Hi everyone, I'm looking for advice from anyone who has dealt with something similar at UNSW, particularly regarding course convenors, grievance officers or formal complaints.
I'm having an issue with my Wednesday 4–5 pm online tutorial, and I'm not sure how to handle it without potentially affecting my marks.
I live almost three hours away from UNSW, so I have to travel by train to get to campus. Unfortunately, my allocated online tutorial falls directly during my commute. We are required to have our cameras and microphones switched on, and because I'm travelling during peak hour, I'm often on a crowded train where other passengers can be uncomfortable with people speaking or having their cameras on. It's not a practical environment in which to participate properly in a tutorial, and I can't realistically change my travel arrangements.
About two weeks ago, I emailed my tutor and course convenor explaining the situation. They responded by suggesting that I switch to another tutorial, which I was more than happy to do.
However, when I tried to change my class through the university's system, I repeatedly received an error and couldn't complete the process. I even asked my sister, who has attended UNSW for over seven years, to help me, but she couldn't figure out why it wasn't working either.
I emailed my tutor and course convenor again to explain the technical issue and ask what I should do. When I didn't receive a response, I followed up again approximately a week later.
Instead of receiving a response to my individual emails, I then saw two general announcements posted on the course forum about tutorial attendance and changing classes. One explained the proper procedure for changing tutorials, while the other warned that students who attend a tutorial other than their allocated one could lose their 10% tutorial mark.
What particularly frustrated me was that the announcement specifically advised students experiencing exceptional circumstances to contact the course convenor. However, I had already emailed the course convenor twice about my situation and still hadn't received a response.
Some of the wording in the announcements also came across as unnecessarily condescending, including comments such as "Vibes are for social media, cafes and collectibles" and "Be an adult." I understand that teaching staff need to establish expectations around attendance, but I found the tone disappointing, especially when I had genuinely been trying to follow the advice I'd been given.
I'm not trying to avoid attending tutorials or get special treatment. I tried to follow the recommended process, but the system wouldn't allow me to change classes, and I haven't been able to get further assistance despite multiple attempts to communicate.
There's also another aspect that's made me uncomfortable. I'm the only non-Chinese student in my tutorial, and given the lack of responses to my emails and the tone of the announcements, I've started feeling singled out and wondering whether my background could have influenced how I'm being perceived or treated. I want to be clear that I have no evidence that this is related to ethnicity, and I don't want to make unfair assumptions about anyone's intentions. However, the situation has left me feeling uncomfortable, and I'm unsure whether or how to raise this concern.
I'm now worried that I'll lose marks for something I've actively tried to resolve, despite making reasonable efforts to follow the university's procedures.
I'd really appreciate advice on a few things:
Should I contact the course's grievance officer, as my sister has suggested, or is there someone else at UNSW I should approach first?
Is it reasonable to raise concerns about the communication style and the fact that my emails have gone unanswered?
How can I explain that I've been feeling singled out without making an accusation I can't substantiate?
If I'm unable to change tutorials because of a technical error, can I be penalised for attending a different class or for being unable to participate properly in my allocated one?
Should I send another email, or is it reasonable to escalate the matter at this point?
Has anyone dealt with a similar situation at UNSW, and if so, how was it resolved?
I'm trying to handle this professionally and protect my academic results, but I also don't think it's reasonable to be left without a solution after making multiple attempts to resolve the problem
