
Welcome to IDRAS - the Improving Dispute Resolution Advisory Service for Further and Higher Education
From time to time disputes are bound to arise in higher and further education institutions. Students, staff, and the representatives of the institution itself, want a fair and speedy resolution. IDRAS can help individuals with guidance about where to go and how to find support. IDRAS can help institutions with guidance about how to learn lessons and improve the institution's dispute resolution.
Comments and suggestions for improvement of this website are welcome. Please contact us to tell us what you think.
Latest news
Consultation on EU alternative dispute resolution plans
12 January 2012
BIS is conducting a consultation on the proposed EU Directive on the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution in consumer disputes. How will this affect further and higher education
Blog
The HE Bill is postponed: what happens next?
When it was announced that the Higher Education Bill was not going to be published in March, possibly not at all, observers were left wondering what happens next. A good deal can happen without legislation, though legislative change will be … Continue reading
Do your governors know how far their ‘tentacles’ reach?
The University of Wales recently had to ‘pull in its tentacles’, as Times Higher Education put it (http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=417649§ioncode=26). It had been expanding its accreditation offers outside the UK without sufficient care about supervision. Its operations had already been the subject … Continue reading
Institutions
- For institutions which want to make general improvements to their ‘systems’ and procedures for dealing with disputes
- For students and trade unions who need help in their discussions with institutions
- For managers and academic heads of department tackling disputes
Individuals
- For managers or academic heads of department who want to know how best to handle a dispute which has arisen
- For students who want to know what to do about a complaint or disciplinary process they are facing
- For employees who want to know what to do about a grievance or disciplinary process they are facing
Your stories
- Examples and illustrations of disputes of various types and involving particular issues


