Section 14: Office of the Independent Adjudicator
The OIA provides an independent scheme for the review of student complaints. Where the OIA rules in favour of a student, it may recommend that the University or college should do something (e.g. look again at a complaint, or pay compensation) or refrain from doing something.
In order to activate the OIA procedures, you must be a current or former student of the University or one of the Colleges and must have first exhausted all the available internal procedures. To confirm that your case has been dealt with internally, you need to obtain a Completion of Procedures Letter from the person who has informed you about the outcome of your case. You have a maximum of three months from the date of the Completion of Procedures Letter to apply to OIA.
The Independent Adjudicator can deal with complaints about programmes of study or research, services provided to you as a student by the University and/or your college, a final decision by the University or your college about a disciplinary matter or a complaint. The OIA cannot, however, deal with complaints about matters of academic judgement, matters that are the subject of legal proceedings, or matters relating to student employment.
Information can be found at www.oiahe.org.uk or by e-mailing enquiries@oiahe.org.uk.