Foreword by the Chair
I was delighted to be appointed as Chair of the OIA Board from October 2023 to contribute to taking forward the OIA’s important work.
The OIA has a unique and valuable role in promoting fairness for students. In these challenging times it is vital to keep students’ experiences and wellbeing at the forefront of thinking about higher education.
Our Annual Report for 2023 reflects the breadth and depth of our work through the year. We handled more complaints than ever before, providing access to independent, impartial review of students’ unresolved complaints. We continued to work with students and their representative bodies, providers, sector organisations and governments to share learning from complaints and contribute to policy developments. Equality, diversity and inclusion is vital to the OIA and important to me and I am pleased to report that we are advancing our work in this area.
These achievements are made possible by the commitment and skill of colleagues across the organisation and on the Board. We are fortunate to have an excellent staff team, jointly led by Ben Elger, Chief Executive and Helen Megarry, who joined us as Independent Adjudicator in May 2023, and an effective Board. I thank them all for their work and for their warm welcome.
Sim Scavazza | Chair of the Board