Minister: let students sue universities that fail to deliver
STUDENTS could sue their universities if they feel they have not been given the education they were promised, Jo Johnson, the Universities Minister, has said, as he announced plans to introduce a contract between institutions and students.
Under the proposals, institutions could face an influx of lawsuits from students complaining that their university experience was not good enough and demanding compensation. Critics have suggested that this could lead to an erosion of standards, with universities pandering to students’ demands to avoid legal action.
Under plans being considered by ministers, all universities would be required to draw up contracts with students setting out what they can expect from their degrees – such as the amount of lecture time, assessment and feedback. The move would give students more rights and protection – similar to consumers – over the education they are paying for, including the ability to take legal action if they feel they feel this has not been provided.
Mr Johnson said he will be asking the Office for Students (OFS) – a new body that will be responsible for public funding to universities – to consult on introducing contracts between students and universities.
“These would set out what students can expect from their providers in terms of resource commitments, contact time, assessments, support and other important aspects,” he said.
Contracts do exist in some institutions, but these are often light on detail or do not let students know what they
‘Students are right to expect a high quality experience. We need a system that protects but is also fair’
can expect from their university, Mr Johnson said. He said that he wanted the OFS to look at how these contracts can be improved and introduced across the higher education system and indicated that they could become a requirement for universities.
Students who then find that there is a “material divergence” in their degree course from what they expected would be able to seek redress, which could include suing their university.
“It is in the nature of a contract that someone who feels that the benefits promised in the contract are not getting delivered would have some form of redress,” Mr Johnson said.
He added: “I think we should always allow for universities to be able to make reasonable adjustments in terms of how they deliver courses. We don’t want to tie people down in fine print that might be inappropriate but the general framework of how a course is going to be delivered should be clear to the student. And where there is a material divergence from what’s been promised… that is what the consultation will explore and that is a first for the system.”
Sarah Stevens, head of policy at Russell Group, said that “no one would want to see standards undermined by the risk of legal action”, adding that ministers must ensure that the move does not lead to “unintended consequences” for universities.
“Students are right to expect that their university provide a high quality learning experience and our members take their responsibilities in this area very seriously indeed,” she said.
“We need a system that protects students but also is fair to universities.”