The Higher Education Ombudsman for England and Wales has commissioned RISE to review their casework processes.

The Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) runs an independent student complaints scheme for England and Wales and has seen student complaints steadily rise for the last nine years. To ensure they are able to continue to improve its complaints service and support students, they have appointed RISE to carry out an accessibility and inclusion review.

The RISE Chair, Nazir Afzal OBE, said it was to the OIA’s credit that they have undertaken this review, as their workload has gone up considerably. He added that their caseload was incredibly complex, mirroring an increasingly diverse student population.

The OIA’s latest annual report shows that they continue to see an upward trend in complaints around harassment and sexual misconduct, and complaints from students that tell the OIA they are disabled now make up just over 40% of their caseload.

Published: 15-08-2025