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Provisional OIA Workshops for 2008/2009

Press Release - Monday 14 April 2008

Student complaints on the rise – the reasons to be examined at conference  “Universities, students and justice”, Canary Wharf (offices of Clifford Chance) 15-17 April 2008

The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) will announce in its Annual Report for 2007 that the number of complaints it has received by students against universities has risen for the third consecutive year.

• In 2007 applications to the OIA rose by 25% from 586 in 2006 to 734
• 26% of complaints were upheld to some extent, up slightly from 2006
• £173,000 compensation was recommended to be paid to complainants
• 36% of the complainants were postgraduates (although only 23% of UK students are postgraduates) and 64% were over 25 years old.
• The average time taken by the OIA to close a complaint is 6 months.
• 64% of the complaints related to academic results; disciplinary matters and plagiarism accounted for 11%. Students in subjects allied to medicine (but excluding medicine) formed the largest group of complainants.

The OIA conference (on behalf of the European Network of Ombudsmen in Higher Education) will call for universities to make adjustments to cater for the new student population, which is older, more likely to be graduate and from overseas, and less familiar with university life.  It will call for universities to settle complaints more speedily and informally, for example by setting up “campus ombudsmen” and having simpler complaints and appeals procedures.

There will be over 150 delegates from 20 countries; speakers include:

• Bill Rammell, Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education
• Lord Dearing, author of the report Higher Education in the Learning Society
• Filip van Depoele, coordinator of the ERASMUS programme, European Commission
• Baroness Blackstone, vice-chancellor University of Greenwich
• Wes Streeting, President-elect of the National Union of Students

For attendance at the conference and information about the OIA contact Charlotte Wootton on 01189 599813, charlotte.wootton@oiahe.org.uk.

Press Release - Monday 21 January 2008

Appointment of new Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education

The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education has a new Independent Adjudicator from 1 May 2008 on the retirement of Baroness Ruth Deech.

Rob Behrens, presently the Complaints Commissioner to the Bar Standards Board, and previously a Cabinet Office Senior Civil Servant and Secretary to the Committee on Standards in Public Life, will take the helm at the OIA as Independent Adjudicator and Chief Executive.

Mr Behrens said “I am greatly looking forward to building on the reputation that the OIA has developed for seeing that every student complaint is dealt with promptly and fairly. The existence of a rigorous, independent and impartial complaints body for higher education is a student right, meets the needs of universities and is in the public interest”.

Chair of the OIA Board of Directors, Professor Norman Gowar, commented “The Board is delighted with the appointment of Rob Behrens.  He has an outstanding record of achievement in public service and we are confident he will lead the OIA through the next phase of its development.”

Professor Gowar also paid tribute to Baroness Deech, the first Independent Adjudicator, who has held the post since April 2004 and who has played a crucial role in the establishment of the Office and acceptance of the scheme amongst students and by the higher education sector.

Press Release - Thursday 20 December 2007

The Queen on the Application of Siborurema - and - Office of the Independent Adjudicator

The OIA is pleased that the appeal was dismissed and the Court of Appeal upheld our decision that the student’s complaint was not justified. We welcome the court’s helpful judgment, which provides some useful guidance for the OIA.  We are glad that the court confirmed that our function is one of review and that how we carry it out is a matter for our discretion.  It is for the benefit of students and the higher education sector as a whole that the court said that “the decision whether a complaint is justified involves an exercise of judgment [by the OIA] with which the court will be very slow to interfere”.

We are sure that this decision will enhance the status of the OIA Scheme as a free and informal alternative to the courts.

Reports

All documents are in PDF format.

ENOHE 2008 Conference, London - OIA Programme

Annual Report 2007

Budget 2008

Business Plan 2008

Report of the Directors and Financial Statements for 2006

Budget 2007

Business Plan 2007

Performance Statistics as at 30 June 2007

Directors Report 2005

Annual Report 2006

Press Release - Annual Report 2006

Annual Report 2005

Annual Report 2004

Case Reports

Recent decisions by the OIA:

Some facts have been altered slightly in order to preserve anonymity.

• Academic Appeals
• Professional Placements
• Postgraduates
• Discipline
• Contractual issues
• Accommodation
• Disability