Complaints explained

Gillian Evans has it wrong (Letters, September 3). The Higher Education Act creates one new system, the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, to deal with all types of student grievances.

Section 12 defines a complaint to include "an act or omission" of a higher education institution, wording sufficient to include academic and disciplinary appeals and complaints. The debates in the House of Commons and the House of Lords during the passage of the Higher Education Bill regarded them as one system with common problems to be resolved.

Indeed, Parliament considered widening the OIA remit still further.

The Act leaves much discretion to this office to determine the ambit of its jurisdiction. Our rules will cover student appeals and all higher education institutions in England and Wales will be obliged by the Act to comply with those rules. As far as student grievances are concerned, the visitatorial system will be abolished.

Dame Ruth Deech
Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, Reading