26 | SPECIAL REPORT: LEGAL ISSUES | NEWS AND CURRENT AF FAIRS
Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.” Alleged breaches of this legislation
form the basis for many court cases against universities, which may also carry a reputational risk if grievances are aired via social media. The premise for some of these recent legal actions is intriguingly diverse – and hints at the responsibilities students believe their universities should fulfi l. In February 2014, 60 international students at empted to sue Glyndwr University after problems with their visa sponsorships. Paul Crawford, a former Newcastle University student, launched a failed case against his institution in 2013, after he fl unked fi nal year exams. Contemporaneously, a would-be Oxford student at empted to sue the illustrious institution for selecting applicants on the basis of wealth. VWV consider the particular areas in
which universities could be vulnerable to legal action to include disability discrimination, accommodation issues, where a university code of conduct has been breached, and the breach of contract or misrepresentation in course delivery, an issue recently reported in the Guardian on 22 April. Several such incidents were reported
by the liberal organ, including single honours degrees changing to combined courses, abrupt course closures, and alterations to modules which departed from what had been promised by institutions at entry stage. “It is established case law that a university can adjust courses, but this is only likely to be reasonable in the context of a consumer-business relationship provided that they make appropriate alternative provision to enable students to complete their education,” explains Kris Robbet s, a Senior Associate from VWV. If students regard degrees as products which their fees ‘pay for’, then pressure grows on universities to off er teaching services which meet the required standard, and conform with the prospectus descriptions which ‘sold’ them. Signifi cant
structural fl aws in the practices of UK universities were
ABOVE: Kris Robbetts
AN INTERNATIONAL POINT IN CASE
“International students make an extremely valuable contribution to the UK, both academically and fi nancially.” Colin Riordan
Cardiff University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Colin Riordan, explains how international students view the UK as a study destination.
Q: What are students’ common perceptions of the UK VISA system? A: “Although the system can appear complicated to navigate there have been improvements to the information provided to students, such as recent videos myths
http://bit.ly/1qsyw2z The UK may appear unwelcoming via
some political messaging when in fact it’s not, as international students report high satisfaction rates with UK HEIs. UK universities remain extremely
attractive to international students, at a time when there is growing demand for quality higher education across the world. We have one of the strongest university systems in the world and there is a clear opportunity for us to build on this success. Are there any particular aspects of
the VISA application criteria which are particularly hard for your international students to meet?
requirements around maintenance funds and which evidence is appropriate to demonstrate they have the money to support themselves. Submitting the wrong evidence is one of the main causes of visa refusals.
with some exemptions for PhDs – has complicated things for students who have been in the UK for a while (and may struggle
to get a visa extension if they have exceeded the limit unless there are compassionate and compelling circumstances). Credibility interviews were introduced
relatively recently – we don’t hear of with how they are conducted but there is limited scope for students to contest a negative decision arising from an interview, to which they have no access to the recording.
Q: Have you noted any particular rise countries, or in certain subjects? A: Here at Cardiff University our undergraduate (UG) applications are generally growing; where there is a decline, this is not attributed to the impact of visa regulations. Growth is a result of a strategic push towards UG recruitment. Overall applications show a different picture; we attribute the impact of the immigration regulations to a decline in South Asia, although efforts in India have stalled this decline recently, and in key African markets such as Nigeria. We continue to see a rise in demand in China, Malaysia, HK and Saudi Arabia. UK-wide, the number of Indian students
has gone down (by 49% between 2012/11 and 2012/13). Other key markets seeing declines included Pakistan (-21%), Canada (-3%), Nigeria (-4%), Saudi Arabia (-6%), and Thailand (-3%). But Chinese numbers are up: a third of
all non-EU students starting courses in the UK are now from China.
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