The Pathway Project was launched in October 2008 to consult on the next stage of development for the OIA. We have been delighted with the very large and constructive responses to the Issues and Questions Paper. We have received 134 submissions from Universities, Students' Unions and interested individuals. Work on the related independent quantitative study is currently on-going. Surveys are being dispatched in April and May; analysis will be completed in June and July. It is hoped that a Final Report for publication will be presented to the OIA Board in September.

Download a copy of the Issues and Questions paper (PDF).

Download the press release 29 October 2008.

Press coverage:
Times Higher Education
The Guardian
Daily Mail

Upcoming workshops

Complaints and Appeals: Helping Students to stay On Track - An introduction to the OIA

28 July 2009at the OIA Offices, Reading and
20 August 2009 at the University of Leeds Student Union

Sabbatical Officers and newly appointed Student Advice Workers are invited to attend these one-day workshops.

Most students do not want to make complaints or appeals, but for those that do, the OIA can be the end of the line. The journey may be lengthy, subject to diversions and delays and students may find themselves wishing they’d taken an alternative route. How can you make sure students get back on track and reach their destination?

In this workshop, delegates will have the opportunity to:

Develop an understanding of the role and remit of the OIA
Discover how the OIA looks at complaints
Consider the role of sabbatical officers and advice workers within a University's formal complaints or appeals procedures
Discuss common themes in complaints and appeals
Explore why student complaints and appeals are not upheld
Meet other student advisers and share experiences

The workshop will focus on putting principles into practice. Based on the OIA’s experience of around 3000 complaints, we will share with delegates our views on the successful resolution of student concerns, including practical tips on making complaints to Universities and the OIA.

Places on these workshops are limited. If you would like to attend, please email workshops@oiahe.org.uk for a booking form. Booking forms should be submitted by 26 June 2009. We will be in touch to confirm your place and provide a full programme for the day. The cost for the workshop is £50, including lunch.

Previous workshops of the OIA

OIA Policy Seminar on Student Accommodation Complaints - Reading, March 5 2009: Summary of the day and Good Practice points.

Student Union Advisor Open Forum 15 May 2008: Report.

Date	Workshop	Target Audience	Venue
14 May 2009	Open Forum for Student Advisers	SU advisers	Manchester: The Harwood Room, Barnes Wallis Building, University of Manchester
13 May 2009	Introduction to the OIA	HEIs	Manchester: The Harwood Room, Barnes Wallis Building, University of Manchester
5 March 2009	Complaints about Student Accommodation Summary of the day and Good Practice points.	HEIs & SUs	Reading: OIA offices
22 January 2009	Informal Resolution of Complaints	HEIs & SUs	Reading: OIA offices
27 November 2008	Academic Judgment: a themed discussion	By invitation	Reading: OIA offices
12 November 2008	Informal Resolution of Complaints	HEIs & SUs	Birmingham: Aston Business School Conference Centre
15 May 2008	Student Union Advisor Open Forum: Report	SUs	Reading: OIA offices
8 May 2008	Introduction to the OIA (for HEIs)	HEIs	Reading: OIA offices
15-17 April 2008	ENOHE 2008 Conference	HEIs & SUs	London
24 January 2008	Postgraduate complaints and appeals: are they different?	HEIs & SUs	Reading: OIA offices
12 December 2007 15 November 2007	Disability: Understanding the Issues	HEIs & SUs	Reading: OIA offices

OIA Presentations

Presentation made by Robert Behrens at the UUK Conference on 19 November 2008:

"Tackling Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct – Getting the Balance Right". (PowerPoint)

Speech given by Robert Behrens at the conference hosted by Hepi - Higher Education Policy Institute on 6 May 2009:

"The student experience - what's the deal?" (PowerPoint)

Judicial Review challenges to the OIA

The Queen on the Application of Stephan Arratoon v Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, University of Greenwich (Interested Party) was the fifteenth JR claim against OIA. None has succeeded.
Of those fifteen, two have been granted permission, the other being The Queen on the Application of Siborurema v Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, London Southbank University (Interested Party) where permission was granted by the Court of Appeal so that the issue of whether the OIA was amenable to judicial review could be decided. The remaining thirteen cases have all been refused permission.
Permission was granted in the Arratoon case before the Siborurema judgment was delivered. In the Siborurema judgment, the Court of Appeal said that the number of cases in which an application for judicial review could get past the permission stage is likely to be very small.
In Arratoon permission was granted on one ground only. Grounds which related, essentially, to the merits of the complaint were refused permission.
The judge gave a useful summary of the principles to be drawn from the Siborurema judgment.
He emphasised the considerable degree of discretion afforded to the OIA, and the degree of deference which should be shown to the expertise of the OIA.
He found that the inference drawn by the OIA, which formed the basis of the claim, “lay well within the range of judgments that could be come to on the facts of this particular case”, and therefore could not be impugned.
He was critical of the solicitors instructed by Mr Arratoon and the approach they had taken during the OIA’s review. He found that the OIA was not to be criticised for making a recommendation which Mr Arratoon had not sought, in circumstances where Mr Arratoon had the benefit of legal representation. It could not be said that the OIA had gone wrong in law.
He said that the OIA’s decision should be read as a whole, and that the unfortunate choice of words in one sentence did not justify quashing the decision.
Once again the Court has declined to interfere with the OIA’s decision, and has endorsed its approach.

Siborurema judgment summary
Arratoon judgment summary

OIA Reports

All documents are in PDF format.

Recent decisions of the OIA

Please note that some inessential details have been altered slightly in order to preserve individual confidentiality.

Case Study 1
Issues: Assessment of qualifications
Outcome: Not Justified
Case Study 2
Issues: Disciplinary
Outcome: Not Justified
Case Study 3
Issues: Academic Appeals and Assessments
Outcome: Not Justified
Case Study 4
Issues: Academic Appeals and Assessments
Outcome: Not Justified
Case Study 5
Issues: MPhil/PhD, progression, mitigation
Outcome: Partly Justified
Case Study 6
Issues: Accommodation, disciplinary procedures, reparation for damages, disability
Outcome: Partly Justified
Case Study 7
Issues: Pre-course information, on-course advice, complaint about internal processes, delay
Outcome: Partly Justified
Case Study 8
Issues: Academic appeal, complaint about internal processes, delay, lack of response
Outcome: Partly Justified
Case Study 9
Issues: University accommodation, mitigating circumstances, academic appeal, degree classification borderline
Outcome: Partly Justified
Case Study 10
Issues: Maladministration, delays, provision of an inadequate remedy
Outcome: Justified
Case Study 11
Issues: Course expectation, fees, MA
Outcome: Justified
Case Study 12
Issues: Academic Appeal Disciplinary
Outcome: Justified

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