Caring about complaints: perceptions of complaints procedures considered through the lens of ethic of care

Complaints by university students appear regularly in the general and higher education media. Most reports and much research focus on the student experience. However, there are several respects in which complaints procedures are problematic, not just for students but for institutional staff. Using semi-structured interviews, the experiences of an LLB programme leader and other institutional actors were explored. Results show that staff dealing with complaints have significant concerns. Findings are viewed through the lens of an ethic of care and it is argued that a more holistic view of complaints procedure operation may address both staff and student concerns.