Dispute Resolution Policy

Handling of Feedbacks and Complaints 

1. The School accepts both written (emails / letters / Feedback Forms) and verbal communications (meetings / telephone correspondences) for ease of providing feedback.
2. The School is to seek feedback from its key stakeholders and external partners for continual improvement of its systems and processes.
3. All feedbacks and complaints must be properly recorded and /or documented. Any correspondence (including actions taken) between the School and the student must be annexed as evidences. This is to ensure that any staffs handling the case are kept aware of the progress / outcomes.
4. In the event of any appeals for retention, suspension, expulsion and awards, the School’s Dispute Policy and Process shall follow.
5. It is the responsibility of the Academic Division to notify relevant departments of any feedbacks and complaints.
6. Students must be kept informed of the status of their feedback / complaints.
7. Academic Division is to respond to respective students within 3 working days of receipt of the feedback / complaint.
8. All feedbacks / complaints must be resolved within 21 working days. In the event that the deadline is not adhered to, respective students must be notified and the reasons with regards to the delay must be made known.
9. All feedback and complaints are to be evaluated, and improvements to be made in response to them. Such improvements are to be documented for re-evaluation after its implementation, and the complainant/person giving feedback will be informed.

Student Grievance Resolution

A student seeking to resolve a grievance should follow the steps below. These steps have been put in place to facilitate resolution of grievances with a minimum of delay.

Step 1

Attempt to solve the grievance informally by discussing the issue with the person responsible for the matter. You may consult your mentor if you are uncertain about how to proceed. At your request your mentor may be asked to arrange for and attend this meeting. Efforts should be placed at resolving the grievance at this level.

Step 2

If the grievance is not informally resolved, you may file a written statement describing the grievance to the Director, Academic Division. The written document shall describe the facts and provide evidence supporting the alleged violations, indicate what redress the student seeks and provide a brief history of the attempts to resolve the grievance. The grievance must be filed in writing to the Director, Academic Division within 2 weeks from the date of the incident. This time limit may be extended upon good cause shown.

Step 3

If possible, all grievances should be resolved informally by the Director, Academic Division. If the parties still cannot resolve the situation amicably with mutual regard to the grievance involved, the matter will be escalated to the CEO/ Academic Director for a final resolution within 21 working days from the date of official filing of the written statement.

Student Dispute Resolution

In the event that the Student and the school are unable to resolve a dispute in accordance with the grievance resolution procedure, the Student and the school shall refer the dispute to the Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC) or Singapore Institute of Arbitrators (SIArb) for mediation prior to instituting any legal action or proceedings. The Student and the school will bear equally such fees as the Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC) or Singapore Institute of Arbitrators (SIArb) may prescribe from time to time for the purpose of resolving their dispute.

Feedback / Complaint / Dispute Resolution Procedure

1. Students / Stakeholders will have to fill in the Feedback Form for any feedback / complaint.
2. Registrar will acknowledge any feedback / complaints received within 3 working days.
3. Registrar will review the feedback / complaint and discuss it with relevant departments.
4. Solutions will be proposed, and Registrar will explain it to the student clearly.
5. Student to acknowledge the outcome within 7 working days from date of submission of feedback / complaint if he / she accepts the proposed solution.
6. Should the student not be satisfied, the CEO (for non-academic issues) or Academic Director (for academic issues) will investigate the matter and inform the student of the outcome within 14 working days.
7. Should the student not be satisfied with the resolution, SHRM will refer the student to SMC or SIArb within 21 working days of receipt of feedback / complaint.