Universities must consider refunding students hit by Covid disruption, regulator warns
Institutions under investigation as thousands of undergraduates remain locked down amid coronavirus outbreaks
Investigations have been launched into the quality of education provided by universities in England during the coronavirus crisis, amid growing calls for partial refunds of tuition fees.
The Office for Students (OfS) is reportedly probing several institutions suspected of failing to uphold standards - and will investigate any others if the watchdog believes “quality is slipping for groups of students” there, a spokesperson said.
OfS chief executive Nicola Dandridge said that “students have a right to good-quality higher education - whether that is taught online, in-person or a mixture of the two”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“Students make a significant investment in their higher education and have rights as consumers,” she added.
Across England and Scotland, thousands of students are self-isolating in their halls as up to 40 universities report coronavirus cases.
Aberystwyth yesterday became the latest university to cancel face-to-face classes, “prompting students to question why they have been told to leave home only to be forced to study remotely”, The Telegraph says.
“Students and their families are justifiably angry,” adds The Guardian in an editorial this morning. “Even in normal times, many find it hard to adjust.
“Now, universities, as well as ministers, stand accused of recruiting students on a false prospectus, because of their reliance on the income from rents.”
Although many universities have introduced a combination of online and face-to-face teaching, OfS chief Dandridge said that the regulator would not accept a solution that amounted to simply “bunging lectures online”.
And in a fresh warning of more investigations to come, she insisted that “where students need to go into isolation, universities have to be clear about how courses will continue to operate in these circumstances and what welfare, resources and support are available”.
“We will be following up with individual universities and colleges where we have concerns about the arrangements they are making for teaching and academic support,” Dandridge added.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Arion McNicoll is a freelance writer at The Week Digital and was previously the UK website’s editor. He has also held senior editorial roles at CNN, The Times and The Sunday Times. Along with his writing work, he co-hosts “Today in History with The Retrospectors”, Rethink Audio’s flagship daily podcast, and is a regular panellist (and occasional stand-in host) on “The Week Unwrapped”. He is also a judge for The Publisher Podcast Awards.
-
Maybe we were wrong about the SAT
Under the radar What test-optional college admissions really means
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Schools are suffering from low attendance
Under the radar But students are suffering even more
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
FBI arrests Cornell student for allegedly threatening to rape and murder Jews
Speed Read The junior engineering student reportedly confessed to posting the vile messages to a Greek life online forum
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Can British universities keep up with global rivals?
Today's big question UK is losing ground to competitors, with China edging up the rankings
By Felicity Capon Published
-
Pros and cons of the International Baccalaureate
Pros and Cons IB offers a more holistic education and international outlook but puts specialists looking to study in the UK at a disadvantage
By The Week Staff Published
-
The class of ‘23: worst off school-leavers yet?
Talking Point The generation who lost critical months of schooling and weren’t able to sit their GCSEs now approaching a dysfunctional university
By The Week Staff Published
-
The UK students taking on universities over Covid disruption
feature Claimants say they received poor service and felt like ‘lowest form of life in food chain’
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
How can US students recover from pandemic learning loss?
Today's Big Question Test scores in math and reading are still dropping
By Joel Mathis Published