Governance News Alert: Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIAHE), Annual Report 2024

The Report gives an overview of the OIA’s work during the year. The number of complaints continued to rise in 2024 against a backdrop of a challenging year in higher education, with increasingly acute financial pressures in institutions and the continuing high cost of living.

The full report can be found at: Annual Reports – OIAHE

At-a-glance:

• 3,613 new complaints were received in 2024 – 15 per cent more than in 2023 and the ninth consecutive year that complaints have increased (p7)
• In total, 3 per cent of cases were justified, 6 per cent partly justified and 15 per cent settled in favour of the student. This is slightly higher than in 2023, but in line with previous years. In a further 16 per cent of cases, the OIA did not uphold the complaint because the provider had made an offer to resolve it that was considered reasonable (p11)
• 40 per cent of the students who complain say they are disabled, up from 33 per cent in the previous year. Students are affected by difficulties with mental health, specific learning differences and a range of neurodivergent conditions including autism and ADHD. By far the biggest category mentioned by those who described their disability, was “mental health issues” (46 per cent) (p18)
• The OIA recommended financial remedies totalling £677,785 in 2024.
• Complaints relating to academic appeals accounted for 47 per cent of caseload (up from 45 per cent in 2023). The proportion of complaints about service issues fell to 30 per cent (34 per cent in 2023) (p10)
• Complaints in other categories remained relatively small eg financial issues accounted for 7 per cent, disciplinary matters (academic) 5 per cent and welfare/non-course service issues 4 per cent. Collectively these categories accounted for 23 per cent of case receipts (p10)
• Complaints that contained some element of bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct, remain below 5 per cent of total caseload. However, the OIA upheld or settled a higher proportion of these cases than other complaints category (p25)
• 56 per cent of complaints came from undergraduates, while 37 per cent were postgraduate. Home students accounted for 61 per cent of cases. International students continue to be overrepresented, making up 39 per cent of complaints (p9)
• The distribution of complaints across different areas of study has strong correlation to the number of students studying within those fields, with subjects allied to medicine topping the table, followed by business and management, law and social sciences (p8)

In addition, students received a total of £1,809,805 through settlement agreements. The highest single amount of financial compensation was £63,650. 143 students received amounts of £5,000 or more, of whom 74 received £10,000 or more (p32)

Implications for governance:

The jump in the OIA caseload of 476 complaints in 2024 is the largest year-on-year increase in the last decade.

The rise does not necessarily indicate increased student dissatisfaction – it could reflect better signposting for instance – but it does show student readiness to challenges the outcome of internal processes. The OIA report provides an opportunity for boards to consider where those processes might be improved. 

A key finding from 2024 is the volume of complaints received by students who report having a disability, with “mental health issues” the biggest single category. 

Complaints from these students are often about the implementation of support and reasonable adjustments to teaching and assessment. The OIA pinpoints examples where the provider has taken too long to identify what support will work best for the student for their course of study. 

In other cases, academic staff did not fully understand what was required to meet disabled students needs and therefore tended to default to standard practices.

The adjudicator highlights the importance of giving academic and support staff training and help in meeting the requirements of the Equality Act 2010, and to ensure oversight of provision.

“We are concerned that in some instances, there is no culture of accountability in place to ensure that disabled students receive the support that is necessary to place them on an equal footing for success with their peers,” the annual report warns.

Governors may wish to consider the efficacy of the policies, processes and procedures, as well as the resources, in place at their institution to support a “culture of accountability”.

It is perhaps reassuring to note that in cases of academic appeals and disciplinaries, more than three quarters of cases were not upheld. According to the OIA, this demonstrates that processes in this area are well established and understood by the staff operating them and align with the Good Practice Framework. In a high proportion of these cases, the OIA concluded that the decision the provider reached was in line with its regulations and was a fair outcome.

Institutions facing increasing numbers of academic appeals may employ templates for correspondence that can help provide information to large volumes of students in a timely way. However, the OIA councils against simply providing students with a series of results codes and a link to the relevant provider regulations.

“Students prefer clear explanations about what this means for them, and value acknowledgement where they have experienced particularly difficult circumstances,” it said. “Some students who might otherwise have accepted an outcome from their provider are motivated to complain to us by a perceived lack of humanity and compassion in the provider’s response.”

Similarly, inaccuracies in the provider’s correspondence undermine students’ confidence that their circumstances have been carefully considered.

Where institutions take “a firm line” on attendance requirements, the report reminds providers that the mechanisms to monitor these should be reliable and accurate. Students also benefit from early warnings if their attendance is not at the level expected, and clear opportunities to discuss any welfare issues that may be relevant.

As well as overrepresentation of international and postgraduate students in the proportion of complaints, there is also a higher volume of complaints from students whose courses are linked to a particular career path, that include work placements or involve meeting professional standards. 

In this area, the OIA recommends providing students with clearer information about key progress points: for example, protocols for signing off student placement hours; and the process for agreeing with a supervisor when a postgraduate research thesis is ready for examination.

More generally, it advises that better information be provided in handbooks and module specification on the use of generative AI; and that institutions should “reconsider processes for complaints about disruption to teaching to take account of both academic impacts and financial impacts on students”. 

Register your interest for the Governance Conference 2025

Find out more about our services for Governance professionals

Good governance is critical to success in higher education. We produce and share a wide range of guidance, research, news, toolkits, training, governance effectiveness reviews and tailored consultancy to help institutions thrive through robust, effective governance.