Dispute Resolution

The Dispute Resolution Policy aims to define how the Institute offers the available methods of resolving the dispute resolution fairly. Such disputes may inevitably arise between the student and the Institute during the course of providing the education service.

The policy encompasses the dispute resolution procedure between the student and the Institute. The Institute shall highlight the dispute resolution policy and procedure to students during orientation and a copy of the dispute resolution information shall be posted on the General Notice Board at the Academic Office and CITECH website.

In the event that the student and the Institute are unable to resolve a dispute in accordance with the dispute resolution procedure, the student and the Institute shall refer the dispute to CPE Student Services Centre.

It is the objective of CITECH to encourage a prompt and informal resolution of grievances of students as they arise and to provide recourse procedures for student grievances to be addressed and resolved.

A student grievance may arise from any aspect of a student's educational experience at the Institute which they believe to be unfair, unjust or unreasonable. Institute procedures exist for dealing with students?discipline and academic matters (e.g. appeals against results, exclusion etc), then these will take precedence over student grievance procedure.

A student seeking resolution of a grievance should follow the steps outlined below. These steps have been put in place to facilitate resolution of grievances with minimum delay.

Step 1:

At the onset, a student should attempt to resolve any dispute or grievance informally by discussing the issue with the person responsible for the matter (the respondent). Students uncertain about how to proceed may consult the Senior Academic Manager or Student Support Manager for assistance. At the request of either the grievant or the respondent, the Senior Academic Manager or Student Support Manager may be asked to arrange for and attend this meeting. Where necessary, the Senior Academic Manager and Student Support Manager may be asked to attend the meeting. Significant effort should be placed at resolving the grievance at this level.

Step 2:

If the dispute or grievance is not informally resolved between the grievant and respondent, the grievant may file a written statement describing the grievance to the Vice President (Academic). The written document shall describe the facts and provide evidence supporting the alleged violations, indicate what redress the grievant seeks and provide a brief history of the attempts to resolve the grievance.

A grievance must be filed in writing to the Vice President (Academic) within 2 weeks from the date of the grievous act. It is advisable to resolve within 7 days. However, the time limit may be extended upon good cause shown.

Step 3:

If feasible, all disputes should be resolved informally between the Academic Department and the student first. If the parties cannot resolve amicably with mutual regard to the dispute involved, the student may file an appeal in writing to the President for a final resolution within 2 weeks from the date of the first ruling.

Step 4:

In the event that the student and CITECH are unable to resolve a dispute amicably, student can initiate the dispute resolution process to Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC) or Singapore Institute of Arbitrators (SIArb) through the Council for Private Education Student Services Centre stating the nature of the dispute. The student will be required to fill up an application form at the CPE Student Services Centre stating the nature of your dispute.

The student shall abide by the procedures as stipulated by the Council for Private Education.

Please refer to CPE Dispute Resolution Scheme published by CPE for the fees of the dispute resolution process and procedure for initiating the process.