Case summaries

Academic misconduct - CS022310

Case summary February 2023 | Not Justified

A student was studying a taught postgraduate programme and had to take an open book exam for one module. After the exam, the provider told the student that it was investigating them for contract cheating. The student was suspected of uploading some questions from the exam to a website, asking for answers from other users. The student admitted that they had posted a question but said they didn’t look at the answers. They said they had some difficult personal circumstances at the time that had affected their judgment.

Accommodation - CS012404

Case summary January 2024 | Partly Justified

A student asked to move accommodation sites to be nearer other students on their course. The provider agreed to this. After the move, the student complained to the provider about illegal drug taking in the kitchen of the second accommodation. The provider moved the student to a third accommodation site while the allegation was investigated.

Placement - CS032405

Case summary March 2024 | Not Justified

A nursing student was studying on a programme delivered in partnership between provider A and provider B. Provider B was responsible for organising placement opportunities and provider A was responsible for considering any complaints.

Placement - CS032403

Case summary March 2024 | Partly Justified

A nursing student complained to their provider about reasonable adjustments for their disability and delays to their graduation and subsequent registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). The provider did not uphold the student’s complaint.

Consumer rights issues - CS041906

Case summary April 2019 | Not Justified

A student was studying for an HND at a further education college. The student, with some other students, raised concerns about the delivery of the course and complained that they had not received good value for money.

Fitness to practise - CS101901

Case summary October 2019 | Partly Justified

A student nurse was found not fit to practise and their registration on the course of study was terminated. The student had been removed from a student residence in the early hours of the morning for causing a disturbance. Another student in the residence had complained that the student had been harassing them, in person and via social media.

Coronavirus - CS112009

Case summary November 2020 | Partly Justified

A second-year, international student was studying four modules during the year for which they had paid fees of around £13,500. They complained to the provider that it had cancelled half of the expected on-campus learning because of coronavirus lockdown and asked for a refund of tuition fees.

Harassment and sexual misconduct - CS022507

Case summary February 2025 | Not Justified

This case summary describes a reported student’s complaint about their provider’s decision to suspend them as a precautionary measure while it considered whether the student had committed sexual misconduct under its disciplinary procedures. It contains a brief description of the sexual misconduct reported by other students at the provider.

We publish summaries of some of the complaints that we review. We always leave out of the summary any information that might identify the student who made the complaint. In some cases we decide that it is in the public interest to publish a summary of a complaint that includes the name of the provider.

Publication of case summaries and public interest cases

PDF, 105Kb