The Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences provides a form for submitting observations, complaints, appreciation, and improvement proposals, as a tool for active participation and continuous improvement of teaching quality and services.
1. Submission of the Report
The report (complaint, suggestion, appreciation or other formal communication) is submitted using the designated form published on the website. It is sent by email to the QA Manager of the degree course at their institutional email address or delivered in person to the Teaching Secretariat. In the latter case, it will be promptly forwarded to the QA Manager of the degree course.
Complaints and reports, whether submitted in person or by email, will be handled anonymously to protect the privacy of the submitter.
The handling of reports is carried out in compliance with applicable personal data protection legislation (EU Regulation 2016/679 – GDPR and applicable national legislation).
2. Receipt
Upon receipt of the form, whether by email or in person, the QA Manager:
- sends an acknowledgement of receipt to the reporting party within 5 working days, by email to the address provided on the form
- assigns a sequential identification number
- forwards it to the degree course Coordinator of the relevant degree course, maintaining the anonymity of the reporting party.
3. Assessment at degree course level
The degree course Coordinator:
- assesses the admissibility and relevance of the report in relation to the degree course’s competences
- if deemed necessary, informs the Head of the Department and may seek their contribution in resolving the matter
- initiates, if necessary, an internal inquiry, including hearings with the parties involved
- adopts appropriate measures or proposes corrective/improvement actions
- draws up a formal record containing the outcome of the inquiry, the decisions taken, and the timelines for any actions, which is sent to the QA Manager.
The reasoned outcome is communicated by the QA Managerto the reporting party within 30 days of receipt of the complete report.
If the inquiry requires more time, the reporting party will be notified accordingly, with the new expected timeframe indicated.
4. Filing and monitoring
The report and the related formal record are filed in their original form with the Teaching Secretariat.
The QA Manager, as part of their annual report, presents the reports received in anonymous, summary and aggregated form, and communicates this to the Departmental QA Committee (DQAC) and the Joint Student Teaching Committee (JSTC), solely for the purpose of verifying the correct implementation of the procedure and monitoring and continuously improving the activities of the degree course, without examining the content or reasoning of individual reports.
5. Appeal at university level
If the report:
- falls outside the competences of the degree course
- cannot be resolved at the level of the degree course or Department
- concerns matter of a general or cross-cutting nature
The degree course Coordinator ensures that all documentation is forwarded to the University's Public Relations Office (URP), which will handle the matter in accordance with the University Regulations for the management of complaints, reports, suggestions and appreciations.
The URP will manage the process in accordance with its own procedures and provide a response within the timeframes established by the University Regulations.
6. Protection of the reporting party and review
The following are guaranteed:
· confidentiality of the identity of the reporting party
· the absence of any form of retaliation or discrimination resulting from the submission of the report.
If the reporting party is not satisfied with the outcome, they may:
· submit a reasoned request for review
· contact the University's URP directly
· make use of any other protective mechanisms provided under university regulations.
In cases where the report cannot be resolved at the level of the degree course or Department, the degree course Coordinator ensures that all documentation is forwarded, via titulus, to the University's URP (Public Relations Office), which will handle it in accordance with the procedures set out in the relevant University Regulations for the management of complaints, reports, suggestions and appreciations.
