Financial crisis drives student complaints to record high

The number of student complaints to the ombudsman for England and Wales has passed 4,000 for the first time after nine consecutive years of caseload rises.

A total of 4,234 complaints were received by the Office of the Independent Adjudicator during 2025, a 17 per cent increase on 2024 when 3,613 complaints were made, according to its latest operating report published on 11 February. 

That rise means complaints to the OIA, which can only be made once an institution’s internal grievance policies have been exhausted, have risen almost twofold (179 per cent) since 2016 when 1,517 complaints were made, following nine years of increases.

The 17 per cent rise in 2025 compared with 2024 was the biggest year-on-year increase since the 20 per cent rise in 2019, when the overall number of complaints was far lower. 

Some 50 per cent of complaints this year were deemed not justified and 20 per cent judged as not eligible, with a further 9 per cent of grievances withdrawn or terminated, the report says.

Only 20 per cent of the 3,950 complaints resolved in 2025 found in the student’s favour, with a judgement of either justified, partly justified or settled.

Helen Megarry, the independent adjudicator, said the record complaint levels reflected “pressures that have shaped the sector in recent years”, including institutions’ “financial constraints, workforce challenges, rising student needs and heightened expectations around fairness and transparency”.

Challenges related to the “complexities of people’s higher education experience, especially those who are disabled, international or mature students” also helped to explain the “consistent upward trend”, she added.

More than 90 per cent of complaints were closed within six months, with the average length of time to process a case being 81 days in 2025, down from 125 days in 2023, the report adds.

The complaints handling body had sought to encourage institutions to settle where possible, explains the report, which says it cost the OIA about £1,700 per case on average to manage.

The OIA’s annual report, due to be published in late April, will provide further detail on the different types of complaint and sector trends identified through outreach and data analysis. The watchdog has consistently raised concerns about how students are being affected by universities cutting back on staff and resources amid financial challenges.

“Giving students access to our free, independent and impartial complaints scheme is a vital part of the higher education landscape, especially as fees increase and the sector continues to see providers under financial pressure,” commented Megarry, who said her organisation had focused on reducing handling times.

“We recognise the worry and pressure that working through a complaints process can create, especially after a student has been through an internal review. With that in mind, we’re particularly proud to have reduced the average time it takes us to resolve a case by more than 40 days in the last two years,” she said.

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com