NSO Report: “Can I talk about this?” - The use of confidentiality requirements in university complaint-handling
The National Student Ombudsman (NSO) have released a report titled "Can I talk about this? The use of confidentiality requirements in university complaint-handling." Confidentiality requirements are often included in university complaints handling policies, which means they automatically apply to students who make a complaint, or have a complaint made against them. Students and student advocates have advised that confidentiality was being applied in unfair and unnecessarily restrictive ways, leading to students feeling isolated and silenced about their complaint experience. The NSO have made 7 practical recommendations to the sector to improve the design, use, and communication of confidentiality requirements in complaint handling, including: releasing students from confidentiality requirements at the end of a complaint process; ensuring exceptions to confidentiality are clearly included in policies to allow students to seek support; and providing plain English guidance to students to explain how any confidentiality requirement work.