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Wonkhe SUs · The 2026 webinar box set

What is the OIA and why does it matter?

The Office of the Independent Adjudicator and its role in English and Welsh higher education.

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We explain what the OIA is, how it came to be, and how its complaints stages work, before turning to its 2025 annual report – cases topping 4,000 for the first time – and the three persistent themes of academic appeals, disabled students and harassment. We look at how the OIA has filled the gaps in Condition E6, its new casework note on AI and academic misconduct, and the SU's role in all of it.

What we cover

  • Where the OIA came from – Dearing, the 2003 white paper, and the statutory scheme from 2005.
  • The essentials – reviewing unresolved complaints, recommending remedies, and sharing learning across the sector.
  • The complaints stages – early resolution, the formal stage and the review stage.
  • Fairness – procedural, substantive, relational and equitable, illustrated through students' own words.
  • The 2025 annual report – cases topping 4,000 for the first time, up 17%, with October the busiest month ever.
  • The three persistent themes – academic appeals, disabled students, and harassment upheld at the highest rate.
  • Filling the E6 gaps – the casework note covering Wales, timelines and what fair process looks like.
  • AI and academic misconduct – why universities must explain their conclusions and give students a fair chance to respond.
  • International students and PGTs – why timelines matter when a student may finish before an investigation concludes.
  • The SU role – making sure students know the route exists and that procedures meet the good practice framework.

Things to read

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