{"id":40560,"date":"2022-05-06T13:29:49","date_gmt":"2022-05-06T12:29:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sheffieldwire.co.uk\/?p=40560"},"modified":"2022-05-06T13:29:49","modified_gmt":"2022-05-06T12:29:49","slug":"complaints-from-university-students-reach-an-all-time-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2022\/05\/06\/complaints-from-university-students-reach-an-all-time-high\/","title":{"rendered":"Complaints from university students reach an all-time high"},"content":{"rendered":"

Complaints made by university students about their courses reached a record high in 2021, with over a third referencing the Covid-19 pandemic. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) – the authority that handles higher education grievances \u2013 received 2,763 complaints from students last year. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A report from the OIA said: \u201cMany students continued to experience disruption to their studies and their lives\u201d through 2021 and that \u201csome have been very significantly affected, often those who were already vulnerable.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Complaints came from across a range of subjects, but frequently came from more practical courses \u2013 such as science and design courses \u2013 where there were issues over access to facilities on campus. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There were also concerns raised about changes to assessments and requests for consideration of personal difficulties. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The number of complaints follows a growing trend, with a 68% increase since 2017. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Complaints from students are at an all-time-high Office of the Independent Adjudicator (2021)<\/p><\/div>\n

Jack Fairbrass, a 23-year-old politics student at the University of Sheffield, said the quality of teaching was definitely impacted by lockdown and although online teaching became quite polished he found the initial standard of teaching to be a \u201cjoke\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI never complained about it because I knew that realistically it wasn\u2019t going to change anything, I didn\u2019t see the point in wasting my energy arguing about it,” he added. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Complaints about\u00a0\u2018service issues\u2019 – relating to teaching, supervision and course-related facilities \u2013 made up about 45% of those received. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The OIA said over \u00a31.3m was awarded in compensation to students. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sam Cook, a 22-year-old studying Civil Engineering at the University of Birmingham, was slightly more positive about his experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of the uni bringing in no detriment policies and things like that I think they were really good. They definitely made accommodations for people\u2019s grades suffering because of the pandemic.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, he continued: \u201cThe main change in quality of teaching was the transition to online learning. In a way it does make you think your degree is being devalued, but I found it easier to work with online lectures.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Proportionally, the OIA received less complaints relating to academic appeals last year \u2013 the report suggests that this could be because of the \u2018safety net\u2019 policies put in place.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thomas Roche, a 22-year-old graduate who studied geography at Coventry University, said while online learning was more convenient, not being able to access study spaces was a hindrance and working at home could be \u201cchallenging\u201d.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cIt failed to reach the standard of in-person teaching and was a far less engaging experience.”<\/p>\n

He added that he did not complain to the university.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Universities UK, an advocacy group for higher education, said: \u201cThe last two years have thrown unprecedented challenges at universities and students. We are proud of how our universities have adapted, coped and even thrived in adverse circumstances. We must continue to learn and improve \u2013 and this latest report helps us to do just that.<\/span><\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we are concerned at the number of complaints taken to the OIA last year, Covid\u2019s distorting effect on the student experience is clearly reflected in the data. With Covid-related complaints representing 37% of this year\u2019s total, compared to 12% of 2020\u2019s total, we are likely seeing some of last year\u2019s effects in this year\u2019s figures.<\/span><\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

\u201cThe overwhelming majority of students continue to receive a world-class education, with the total number of complaints representing a small fraction of the total student population.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Complaints made by university students about their courses reached a record high in 2021, with over a third referencing the Covid-19 pandemic. \u00a0 The Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) – the authority that handles higher education grievances \u2013 received 2,763 complaints from students last year. \u00a0 A report from the OIA said: \u201cMany students […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":40563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nComplaints from university students reach an all-time high - Sheffield Wire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2022\/05\/06\/complaints-from-university-students-reach-an-all-time-high\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Complaints from university students reach an all-time high - 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