Speak to the education provider first

If you are dissatisfied with a course or programme, you should bring your complaint to the attention of the education provider. You may want to take this up with the course or programme director, or with another appropriate member of staff. You may also want to talk to other students attending the same course or programme and work together to affect change. If your course or programme has a student representative, it would be a good idea to involve them.

How to make a formal complaint to the Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education (HVE)

If you have tried to resolve the matter with the education provider but you are not satisfied with the outcome you may submit information about your complaint to the National Agency for HVE.

You may submit information regarding a complaint about the following types of education:

• Higher Vocational Education, courses and programmes (yrkeshögskoleutbildning, kurser och program)
• Intepreter training programmes (tolkutbildning inom folkbildningen)
• Arts and culture, courses and programmes (konst- och kulturutbildningar samt utbildningar med endast tillsyn)

A formal complaint may be submitted by completing our complaints form, found at the end of this page.

The information you submit in the complaints form should include the name of your course or programme and the name of the education provider. You also need to include the following:

• A description of the situation that has caused your complaint
• what has happened and when did it happen
• why you think the education provider is at fault in the situation
• which member or members of staff you have talked to about your complaint

It is helpful if you submit information on how we may contact you, should we need further information. You may however also elect to remain anonymous.

All case procedures are conducted in Swedish, even if your complaint has been submitted in English.

Submitted information becomes a public document

The information that you submit to us about your complaint becomes a public document. This means that the general public may access the information upon request – unless the information is considered to be confidential in accordance with the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act. The information that you submit to us is handled in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

How we review complaints about a course or programme

Once we receive a complaint about a course or programme, we decide whether we can or cannot review the complaint. The decision will be based on the information sent to us and on our existing records of the education provider. We may decide to progress the complaint and open a case, or take the information sent to us into consideration when we plan our inspections or in other work.

When you have sent us the information, we confirm that we have received it. If we need more information, we will contact you, provided that you have given us your contact details. We normally don’t have any further communication with the person with the complaint.

In our inspections, we primarily focus on overall issues concerning a course or programme, rather than matters regarding individual students. A course or programme is reviewed in accordance with the applicable regulatory framework. The National Agency for HVE cannot review matters on student finance or discrimination as there are other public authorities assigned specifically to handle those matters.

We are required by law to act impartially when we investigate a case. We don’t represent the education provider or the person with a complaint.

Read more about the regulatory framework:

What happens after a complaint has been reviewed?

If we decide to open a case for further review, we will investigate and issue a formal outcome. The outcome states our decision on whether the education provider has followed regulations and procedures. If we find that the education provider hasn’t complied with regulations, they are required to take measures to put things right.

The issued outcome is sent to the education provider and the steering committee if the course or programme has one. The outcome will also be made accessible through our website, myh.se.

Do you have any questions?

If you have questions, you may contact us by phone: 010-209 01 00. Ask to speak to a student complaints case handler.