Your go-to place for suggestions and complaints. Why not just vent a little?

Let’s go back to the year 2013. The student representatives are extremely dissatisfied with the complaints office. The complaint management system is barely noticed because the complaints can only be partially anonymized, and they often don’t reach the right people. Meanwhile, complaints about arbitrary actions by examination committees, sexual harassment by instructors, and discrimination against international students and faculty are piling up in the AStA. In response, the AStA launches the campaign “Shredder – Every shredder handles complaints better than the university.” Out of frustration over the lack of response, students fill out complaint forms and toss them into a shredder for processing.

In 2015, the frustrations of the students were finally acknowledged, leading to the development of a new concept in collaboration with the AStA. The StAB office was now established with clearly defined responsibilities at the Center for Higher Education Didactics and Quality Development (ZHQ). Additionally, opaque complaint boxes were installed at each location, allowing students to submit their complaints completely anonymously at last.

But how does the process work behind the scenes?  

In simplified terms, your complaint goes through three stages, each involving different parties. In the first stage, you submit your request. Here, you can reach out to a trusted person either anonymously or in person, or you can send a suggestion/complaint to the ZHQ via the university's homepage. After that, the appropriateness of your request is checked, and it is forwarded to the relevant office.

The second step focuses on addressing your issue. Most problems can be resolved through a simple conversation. At this stage, only the trusted person or a staff member from StAB is involved. If the issue is related to a specific department, the dean will be brought in. For cross-departmental matters, even the rectorate may be involved—it's a good thing that the complaints are now anonymous! In most cases, the problem is resolved at this point.  

In the final stage, evaluation and assessment take place. If a solution has been reached, the request is documented and evaluated—congratulations! You've successfully filed a complaint. If the issue hasn't been resolved yet, it will be discussed at a meeting of the trusted individuals, and efforts will be made to achieve the best possible outcome. However, if the problem is too complex or too individual, it may happen that the complaint request is ultimately closed. 

Now you know all about the processes! So go ahead! Feel free to file a complaint!