The calm after the storm?

Having submitted their work and received their results, most students and staff are now enjoying what could be said to be the calm after the storm. Unfortunately, it is also the time of year when appeals against grades or allegations of plagiarism are being dealt with; an often tense and time-consuming exercise for all involved.

Recently released figures show that the number of complaints made by students about the way that they have been treated by their university has escalated by 37 per cent in the last two years. The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education has confirmed that the number of complaints received by them in 2009 exceeded 1,000 for the first time. This may be as a result of students seeing themselves more and more as consumers, deserving increasingly higher levels of service.

The good news is that only 5 per cent of the complaints which were eligible for review were found to be ‘justified’. 13 per cent were ‘partly justified’ and 75 per cent ‘not justified’. However, as a great number of the complaints which were justified or partly justified were due to a failure of universities to follow their own procedures, this report from the OIC emphasises the importance of having practical and up to date procedures and policies in place, ensuring that these are followed carefully by all staff and obtaining advice where needed.