How will the OIA deal with my complaint?
Our procedures are informal. We will generally review a complaint
based on information provided to us by the parties. We are not like
a court. We expect to decide most complaints without the need for
face to face meetings or hearings.
Our first step is to make sure
that the complaint is something which we can look at. If it is,
we will send a copy to the higher education institution concerned
so
that it can comment. Its response will normally be sent to you
for your comments.
Sometimes we make a decision on the information a student has sent
us without a full investigation.
Our Reviewer may need to ask you or the institution
for some further information before issuing a decision.
The Reviewer
will normally issue a draft decision so that the parties can comment
on any material inaccuracies.
Finally, the Reviewer will issue a
formal
decision to the parties and, if the complaint is justified, it
will usually be accompanied by the Reviewer’s recommendations.
What can the OIA do?
Where a complaint is wholly or partly justified the Reviewer may
recommend that the higher education institution does something or
refrains from doing something. For example,
- We might recommend that the institution should take steps to
assist the student in some way;
- We might refer the complaint back to the higher education institution
to be looked at afresh because the internal procedures of the institution
have not been properly followed;
- We might recommend that the institution should change the way
it handles complaints, or change its internal procedures;
- We might recommend that compensation is payable.
What happens after the OIA Decision?
Higher education institutions are expected to comply with the formal
decision of the Reviewer and any recommendations in full. We consider
non-compliance to be a very serious matter which will be reported
to our Board and publicised in our annual report.
Recommendations
are not binding on the student who has complained. |
