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Complaints relating to academic misconduct

1^st March 2023

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

On 27 February OIA published a casework note and some case summaries on complaints relating to academic misconduct.

The casework note draws out some themes from recent casework and the summaries illustrate some cases we have seen. We hope these new resources will be helpful to higher education providers, students and student representative bodies.

Felicity Mitchell, Independent Adjudicator said:

“Higher education providers need to have in place fair processes to identify and address academic misconduct to help safeguard the value of the education they offer. But it’s important to set clear expectations of what is – and is not – allowed in assessments, and to remind students of these expectations during their studies. How providers address misconduct where it is suspected can affect both the fairness of the outcome and the wellbeing of the student involved. Concerns should be investigated carefully and the student must have a proper opportunity to respond to the case against them and have access to support through the process. Decision makers need to consider the evidence thoroughly and any penalty must be proportionate.”