We have today published a casework note and some case summaries of complaints from postgraduate students.
The casework note sets out some of the issues we see in complaints from postgraduate students and identifies some areas of good practice, and the case summaries illustrate some of these.
We receive complaints from both taught and research postgraduate students. While complaints from taught postgraduates often have much in common with complaints from undergraduate students, for research students issues relating to supervision and the supervisory relationship are a clear theme in the complaints we see. It’s important that providers think carefully about postgraduate students’ experiences, especially on issues that only affect postgraduate students or may affect them differently.
We hope the casework note and the case summaries will be helpful to providers, student representative bodies and students.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
For further information please contact Jenn Runde, Communications Officer, mediarelations@oiahe.org.uk, 0118 959 9813.
- The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) is the independent student complaints ombuds service for higher education in England and Wales. It is the designated operator of the student complaints’ scheme under the Higher Education Act 2004.
- Our Scheme is free to students and has been designed to be accessible to all students, without the need for legal representation.
- We have a wide remit to review student complaints about higher education providers in England and Wales, as set out in our Scheme Rules.
- We publish casework notes and case summaries as part of our wider work to share learning from complaints and provide good practice guidance, including our Good Practice Framework.
- You can find further information about the Scheme and our work at https://www.oiahe.org.uk/.