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Health and Safety Arrangements

The arrangements noted below summarise some of the key points that fall under the umbrella of health and safety.

Advice regarding health & safety matters can be obtained from the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Team via hs-staff@qmu.ac.uk. The University’s Health and Safety Policy is available in full from our website. When you enter your selected programme, your tutors will give additional advice and guidance relevant to your field of study.

Adherence to the health and safety policies and procedures laid down by the University, and by your School, is required by all students. If you have any health and safety related concerns, you should raise these with your Programme Leader in the first instance.

Expectations

QMU is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff, students and visitors.

QMU expects all students to;

• Take care of yourself and those who may be affected by what you do here,
• Co-operate with QMU on all health and safety matters,
• Not interfere with any item which has been provided in the interest of safety, report any hazards or suspicious activities, and
• Report all accidents and incidents you become aware of.

Arrangements

If you discover a fire you should withdraw ( under the direction of you host) and activate the nearest break glass alarm call point.

Important - Under no circumstances should you consider tackling a fire unless you have had specific portable fire extinguisher training.

If you hear a Fire Alarm Voice Message/ Electronic Siren [tested Wednesday 1315hr]

Make your way to the nearest 

You should evacuate the building quickly but calmly. Your host will make sure you use the most appropriate fire exit route to safety.

a) Fire Safety

Fire Assembly Points

Assembly Point 1: University Square

Assembly Point 2: Outside LRC

Assembly Point 3: SUDS Pend

Assembly Point 4: Halls of Residence

b) First Aid

A First Aider [or defibrillator] can be summoned by calling the security team on: Internal Extension 2222

c) Accident Reporting

You must report ALL accidents or ‘near miss’ incidents to the security team or your tutor and complete an Accident Report Form. All forms must be completed in full with all the relevant contact details.

d) Supportive Environments

QMU is a fully inclusive community and our buildings and procedures are designed to support students in their study. If you require support, please contact the QMU disability advisers where arrangements can be put in place to ensure your safety.

e) Quick Guide

New emergency phones have been installed throughout the University. In an emergency requiring immediate assistance, these emergency phones can be used to dial 2222 to connect with the Campus Operations team. You can also contact the Campus Operations team on 0131 474 0999 or 07889 075873 using a mobile phone. If you cannot call, send someone to Reception for assistance.

For those students staying with us in accommodation, please be careful where you use aerosols or hair dryers, as we have a very sensitive smoke detection installed for your safety that can easily pick up both as a signal for fire.

Queen Margaret University embraces equality, diversity, inclusion and respect. Further information about the ways in which we promote equality and diversity is available from our Equality and Diversity webpages. The webpages provide information on the work of our Equality and Diversity Committee, which is responsible to the University Court (our governing body).

You can also access our Mainstreaming Report and Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing calendar at this link.

We are proud of QMU’s diverse student body and ask you to recognise that the challenges of on-line communication can be magnified in classes of native and non-native speakers.

A non-native speaker can easily feel uncomfortable among native speaking online communicators, especially in the chat room setting.

The University asks you to recognise that different cultures bring different points of reference, different understandings of humour and different expectations of online communication, so:

1. Avoid using complicated language, terminology, slang, idioms or local acronyms.
2. Be aware of differences in date formats and measurements.
3. Be careful with sarcasm and humour and avoid ridicule.
4. Allow extra time for responses, especially in chats.
5. Remember that language, fluency and intelligence are very different things.
6. Admit mistakes and apologise.

QMU welcomes students from all faiths; and of none.  We have a quiet Contemplation Room on level 1 for students who want to spend some time in contemplation or simply need a silent space to be on their own for a little bit.

Freedom of Information

The University is covered by the Freedom of Information (Scotland) 2002 Act (FoISA). FOISA gives everyone the right to access information held by Scottish public bodies, including QMU. Requests for information are coordinated by the Division of Governance and Quality Enhancement. You can find more guidance on FOI and how to make a request at our FOI webpage.

Data Protection

The University is compliant with data protection legislation. Data protection laws control how we can use the personal data of individuals and provides individuals with rights with which they can access their own personal information. Queen Margaret University needs to process and retain certain personal data, for example about its staff and students, to fulfil its purpose and to meet its legal obligations to funding bodies and government. You can find more information on how QMU processes the personal data of its students and other individuals in our privacy notices.

If you have any queries or would like to exercise any of your rights under the legislation, please email dataprotection@qmu.ac.uk

Complaints Handling Procedure

The University has a Complaints Handling Procedure (CHP)

This guide provides information on what we can and can’t progress under our CHP. Generally, we consider a complaint to be an expression of dissatisfaction about an action or lack of action by the University. Some complaints can be handled quickly at local level (stage 1) and these should be directed at the appropriate colleague (e.g., a complaint about a programme should be directed to the Programme Lead). Where a complaint cannot be resolved in this way it can be escalated to a Stage 2 investigation under the CHP and coordinated by complaints colleagues.

Any queries about the complaints procedure or any complaints may be emailed to complaints@qmu.ac.uk