Students will be able to appeal if they do not receive the services they were promised

Students with complaints against universities will be able to appeal to an independent complaints "adjudicator", who will take up her office next year.

The first "independent adjudicator for higher education" will be Dame Ruth Deech, at present principal of St Anne's College, Oxford and pro-vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford.

She will consider complaints which have not been able to be resolved by a university's internal grievance procedures.

Students have welcomed the forthcoming independent review of complaints, saying that it will create a fairer system for dealing with "consumer" problems within universities.

For instance, students might say that the facilities, staff or equipment promised in a university prospectus were not really made available to them.

Compensation

Or there could be complaints about disruptions to courses, if there is a lack of continuity in staffing.

The adjudicator will not be able to intervene in cases of academic judgement or grading - although it might examine cases where exams were taken by students with special circumstances, such as an illness.

Problems over accommodation, which again could be not be agreed through a university's own procedures, could be brought to the new adjudicator - who can, if complaints are upheld, recommend financial compensation.

"We are in a consumer culture, where people are much more ready to complain. And when students are paying for courses, it will magnify this," said Chris Weavers of the National Union of Students.

'Anachronistic'

Norman Gowar, chairman of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, said the setting up of an independent office, covering all universities, will create a more coherent and equal system, he said.

At present, older universities refer complaints upwards to "visitors", who might be a bishop, or in some cases, the Queen - a situation which he says is "anachronistic".

Although the adjudicator's rulings will not be formally binding, Professor Gowar says he is confident that universities will comply with her decisions.