OIA publishes Annual Statements for 2020

View our Annual Statements

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We have today (26 May 2021) published our Annual Statements for 2020 for higher education providers that are members of the OIA Scheme. 

2020 was a uniquely challenging year and the disruption caused by the pandemic inevitably had an effect on the concerns students raised and made it more challenging for providers to respond to them. The Annual Statements include information by provider on the number of complaints we received and the type and outcomes of complaints we considered in 2020. The Statements also include some information on providers’ engagement with us during the year. 

Our Annual Statements can help providers, including their governing bodies, and student representative bodies to consider the provider’s record in handling complaints and appeals in a wider context. We publish the Statements as part of our commitment to be open about the work that we do, and to make more information available to the public about higher education complaints. We hope that the Statements also support students’ confidence in complaints-handling processes.  

ENDS 

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Notes to Editors 

For further information please contact Sarah Liddell, Head of Leadership Office, mediarelations@oiahe.org.uk, 0118 959 9813.  

1. The OIA is the independent student complaints ombuds for higher education in England and Wales. Our Scheme is free to students. We have a wide remit to review student complaints about higher education providers in England and Wales, as set out in our Scheme Rules. Students have up to 12 months to bring their complaint to us, after the internal processes at their provider have been completed.  

1. The Statements provide useful information about complaints and appeals that have reached the end of internal processes at higher education providers and have been brought to the OIA. However they do not give a full picture of complaints and appeals within a provider, as many complaints and appeals are resolved through the provider’s internal processes and so are not brought to us. 

1. The data in the Annual Statements should be considered in context and comparisons are not necessarily “like with like”, so caution is needed in interpreting the data. For example, the fact that a Completion of Procedures (COP) Letter has been issued does not necessarily mean that the student is dissatisfied with the outcome. COP Letters should routinely be issued at the end of an internal process if the complaint or appeal has not been upheld, but may also be issued when it has been upheld, if a student asks for one.