Students must take consent course to enrol

UNIVERSITIES are making students undergo a “consent course” before enrolling, a report on behalf of Britain’s vice-chancellors has found.

Universities UK, the representative organisation for educational institutions, has published its findings on harassment on campuses.

Changing the Culture assesses the progress that universities have made since a task force was set up in 2016 to look at harassment and hate crime in higher education.

After surveying almost 100 universities, researchers found 81 per cent have updated discipline procedures, with 53 per cent introducing or making additions to the student code of conduct.

It concluded that institutions have given priority to dealing with sexual misconduct and gender-based violence, with less attention given to racerelated incidents and harassment.

The Daily Telegraph understands that “a small number” of universities require students to take an online consent course before enrolling, and that if they fail to do so, their application is void.

The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) requires students to take part in workshops during enrolment week, while the University of Oxford introduced mandatory sexual consent workshops.

Chris Skidmore, the Universities minister, responding to the report, warned university chiefs there must be a “zero-tolerance culture” to all types of harassment and hate crime.