Complaints on the rise
Upward trends as 2012 is a record year for complaints
Figures from the official watchdog, the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA), show that complaints by students at universities in England and Wales have reached an all time high. In 2012 there were 2012 complaints against universities, compared to 1605 the year before. Of the complaints, about 4% were deemed to be justified, 6% settled and 8% unjustified. 59% were declared to be unjustified. In total, universities paid £189,892 in compensation to students. With regards to the nature of complaints: most (69%) were for academic status. This however means that 31% were for other complaints. Rob Behrens, OIA Chief Executive, stressed that these complaints are most likely not from the fee rise and that the impact of the £9000 fees will be seen later. He said: “We haven’t seen the full impact of the fee increase yet, because most complaints are from third year students and the fees do not apply to them yet.”
