Statement of Service & Complaints Procedure

School of Mathematical Sciences

University College Cork

The primary mission of the School is “To drive enquiry in Science, Society and Industry through Mathematical Excellence”. This is enabled by providing the highest quality education in Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Financial Maths and Actuarial Science in a spirit of community and professional service.  We are deeply committed to delivering a quality experience in a highly professional manner. We hope that you are happy with the service you experience from us. If you do feel our standards fall below that which you were expecting, we would welcome your feedback. You may provide feedback in person to our team verbally, or in writing at any time. If you feel you that wish to make a complaint about our service, please be assured that we will do our utmost to consider your comments and address your concerns. The procedure involved in making a complaint about our service is outlined below. We would also be delighted to hear from you when you think the School and its staff have served you well.

Record-keeping and Confidentiality in dealing with a complaint

Any formal complaint and related correspondence are kept separate from your student record and the privacy and dignity of all persons involved in the complaint will be respected at all times. In order to investigate the complaint, it may be necessary to reveal the identity of the complainant and/or details of the complaint. If you have a comment or complaint about any aspect of our service, we would like to hear about it. Here is what you can do first if you have a comment or complaint about our service:

Informal Complaint Stage 1: Discuss issue directly with the individual(s) involved.

Many difficulties can arise from a misunderstanding or from a failure of communication and can be addressed through further discussion and dialogue. It is often in your interest to communicate your concerns directly at an early stage by discussing the matter informally and directly with the individual(s) concerned.

Informal Complaint Stage 2: Discuss issue with Class Reps/ Students Union College Rep

If you feel unable to discuss the matter with the individual(s) involved, or have done so but remain significantly dissatisfied you should contact your Class Rep. Class Reps are elected each year to represent you and your class and bring issues to the attention of lecturers or the School Office. Every month the School Teaching and Learning & Student Experience Committee (TLSE) meet Class Reps to discuss any issues/problems that may arise. The remit of the TLSE group is to enable communication sharing and to develop initiatives that promote the student experience through the class representative network. If you are unsure of who your Class Rep is please contact the Students Union at 021-4903218 or education@uccsu.ie

The Students Union Class Rep for 2021/2022 for the College of Science, Engineering and Food Science is Alex Angland

The direct contact for the School TLSE Committee is 021-4205818 or somstlse@ucc.ie

 The Chair of our TLSE committee is Dr Martin Kilian.

Formal Complaint Procedure

If resolution of your complaint cannot be achieved through the Informal Complaint Procedure outline in stages 1 & 2 above, you can proceed with your comments or complaint through the Formal Complaint Procedure.

Stage 1:

Please submit your complaint in writing to the Head of School of Mathematical Sciences using the Formal Complaint Form which is available at the following link: Here

Receipt of your Formal Complaint Form will be acknowledged in writing within 7 days.

Your complaint will be investigated by the Head of School and we commit to provide you with a written reply to your complaint within four working weeks.

If your Formal Complaint concerns the Head of School of Mathematical Sciences, then the Head of College of Science, Engineering and Food Science will oversee the investigation and reply to your complaint.

The Head of School of Mathematical Sciences will also be asked to submit his/her own response, including what reasonable steps have been or are proposed to resolve matters. The Head of College of Science, Engineering and Food Science, in consultation with other relevant authorities, will address your concerns fully and commit to provide you a written reply to your complaint within four working weeks.

Relevant Contact Details

Head of School of Mathematical Sciences

Western Gateway Building

University College Cork

021-4205996

hosm@ucc.ie

Head of College of Science, Engineering and Food Science

SEFS College Office

Block E, Level 3

Food Science Building

University College Cork

021-4903075

collegeoffice@sefs.ucc.ie