OIA

About the client
The Higher Education Act 2004 required the appointment of an independent body to run a student complaints scheme in England and Wales. The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) was chosen to operate this scheme, to which all universities in England and Wales must subscribe. Their role is to review individual complaints by students against universities.

Challenges/Objectives
Latra was selected to create a modern and functional website for Students and universities. The site runs several customised sections in order to streamline back office duties. These include a ‘Complaints Wizard’ to filter out bogus complaints, An electronic ‘Student Scheme Application’ form – for electronic submission, and finally a Student and University to help track complaints.

Latra’s Involvement

Strategy
• Latra developed the functional specification of the front and back end website.
• We used an Agile approach for the project due to strict timescales
• Created several interactive modules within the site, using the Umbraco Open Source Software
• Adhered to W3C accessibility standards

Design and Build of Website
• Created a visual identity for On and Offline branding
• Created Wireframes and walk through scenarios, using Microsoft Visio and Axure
• CMS Build
• Hosting
• Maintenance and support

Result
The new brand identity was very well received by the OIA management board and has been implemented right through the organisation.

The new website was designed and built within 2 months of being awarded the contract. The site was received well students and universities alike. Further improvements and functionality for 2016 are constantly being developed and deployed.