Concerns and feedback
As a student, it is your right to feel confident about raising concerns with the University and to have these concerns addressed and resolved in a fair, equitable, transparent, and timely manner.
The nature of your concern or feedback may relate to academia, services you receive or personal situations. These can be reported and addressed differently depending on who or what is involved. Your concern may involve a fellow student, staff member, or member of the public or be about University practices.
If you witness or experience unacceptable behaviour
If you are supporting someone else or have gone through a personal experience, here are the key steps to take:
- Support – if you have witnessed or experienced unacceptable behaviours, the priority is to ensure you and other affected people are safe and supported
- Record – when relevant and if possible, record as much detail as you can about the incident including the time, date and location
- Report – ensure the incident is reported to the University. This may be through Campus Security, a Proctor, Student Support advisor or by raising a concern.
Your guide to raising a concern
Contact the police if you have witnessed or experienced behaviour that is illegal or puts you or another person’s health or safety at immediate risk. Call 111.
If you have witnessed or experienced behaviour on campus that is not a police matter but requires urgent action, contact Campus Security on 0800 545 388 (available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day). They will treat your matter with confidentiality, inform the appropriate University authorities and ensure you have the support you require.
Go to Sexual Harm Support and Reporting for specialist support contacts, including 24/7 external services.
You may consider approaching the person/s involved to resolve the concern by means of direct discussion or a written communication. If you do not feel comfortable addressing your concern this way or you have tried and didn’t get the desired outcome, you could ask a friend or whānau to help voice your concern or, we suggest contacting a Student Support service or getting advice and support from LUSA.
Academic self-resolution and student reps
Every course at Lincoln can have at least one student representative volunteer who will be selected to liaise with the lecturer on behalf of the class. If you have concerns to raise about your course or programme but feel uncomfortable talking directly with academic staff, find your Student Rep contact information on your course’s Akoraka | Learn page. If you do not have an assigned Student Rep, contact the LUSA President or LUSA Advocacy and Voice Coordinator.
The University will receive anonymous concerns from students to help identify behavioural trends which do not align with our value of manaakitaka. This helps us to assess and assign methods of action to improve the wellbeing, safety and experiences of our staff, students, friends and whānau.
Note: Informal anonymous concerns will generally not be formally investigated by the University because to manage concerns in a transparent manner, an individual must be aware of the allegations and who has made them. However, concerns may be investigated in some situations, such as when illegal actions are involved.
How to raise an anonymous concern:
- Complete the Raise an Anonymous Concern Form
- If you have witnessed or experienced a crime, Crimestoppers allows for anonymous reporting to the police
- If you have questions about this process, email us confidentially at anonymous@lincoln.ac.nz. Your query will be addressed by the University Privacy Officer or assigned delegate.
If you have a concern about Lincoln University staff or students, we encourage you to report this as soon as possible after the behaviour was witnessed or experienced. We take a fair, confidential and impartial approach to investigating all concerns raised.
We encourage you to ask for help from whānau or a friend who are welcome to be there as a support person in any meetings in relation to your concern.
How to raise a formal concern:
The first step is to raise your concern with an expert advisor who is available to help you select the most appropriate process for reporting your concern (in a way that you feel comfortable with).
Talk to an expert advisor for confidential guidance on raising a formal concern:
What happens next?
Your support advisor will help guide you through the procedures to follow in relation to the Student Complaints Policy and Procedures which are designed to identify the best path to take depending on whether your concern relates to academia, a service or the behaviour of a fellow student or staff member.
Investigations in relation to Lincoln University staff and students occur in accordance with the principles of natural justice, with an unbiased decision-maker who observes fair and impartial procedures for everyone involved.
- You will receive an acknowledgement of receipt of your concern
- If the behaviour involves a student/s, your concern will be provided to a University Proctor who may contact you for further information
- If the behaviour involves staff/s, your concern will be provided to the relevant line manager and/or Human Resources who may contact you for further information
- If what you are raising is not about a specific individual but relates to Lincoln University practice, your concern will be provided to the relevant head of department or committee chair, who may contact you for further information
- If what you are raising is not about a specific individual but relates to Lincoln University Students’ Association (LUSA) practices, your concern will be provided to the LUSA General Manager
- You will be informed of progress and actions taken to address your concern in alignment with University regulations, guidelines, policies and procedures, and the principles of the Privacy Act 2020
- You may be asked to provide more information or attend a meeting to assist with this process. You are welcome to bring a support person with you. Your safety and wellbeing are always considered, and you will be consulted throughout the process to ensure you feel comfortable with the approach.
If you have questions about this process, email us confidentially at concerns@lincoln.ac.nz. Your query will be addressed by the University Privacy Officer or an assigned delegate.
Concerns about Lincoln University
If you have raised a formal concern but are dissatisfied with how Lincoln University has addressed your concern, you should:
- Firstly, discuss your concerns with an International Student Advisor (internationaladvisors@lincoln.ac.nz) or the LUSA Advocacy and Voice Coordinator (students@lusa.org.nz) They will advise you on steps to take, including the options below.
- NZQA handles complaints about alleged non-compliance with the New Zealand Tertiary and International Code of Practice. For more information go to nzqa.govt.nz/make-a-complaint
- If you have a financial or contractual dispute with the University, there are free and independent services to help:
-International students, via iStudent Complaints
-Domestic students, via Tertiary Education Dispute Resolution
Support for students
We understand that reporting unacceptable behaviours or bad experiences can make students feel vulnerable and worried about the consequences. We encourage you to ask for help from whānau, a friend or staff member who are welcome to be there as a support person in any meetings in relation to your concern.
Support when raising your concern
We have staff with a variety of expertise and from different backgrounds and ethnicities available to support you. If you do not know where to start, talking to someone you trust is the best thing to do.
- Student Health
- Wellbeing Support
- Te Manutaki, Māori and Pasifika Support
- International Student Support
- LUSA Student Advice and Support
- Accommodation services (you can also talk to your RA)
- Chaplaincy services
Student Support contacts and service information
Related policies and procedures
- Student Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Academic Appeals Policy and Procedure
- Prevention of Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination Guidelines
- Prevention of Bullying and Harassment Policy
How we approach privacy
Lincoln University adheres to the principles of the Privacy Act 2020. See our Privacy Policy for details of how we collect, store, use and share information in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020.
If you have questions about your privacy, you are welcome to contact the University Privacy Officer.
Give us general feedback
We value receiving feedback about the experiences of our students. If you would like to give us general feedback about your experience, good or bad, you are welcome to contact the Student Experience Manager via email at experience@lincoln.ac.nz. Your feedback will be treated confidentially unless you give permission.