About The Higher Education Act 2004 required that an independent body should be set up to run a student complaints scheme in England and Wales. The OIA was chosen to run this scheme. Our Rules set out how we do this. The 2004 Act defines the higher education providers that are required to be members of our Scheme. We have a wide range of providers in our membership, including many FE colleges, private providers and providers of School-Centred Initial Teacher Training as well as universities. We have been approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute as the consumer Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) body for higher education. What we do We review unresolved complaints from students about their higher education provider. Where we find that the provider has done something wrong, we make Recommendations for them to put things right. We share learning from complaints to help improve policies and practices across the higher education sector. We work with others and contribute to the development of policy, both in the wider regulatory framework for higher education and in the ombuds sector. Working for us We are often recruiting for people to join our team. We value diversity and welcome applications from candidates from all backgrounds and with a variety of skill sets and life experience.