Article 1

Purpose

The purpose of this regulation is to formulate the regulatory framework for the management of postgraduate students’ complaints on issues concerning the educational, academic and administrative operation of the MSc. The ultimate aim is to enhance the educational process within the framework of the principles of transparency, accountability and objectivity that should govern academic life.

The operation and implementation of these Regulations is coordinated by the Director of the MSc and the Coordinating Committee (CC) and supported by the Assembly of the Department of Management Science and Technology.

Article 2

Complaints Committee

At the beginning of the academic year, a three-member Grievance Management Committee for postgraduate students is appointed by the Assembly of the Department, upon the recommendation of the Director of the MSc. The Chairperson of the Committee is the Director of the MSc and the members are any lecturer in the MSc who is also a member of the Department Assembly.

Article 3

Submission of a complaint

The student may submit a complaint to the MSc Secretariat, in person or electronically via email. The submission of the complaint includes a brief and clear description of the issue and contact details of the complainant (email and/or telephone).

Requests with abusive content, as well as requests with insufficient or untrue contact details will not be considered.

The MSc Secretariat will forward the student’s complaint, together with any additional material, to the Director of the MSc.

Article 4

Complaint handling procedure

The Tripartite Committee of Article 2, at the invitation of the Director, meets and takes the necessary steps to examine and investigate the problem. The Committee shall examine the complaint and may invite the person concerned to a hearing, which may take place in person at the premises of the Foundation and/or online. The purpose of the hearing process is to understand the complaint and to gather information and evidence.

The Academic Advisor of the postgraduate student may participate in the work of the Committee, at the request of the latter.

In case the nature of the issue is complex or its resolution is not feasible at the level of the Tripartite Committee, the Committee may refer the case successively to the Coordinating Committee or even to the Departmental Assembly or to the competent administrative body of the University of Patras.

Complaints must be handled within a reasonable period of time in terms of transparency, objectivity and respect for the dignity of all parties involved in the complaint. The members of the Commission shall take particular care to avoid conflicts of interest.

Within a reasonable period of time and depending on the nature of the problem and the urgency of the matter, the student shall be duly informed of the outcome of his or her complaint.

Article 5

Obligation of confidentiality

Members of the Committee are obliged to maintain absolute confidentiality with regard to any information that comes to their knowledge in the exercise of their duties and concerns any kind of personal data of members of the university community.

Article 6

Personal data

The Members of the Commission shall take the necessary technical and organisational measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk involved in the processing of personal data, in particular with regard to the processing of special categories of personal data.

For questions concerning the processing of personal data, the Commission may consult the Data Protection Officer of the Foundation (DPO).

Article 7

Withdrawal

The student, who has submitted a formal request/complaint, reserves the right to withdraw at any stage of the above procedure with a request to the Complaints Management Committee.

Article 8

Grading of courses

These Regulations do not concern course grading issues.