint is found to be valid.
- See the “Outcome or Resolution” section for the next part of the process.
Outcome or Resolution
We should notify all parties with the outcome(s) or resolution(s) to the matter. This can be as simple as verbally confirming the outcome where the complaint is informal or a written letter, e-mail, or report if the complaint is complex or formal.
- If you are not satisfied with the outcome or resolution proposed, see the “If You Are Not Satisfied with the Outcome” section for further actions you may take.
Please note that formal complaints will be recorded, and information on those complaints will be complied in an annual report. The annual report should be published on our Web site. People and organisations who will be able to see this report include, but are not limited to:
- Management and potentially our team members
- Ākonga / Students via our Web site
- Other stakeholders, when and where required
- The Code administrator
We also may seek:
- Your experience with the complaints procedure
- Your experience with the outcome of your complaint
If You Are Not Satisfied with the Outcome
You have a process to follow if you are not satisfied with the outcome.
- You can ask for a reconsideration if you have further evidence that could support your complaint or you feel could change the outcome of your complaint.
- If your complaint was informal, you can escalate this by making it a formal complaint (in writing) to the appropriate team member.
- If your complaint was formal, please submit further evidence in writing.
- This basically follows the same process as established in this procedure.
- Reconsiderations should only be undertaken where the process appears not to be followed or the decision appears to be contrary to or unsupported by the evidence.
- If you feel reconsideration does not work, you can then:
- Ask (in writing) for arbitration or apply for arbitration through an external agency.
- Please note that there may be a charge for these services that you will need to pay in part or in full before proceeding (e.g. Disputes Tribunal fee). See the Type of Dispute table below for different arbitration agencies that may be able to assist.
- Submit information to the arbitrator.
- Work with the arbitrator and us to hopefully resolve the complaint.
- Ask (in writing) for arbitration or apply for arbitration through an external agency.
- If both reconsideration and arbitration do not work for you, you can then go to the appropriate division at the New Zealand Qualification Authority (NZQA) with your complaint.
- NZQA may concern itself with unresolved academic complaints which have been submitted in accordance with our complaints procedure.
- All available options under the complaints procedure should be exhausted before an ākonga / student approaches NZQA.
| Type of Dispute | Arbitration Agency | Agency Contact Details |
|---|---|---|
| For ākonga a Aotearoa / domestic students: | |
For international students: | ||
| Human Rights Commission | |
| Our arbitrator | Contact us for details |
Disputes Tribunal |
Complaints Procedure 2023 version 1.0 as of 4 August 2023 — only minor link changes made from 2022 version 1.0 released on 24 August 2022
If Your Complaint Is Not Resolved — Contact NZQA
If your education provider has not resolved your complaint, and you still wish to have it resolved, then you can contact NZQA. NZQA is a government organisation. They can provide an independent assessment of your complaint.
- Download the Complaint Form (PDF, 33K)
- Send your completed Complaint Form, along with any supporting evidence, to:
Risk Management
Quality Assurance Division
New Zealand Qualifications Authority
PO Box 160
Wellington 6140
or
Email a scan of your completed form, along with any scans of any supporting evidence, to risk@nzqa.govt.nz
If you need more information on the NZQA part of the complaints process, contact NZQA on 0800 697 296 or visit the Complain About An Education Provider page on their Web site.