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The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) is an independent external body that reviews complaints from students about their university.

In this page, we cover whether you are able to make a complaint to the OIA, how a student can make a complaint to the OIA and explain why you should instruct our university lawyers to help you make a valid complaint.

Can I make a complaint to the OIA?

You can make a complaint to the OIA if:

• You are or were registered at a University, higher education body or studying an award granted by a higher education provider;
• The University in question is a member of the OIA’s complaint scheme;
• If the complaint is within the remit of issues that the OIA can look at.

The OIA will also expect you to have completed the university’s internal process first before making a complaint to the OIA. If you have not yet exhausted the University’s internal process, our OIA complaint solicitors are able to help you with a number of university disputes including the following:

• University Complaints
• Academic Misconduct Appeals
• Degree Classification Appeals
• Disciplinary Appeals (non‐academic misconduct)
• Plagiarism appeals
• University Fitness to Practise appeals
• Disputes/appeals with PhD

Given that there are a number of conditions that need to be met before a complaint is even accepted by the OIA, seeking specialist advice from our expert OIA complaint lawyers is essential.

How can I make a complaint to the OIA?

If you have completed the University’s internal process and have received a ‘Completion of Procedures’ letter, you will have 12 months to raise a complaint to the OIA. However, our education law experts recommends that complaints are submitted as soon as possible as your ideal outcomes may be limited if you wait until the end of the relevant period.

The OIA requires a specific form to be filled in making the complaint. In addition to completing the required forms, our higher education solicitors can help you draft robust grounds of complaint, help you collate and obtain any supporting documentation and can also submit your complaint to the OIA direct.

Why use a University Law Solicitor?

Our university law solicitors will be able to advise you whether you have valid grounds to complain and can also help draft a robust complaint for the OIA to review. Making a complaint to the OIA can be a time and cost-effective way for your case to be reviewed by an independent body.

Although the OIA states that it is not necessary to instruct a higher education lawyer, the OIA’s 2020 annual report notes that only 25% of complaints were justified, partly justified or settled.

Our OIA complaint solicitors are experienced in making complaints to the OIA. Our expertise in university law and OIA guidance will reassure you that the correct forms, deadlines and documentation are submitted in order to ensure your complaint is robust, concise and in line with the expected standards. It is essential that you complaint is clear, addressed all the relevant points and correctly references any policies/regulations.

Please contact us on 01633 240743 or by e-mail educationlaw@watkinsandgunn.co.uk to discuss how our university law solicitors can help you.

We offer an initial free consultation during which we will explain (a) how we can help and (b) provide an estimate of costs.