Locked-down universities should prepare for a ‘landslide’ of tuition refund demands

University students fighting for refunds have been “abandoned” by authorities, an expert said, as he predicted a landslide of complaints from those who feel they have not received value for money during the pandemic.

Thousands of students are demanding refunds of tuition fees. Many are disappointed by the onlineonly teaching on offer, while more than 3,000 are trapped in their halls under lockdowns.

Jake Butler, of the website Save the Student, said: “It’s quite clear that students are being abandoned by the relevant authorities. Universities are reluctant to agree to refunds and the buck is being passed by those responsible for ensuring they act fairly.” He said it would take just one victory to trigger a landslide of claims.

It is possible to win back money from your university if you have been short-changed. Here’s how:

HOW TO GET A REFUND ON FEES According to Save the Student, 1,635 students complained about their university in 2017 and received a total of £650,000 in compensation. Reasons ranged from changes in course content to poor teaching. Students should first speak to their university to see if they can resolve their issue through existing complaints and appeals procedures, the Government has said.

If a complaint is unsuccessful, students can appeal to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, a body for higher education complaints. It will judge whether students have been unfairly treated and if the university did enough to provide a similar quality of teaching this year as at any other time.

The OIA said it could look at complaints about what was promised and what was delivered, but could not make judgments on issues such as quality of teaching.

Students can approach the OIA only once they have received a Completion of Procedures letter from their university with its response to their complaint. They have 12 months from the date on the letter to approach the OIA. If this fails, students could try to go through the courts. Last year, law firm Bott & Co offered to file individual claims on behalf of students whose lectures had been cancelled.

How much students won back from universities in tuition fee refunds in 2017

WHAT HAVE UNIVERSITIES DONE? Students in halls at Glasgow University are all being refunded one month’s rent – whether they are having to self-isolate or not. Those who are in lockdown will also get £50 each to help pay for food and supplies and have been promised deliveries of food, cleaning materials, bedding and towels. Manchester Metropolitan is offering students stuck in lockdown a two-week rebate on their rent. They will also get a £50 Asda food voucher and priority online delivery slots.

WHAT OBLIGATIONS DO UNIVERSITIES HAVE? Universities should be doing all they can to make sure students are not disadvantaged by the pandemic. If they are able to offer different but generally equivalent teaching, you are unlikely to get a refund on your tuition. For example, students who are unhappy because some modules they were hoping to do are no longer available will struggle to make a case for a refund.

Universities sometimes allow students to suspend their studies for a period before resuming them, so they could take this year out and hope that teaching returns to normal next year.

However, there is no guarantee that

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WHY ARE STUDENTS UNHAPPY? Most are paying £ 9,250 a year in fees to attend university, and were under the impression they would be able to access facilities and teaching. However, many feel they are not getting this. Art Doherty, 20, is a second-year student studying music at Goldsmiths, University of London. He chose this university in order to use recording studios and technology he would never be able to access otherwise.

“We’ve been told we can’t use the studios and that most of our teaching will be online. For music, that’s just not the same,” said Mr Doherty. “The university told us if we wanted to use studios we could pay to book some private ones ourselves, as they’re still open, whereas ours aren’t.”

Mr Doherty also missed out on weeks of teaching during the last academic year owing to lecturer strikes and lockdown. Goldsmiths refused his request for a refund.

“We only found out recently that most of our teaching would be virtual. I now really regret signing up to rent a room in London rather than saving money by living at home,” he added.

Mr Doherty said he had been counting on getting a part-time job to help cover his rent, but that it was impossible at the moment.

A spokesman for Goldsmiths said it was providing both in-person and online teaching and that some learning areas remained open. “This term, music students doing practice-based work will be offered in-person teaching on campus, including one-to- one tuition, workshops, and ensemble playing,” he said.

A spokesman for the Office for Students, the higher- education regulator, said universities should consider refund requests on a case- by- case basis rather than adopt blanket policies. It said it remained focused on ensuring students got value for money.