Last edit: 01/01/2021

Complaint Procedure
Codam is committed to providing students with the best possible learning experience, and helping
students in the best way possible. The Codam staff is always open for suggestions and feedback andencourages candidates and students to share their experiences and ongoing satisfaction.
However, a candidate or student who believes that they have been subject to an improper
treatment by a Codam staff member or unfairly impacted by the Codam rules and regulations areentitled to filing a complaint and to obtain review of the matter.
This procedure describes the steps you can take to file a complaint.

1. Informal procedure
1.1. Internal Informal Procedure
First of all a candidate or student should try to resolve the issue with the person(s) involved. Codam's
Management is always open to discuss any matter and try to help as best as we can. It is also
possible to reach out to the Student Counselor (benita@codam.nl) or Student Council(codamstudentcouncil@gmail.com) to ask for help.
If you feel unsafe or uncomfortable discussing the issue through these channels then you can godirectly to the Formal Procedure Internal. And if your complaint relates to undesirable behaviour by
the staff, all forms of sexual intimidation, bullying, aggression, stalking, violence and discriminationor other issues of equal severity, we also recommend to go directly to the Internal Formal Procedure.

1.2. Internal Formal Procedure
When talking with the person(s) involved didn’t solve the issue and neither did discussing thematter with Codam’s management, then a candidate or student can file a formal complaint.
Formal complaints are handled by Ms. Higgin. Ms. Higgin is the Director of the Sofronie Foundation,the Sofronie Foundation supports and funds Codam, and therefore is familiar with Codam but notpart of Codam's staff. Ms. Higgin is responsible for handling all internal formal complaints.
Everything discussed with Ms. Higgin will be considered confidential.
The method for handling an official complaint is as follows:1.

Submit your complaint by email (jacqueline.higgin@sofronie.org) with a clear explanation
about which you are not satisfied with. If there is documentation regarding the complaint, it
should also be included in the copy by the complainant.

2.

The complainant receives confirmation as soon as the complaint is received, and will beinformed about a time limit for the complaint (maximum of 4 weeks). If required, furtherinformation will be obtained from the complainant, or an appointment will be made to
discuss the matter.
3.

After Jacqueline has collected sufficient information, a decision will be taken on thecomplaint after internal consultation. If possible and necessary, an appropriate solution isproposed to the complainant. If the complainant does not agree with the solution, anappointment will be made for clarification.

4.

The complaint is archived for 2 years once the procedure is resolved.

2. External Procedure
When the internal formal procedure didn’t lead to a satisfactory solution, the complainant can takethe complaint to the independent complaints committee, the Dutch Foundation for Consumer
Complaints Boards (De Geschillencommissie).
When a dispute is dealt with by De Geschillencommissie, the NRTO Code of Conduct and theGeneral Terms and Conditions for Consumers are central to the decision. You can find more
information about the procedure of the following website:
https://www.degeschillencommissie.nl/english/
This complaint procedure does not only apply to candidates and students but also to prospective
candidates or students, former students, companies, staff and third parties.
General provisions
Article 1 - definitions●

Candidate: a person registered with the institution as a participant in the Selection Piscine.

●Student: a person registered with the institution as a participant in the Curriculum.

●

Codam staff member: persons with an employment contract with Stichting Codam.

●

Codam’s Management: director and deputy director, in charge with the day-to-day
management of the operation of Codam Coding College.

●Student Counsellor: independent counsellor hired as an independent third party and notpart of the Codam staff.

●

Student Council: official representatives of the student body.

●Complainant: person that believes they have been subject to an improper treatment or whoengages in filing a complaint through the informal or formal procedure.

Article 2 - the complaint●

Every candidate, student, former student, company, staff or third party has the right tosubmit a complaint about what it believes to be incorrect or unfair conduct of the staff ofCodam.

●

When the issue could not be solved directly with the person(s) involved, a formal complaint
can be submitted through the informal complaint procedure.

●The complainant will receive a reply to the formal complaint within 4 weeks after thecomplaint is filed.

Article 3 - admissibility of complaint●

Ms. Higgin will not deal with complaints if:○ at the time of the submission, 1 year has passed since the conduct took place;○ the complainant is not the person against whom the conduct took place;○ other proceedings are already underway with regard to the conduct;○ the complaint has already been dealt with by Ms. Higgin before;○ if a complaint turns out to be unfounded.
The complainant will be notified by e-mail within 4 weeks after the complaint is filed.

Article 4 - method of filing a complaint●●Internal formal complaints can be submitted to jacqueline.higgin@sofronie.org
The complaint must contain at least the following elements:○ name of the complainant○ date○ clear explanation about conduct○ reason to believe to be subject to improper treatment or unfairly impacted

Article 5 - method of handling a complaint●

The complainant receives email confirmation as soon as the complaint is received, and will
be informed about a time limit for the complaint (maximum of 4 weeks).

●Ms. Higgin will collect sufficient information to assess the complaint. This includes
contacting the person the complaint relates to. This person will have the opportunity to reply
to the complaint and explain their position.

●

If necessary, Ms. Higgin will also inform others of the complaint submitted and might givethem the opportunity to reply and share their statements.

●Ms Higgin will assess if○ the person the complaint relates to has acted in accordance with the legislation andregulations of the Dutch government and with the regulations of Codam;○ and behaved according to the standards of reasonableness and fairness that may be
expected from an educational institution like Codam.

●If the complaint is related to the conduct or decision of an employee, a report will be madeand shared with Codam’s Management.

●Codam’s Management will inform Ms. Higgin and the complainant on the follow up that will
be given to the report. In case it will be decided not to follow up on the recommendation in
the report, both will be informed on the reasoning behind this decision.

Article 6 - record
Ms. Higgin keeps record of the number of complaints, the nature of the complaints, the handlingand activities and reports. This record is shared every year with Codam’s Management.