Article 1
Purpose
The purpose of this regulation is to establish the regulatory framework for the management of complaints by graduate students on issues related to the educational, academic and administrative function of the PMS. The ultimate goal is to strengthen the educational process within the framework of the principles of transparency, accountability and objectivity that must govern academic life. The operation and application of this Regulation is coordinated by the PMS Director and the Coordinating Committee (SE) and is supported by the Assembly of the Department of Management Science and Technology.
Article 2
Complaints Management Committee
At the beginning of the academic year, a three-member Complaint Management Committee of graduate students is appointed by the Department Assembly, following a proposal by the Director of the PMS. The President of the Committee is mandatorily appointed by the Director of the PMS while the other two members can be any faculty member of the PMS who is also a member of the Department’s Assembly.
Article 3
File a complaint
The student can submit a complaint to the PMS Secretariat, in person or electronically via email. The submission of the complaint includes a short and clear description of the request and contact information for the complainant (email and/or phone). Requests with abusive content, as well as requests with insufficient or untrue contact information will not be taken into account. The Secretariat of the PMS forwards the student’s complaint, together with any additional material, to the Director of the PMS.
Article 4
Complaint handling process
The Three-member Committee of article 2, after an invitation by the Director, meets and takes the necessary actions to examine and investigate the problem. The Committee examines the complaint and may invite the interested party to a hearing, which may be held in person at the department’s premises and/or online. The purpose of the hearing process is to understand the complaint and gather related information and data. The Academic Advisor of the graduate student may participate in the workings of the Committee, upon request of the latter. In case the nature of the issue is complex or its resolution is not possible at the level of the Three-member Committee, the Committee may refer the case successively to the Coordinating Committee or even to the Assembly of the Department or to the competent administrative body of the University of Patras. Complaints must be processed within a reasonable period of time under terms of transparency, objectivity and respect for the dignity of all parties involved in the complaint. Committee members take special 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 is duly informed of the outcome of his or her complaint.
Article 5
Obligation of confidentiality
Committee members are obliged to observe absolute confidentiality regarding any information that comes to their knowledge during the exercise of their duties, which concerns any kind of personal data of members of the university community.
Article 6
Personal Data
The members of the Commission take the necessary technical and organizational measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risks involved in processing personal data, in particular with regard to the processing of special categories of personal data. For questions regarding the processing of personal data, the Committee may receive the opinion of the Institution’s Data Protection Officer (DPO).
Article 7
Withdrawal
The student, who has submitted an official request/complaint, reserves the right to withdraw, at any stage of the above procedure, through a request to the Complaints Management Committee.
Article 8
Course grading
This Regulation does not address course grading issues.
