Last updated: 13/05/08
Student complaints rise for third consecutive year

An increasing number of students are lodging complaints against their universities. A report released by the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIAHE) revealed that the number of complaints had risen 25%, an increase for the third consecutive year.

According to the OIAHE, almost two-thirds of the received complaints were regarding academic results, while disciplinary matters and plagiarism accounted for the remaining majority. One of the reasons for the friction between students and their universities is the desire for value for money, at a time when student’s fees are set to increase.

The OIAHE was set up in 2004 to review student complaints from the 146 universities in England and Wales. The independent adjudicator Ruth Deech, called on universities to cater better for the changing make-up of the student population.

‘Today there are more graduates and older students, more foreign students, more with disabilities and an increasing number from non-traditional backgrounds. This year alone, 64% of the complainants were mature students over 25, and more than a third were postgraduates. The largest groups of complainants were medical students.’

However, Deech supported the need for British institutions to uphold high standards when marking student’s work claiming it would be ‘unrealistic’ to reduce conflict over grades.

The adjudicator recommended that a total of £173,000 be paid as compensation to the complainants. Last year, just 26% of complaints were upheld or deemed eligible for consideration. Despite this figure being a 7% increase on 2006 most student complaints are not serious enough for OIAHE to take further action.

by Tom Tainton