Examination Complaints and Appeals Policy

The College and Faculties recognise that on occasion candidates may wish to express their dissatisfaction with the way in which something has been done and feel confident that any such complaint is handled in a fair and consistent way.   

1.  A ‘complaint’, in accordance with these regulations, is defined as an expression of dissatisfaction or a specific concern, whether given orally or in writing, about the provision or quality of a service provided by the RCoA or faculties including issues such as staff/ examiner/ invigilator conduct, feedback on examination content, disputes about the Examination Regulations, or other procedures or application process.   

2.  Complaints should be submitted to a member of the Examinations Department as soon as possible.  

   a. Complaints given orally at the time of an examination taking place will be logged on an incident report form. Immediate action to resolve issues as they arise will be taken wherever possible and the complainant will be advised accordingly. Most complaints can and should be resolved in this way. 

   b. Complaints in writing should be submitted by email to facultyexams@rcoa.ac.uk (FFICM and FFPMRCA exams) setting out in full the matter on which the complaint is based and addressed for the attention of the Head of Examinations, with at least 24 hours before the exam result is published. Complaints submitted anonymously or on behalf of another party will not be considered. 

3.  If following communication with the Faculty, a complainant remains dissatisfied and only when all attempts to resolve the complaint have been exhausted, the complainant should email facultyexams@rcoa.ac.uk addressed for the attention of the Leadership Team for Education, Training and Examinations stating: 

   a. the nature of the complaint, 

   b. what has/ has not been done to resolve it, 

   c. why the complainant is not satisfied with the course of action taken by the Examinations Department, and 

   d. what the complainant would like to be done to resolve the matter to their satisfaction. 

   The Leadership Team of ET&E will acknowledge an official complaint within five working days of receipt. A full response will be made as soon as possible.  

4.  The decision of the Director is final and on despatch of the decision letter, the complaint’s procedure will be at an end. 

5.  Candidate confidentiality will be observed when handling complaints wherever possible. However, it will occasionally be necessary to disclose a complainant’s identity to progress an investigation. Candidates who engage in the complaints process will not be disadvantaged. 

6.  Candidates shall not be eligible to apply for or undertake any FRCA examination whilst a complaint remains unresolved.