Office of the Independent Adjudicator

The OIA received a total of 2,175 cases –  

• 200 students received pay-outs as a result of OIA intervention
• 59% of Complaints to the OIA were unjustified
• 14% were considered ineligible
• 5% were withdrawn
• Approximately 23% of cases were justified or partly justified
• Approximately 500 students were successful in their cases to the OIA

Financial compensation awarded by the OIA reached almost £400,000 which if averaged out amongst the 500 successful students comes to £800

The numbers are interesting and show that there has been an increase in the number of cases that have been found justified, or partly justified since 2012, when the figure was nearly as low as 4%…

For years Universities have been able to hide behind academic judgment, quickly following suit was the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA). However, does the recent ruling in a case by a medical student at the University of Leicester limit the OIA’s scope on this issue?

The medical student’s case was considered unjustified in the first instance by the OIA. The OIA decided against considering the issue of whether the processes and reasoning underpinning the University’s decision to not allow the medical student a repeat year was in fact fair.

The court concluded that the OIA did in fact have the remit to consider potential procedural unfairness and irrationality. It would seem that what now falls within the scope of “academic judgment” has been narrowed. Academic Judgment is to apply to decisions that are purely academic in nature, i.e. grading, attaining progression requirements etc. This is not to be confused with processes and rationale used to come to decisions. The OIA should consider the reasoning behind University decisions “if there is objective evidence of matters which suggest procedural unfairness, bias, impropriety…”

Read more on our Education Law Solicitors Blog

I did not mean to write yet another blog piece about the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA), but of late I am noticing increasing murmurings from students regarding the OIA. Needless to say much of what I hear (all anecdotal) is somewhat negative about people’s experiences of going through the OIA process.

What I hear often is whether it is truly independent; it is no secret that the funding for the OIA comes directly from the universities. Each university pay an annual subscription to the OIA, the amount varying depending on the size of the university.

Read more on our Higher Education Law Solicitors Blog