Students need greater protection if a university goes bust, according to the sector ombudsman, as it documented another record high total of complaints.

The Office for the Independent Adjudicator (OIA), the student ombudsman for England and Wales, said in its that it had received 3,613 complaints during 2024, a 15 per cent increase on last year¡¯s total of 3,137 and the highest number ever received.

It marks a fifth successive year of increases, reflecting the disruption to university teaching during the Covid pandemic and subsequent years marked by industrial action and staff cuts.

Students are only able to take a case to the OIA once they have exhausted their institution¡¯s own grievance process.

ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

Despite the rise in complaints, the OIA says in the report ¨C published on 30 January ¨C that it hit its targets for resolving complaints on time, with the average case taking 82 days to close during 2024, down from 125 in 2023.

Universities have been warned that the rising tide of course closures and academic job cuts could lead to a spike in student complaints, and the OIA¡¯s operating plan for 2025 ¨C also published on 30 January ¨C is alert to this.

ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

The OIA says that it will continue ¡°focused work on the impact of provider closure, whether course, campus, or market exit, on individual students¡± in the hope of improving outcomes for affected learners where possible, and to ¡°mitigate the risk of the OIA receiving complaints where there is little option of a remedy¡±.

It says that it will work with ¡°governments and others considering potential solutions for students who might have no remedy following a market exit¡±, identifying what it describes as three ¡°proposed options¡±: a fund for affected students, an insurance scheme, or a change in legislation?that would require providers entering insolvency to prioritise students over other creditors.

The OIA adds that it will work with providers that ¡°may be considering closures¡± to ensure?they ¡°have taken on board learning and good practice¡±.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com