University Students
The difficulties that students encounter can be vast ranging. Some of
the more common problems include:
- the course has not been delivered as advertised
- the university has acted in a way which breaches their regulations
- discrimination by the institution
- exclusion from the university
If you are attending a university and have
experienced any of the above, there may be a legal remedy for you to pursue.
However, the courts tend to advise students not pursue these remedies with them.
Instead they advise that students complete the university’s internal
proceedings. You should ask your Student Union for assistance with this if you
need help. If the matter is not resolved to your satisfaction you can make a
complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) within 3 months of
the date of the completion of proceedings letter from the university. Should you
want to make a complaint to the OIA, we recommend seeking legal advice
first.
Students should be aware that neither the OIA nor
the courts can deal with disputes specifically regarding academic judgment such
as a student’s grade or degree classification.
Further Education Students
Students attending further education colleges can
experience similar difficulties to university students. However further
education students are not able to make a complaint to the OIA. It is therefore
recommended that students experiencing difficulties with a further education
college seek legal advice.
Funding for Higher Education
If you are a student and have been refused
funding for higher education you should not pursue the university's internal
procedures or make a complaint to the OIA as they will not be able to assist
with this. Any disputes regarding funding will be with the agency providing the
funding. Therefore any higher education students should seek legal advice
regarding a refusal to provide funding if they consider the decision incorrect.
This is also applicable to anyone trying to obtain funding for a further
education course.
Contact Us
- For further information contact our Education Solicitor Samantha Hale at
Fisher Jones Greenwood on Colchester (01206) 835230.