Could you be owed compensation from your University?

Are you one of the hundreds of thousands of students across the country who has splashed out a fortune to go to University for three years in order to get your degree? If the answer is yes and you weren’t entirely happy with certain elements of your course then you could be entitled to compensation.

The Office of the Independent Adjudicator ordered universities to pay thousands of pounds to hundreds of unsatisfied students last year after they complained about everything from contradictory grades from two different tutors, to their complaints not being dealt with properly by staff. The largest number of complaints came from business and administration students, followed by medics, law and engineering students. If you feel genuinely disappointed with the service you have received then you are well within your rights to complain. 

Some of the most popular reasons for legitimate or successful complaints relate to:

• Poor facilities and learning resources
• Student accommodation
• Cancellation of university courses
• Cancellation of timetabled tutoring
• Discrimination or harassment
• Cheating or plagiarism allegations
• Marking of degree assessments.

So if you think you may have a case then here’s what you need to do:

Firstly contact your university

The only way your complaint can even be considered by the OIA, is if you can prove that you have already been through all the necessary measures needed to complain to your University directly. Once you have complained, the university should send you a completion of procedures letter which you can use as evidence.

Fill in a complaint form

The university may be able to settle your complaint without the need to get the OIA informed. However, if you are still not happy with the universities decision then you can fill in the OIA complaint form highlighting your issues. You are then ready to send it off alongside your completion of procedures letter. Make sure you send this off within three months of receiving your completion of procedures letter.

Wait for your response

It may be a long wait and it could take up to 207 days to hear back from your complaint. The OIA will either agree with the university or dispute their decision. If the case is serious and you’re still not satisfied with the outcome you’ll need to seek proper legal advice and potentially take it to the courts. The Citizens Advice Bureau would be a good port of call in this instance. Remember, patience is a virtue because you could end up getting thousands of pounds!

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