Office of the Independent Adjudicator

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The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) is a UK body that handles students' complaints within 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. In line with judicial review, 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 HE 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]

[edit] 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, students at UK Universities had few options for complaints. While Universities offered internal processes there was a widespread belief that these were frequently ineffective. Appeals to an external body such as a visitor or rector were rare, and often perceived by students as impractical. The establishment of the OIA was a response to these perceived weaknesses in the earlier complaints system. 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.

[edit] Remit

The OIA's remit is limited to procedural issues relating to programmes of instruction, examination and awards. It cannot adjudicate on academic issues. It functions by seeking information from both complainant and the higher Education institution - a process which can be protracted - and reaching a conclusion which is binding on the Higher Education institution. Results can include payment of compensation from the Higher Education institution where the complaint is upheld. So far compensation payments have been modest.