Office of the Independent Adjudicator

The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) is a body that handles students' complaints against universities within England and Wales Higher Education (HE). Their remit is limited to those complaints that have first been taken through the procedures of a Higher Education institution's own internal system without reaching a satisfactory conclusion in the view of the complainant. All complaints to the OIA must be made within three months of the conclusion of the internal investigation by the Higher Education institution, which should usually have resulted in issue of a Completion of Procedures Letter.

The OIA is the operator of the students complaint scheme as established in the Higher Education Act 2004.^[1] The OIA has effectively taken on board the powers of the visitor of an Higher Education Institution as student complaints were specifically excluded from the remit of the visitor in the Higher Education Act 2004.^[2] All Higher Education bodies are required to abide by the rules of the scheme.^[3]

History

As a result of recommendations from the Nolan and Dearing reports consultations on an independent body for students to make complaints to began. A White Paper in 2003 set out the government goal of establishing the body via legislation. The OIA was established in 2003 and began running a voluntary scheme in 2004 with it becoming the designated operator of the student complaints scheme in 2005.

Prior to the establishment of the OIA, universities offered internal processes there was a widespread belief that these were frequently ineffective and often perceived by students as impractical. A consequence has been a marked improvement in universities' own internal complaints systems in order to reach satisfactory conclusions without need for appeal to the OIA.

Remit

The OIA's looks at a wide range of procedural issues but it does not adjudicate on academic issues. It functions by a transparent process, seeking information from both complainant and the Higher Education Institution and allowing each party to comment. Results can include payment of compensation from the Higher Education Institution where the complaint is upheld and so far compensation payments have exceeded £700,000 with the largest single award being £45,000.^[4] The Independent Adjudicator is required to report to the Board and publish in his Annual Report any non-compliance with Recommendations by a University.^[5]

The Independent Adjudicator

The first Independent Adjudicator was Baroness Ruth Deech. Following her retirement in May 2008, Robert Behrens was appointed Independent Adjudicator and Chief Executive.

Pathway Project

In October 2008 the OIA launched the Pathway Project to consult on the next phase of its development. This will draw on both qualitative and independent quantitative research to find out the view of complaints, their representatives, Higher Education Institutions, student bodies and other interested parties.^[6] The evidence based report and Recommendations by Robert Behrens was published on 11 February 2010.

References

1. ^ Mills & Reeve: Update on the law relating to student complaints and appeals in higher education, http://www.qaa.ac.uk/education/roundtable/COPsection5/MillsReeveMain.asp
2. ^ Section 20 of the Higher Education Act 2004, http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts2004/40008--c.htm#20
3. ^ Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, http://www.oiahe.org.uk/index.asp
4. ^ Annual Report 2009 Page 62,http://www.oiahe.org.uk/downloads/OIA-annual-report-2009.pdf
5. ^ Rule 7.7 http://www.oiahe.org.uk/downloads/OIA-RulesMay2008.pdf>
6. ^ Office of the Independent Adjudicator, http://www.oiahe.org.uk/decisions/pathway-project.aspx>