University College London (UCL) has been given eight months to settle a dispute with 5,000 students who are suing the university over disruption to teaching during the pandemic and strikes.

The students allege that UCL breached their tuition contracts by moving teaching online and restricting access to facilities during the pandemic. They are seeking compensation for the loss of educational experience.

UCL has argued that the students should first complete the university's own internal complaints procedure and, if that fails, go through the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA). However, the High Court has ruled that the students can proceed with their lawsuit.

The case is a test case for other students who are suing universities over disruption to teaching during the pandemic. It is also a significant development in the debate about the rights of students in higher education.

Senior Master at the High Court, Barbara Fontaine, questioned the effectiveness of the OIA scheme in her judgement on Monday. She noted that "some of the claimants' concerns about the OIA scheme are valid" and raised concerns over "whether UCL and the OIA have sufficient resources to deal with this volume of complaints."

Fontaine also said that 17 other universities have been written to by Student Group Claim, which has brought student claimants together under a group litigation order. This means that these universities could also be facing lawsuits from students who are seeking compensation for disruption to teaching during the pandemic.

The OIA is a government-funded body that investigates complaints about higher education institutions. However, Fontaine said that the OIA's resources are "stretched" and that it may not be able to handle the volume of complaints that it is receiving.

The outcome of the UCL case could have implications for other students who are suing universities over disruption to teaching. If the students are successful, it could set a precedent for other lawsuits and could lead to more universities being held accountable for the quality of their education.

More than 120,000 former and current students have signed up to a legal action against University College London (UCL) over disruption to teaching during the pandemic. The students allege that UCL breached their tuition contracts by moving teaching online and restricting access to facilities during the pandemic. They are seeking compensation for the loss of educational experience.

The High Court has paused a legal case against University College London (UCL) for eight months to give the parties time to settle the claims through mediation or other means. This period can be cut to four months if no progress is made.

Senior Master Fontaine rejected UCL's attempt to force students to go through its internal complaints procedures and then the OIA. She said that the students had a right to access the court system and that they should not be forced to go through UCL's own procedures.

Ryan Dunleavy, solicitor to Student Group Claim, said that they had been "chasing UCL in writing for more than a year to join us in appropriate settlement talks." He said that they did not believe that the claims should be settled through UCL's own internal complaints procedure.

Shannon Barnes, who is graduating from UCL after two years of her physiology degree was entirely done online, said that she was "pleased that the students' argument that they had a right to access the court system has been vindicated." She said that she hoped that the case would "lead to other universities being held accountable for the quality of their education."

Source: SKY news