Grievance Resolution Process

SIM seeks to provide prompt and informal resolution of student grievances as they arise, and to provide recourse to orderly procedures for them to be addressed and resolved.

A student grievance may arise from any aspect of a student's educational experience at the Institute which they believe to be unfair, unjust or unreasonable. Where university or institute procedures exist for dealing with students’ discipline and academic matters (e.g. appeals against results, exclusion etc), then these will take precedence over student grievance procedure.
     
A student seeking resolution of a grievance should follow the steps outlined below. These steps have been put in place to facilitate resolution of grievances with a minimum of delay.

Step 1

At the onset, a student should attempt to resolve the grievance informally by discussing the issue with the person responsible for the matter (the respondent). Students uncertain about how to proceed may consult the Programme Officer or Student Services Officer for assistance. At the request of either the grievant or the respondent, the Programme Officer or Student Services Officer may be asked to arrange for and to attend this meeting. Where necessary, the Programme Manager or Student Services Manager may also be asked to attend the meeting. Significant effort should be placed at resolving the grievance at this level.

Step 2

If the grievance is not informally resolved between the grievant and respondent, the grievant may file a written statement describing the grievance to the Programme Manager or Student Services Manager. The written document shall describe the facts and provide evidence supporting the alleged violations, indicate what redress the grievant seeks and provide a brief history of the attempts to resolve the grievance.

A grievance must be filed in writing to the Programme Manager within 2 weeks from the date of the grievous act. This time limit may be extended upon good cause shown.

Step 3

If feasible, all disputes should be resolved informally between the programme department and the student first. If the parties cannot resolve amicably with mutual regard to the dispute involved, the student may file an appeal in writing to the Director, Student Life, for a final resolution within 2 weeks from the date of the first ruling.

In the event that the student and SIM are unable to resolve a dispute amicably, either party can refer the dispute to Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC) or Singapore Institute of Arbitrators (SIArb) through CPE Student Services Centre for mediation.