Case summary June 2024 | Partly Justified
Due to a staffing restructure, a member of academic staff who was the lead supervisor for a PhD student accepted a redundancy package which took immediate effect. The provider took four months to confirm the student’s new supervisory team. The student made a complaint about how long this had taken and about unclear communications.
Case summary June 2024 | Partly Justified
A student was registered on a full-time MRes programme. At the end of two years of study, students who met certain academic requirements could be considered for transfer onto a PhD programme.
Case summary June 2024 | Not Justified
An international PhD student was being sponsored by the government in their home country. When they submitted their thesis, it was not successful.
Case summary June 2024 | Partly Justified
An international MSc student was withdrawn from their course after admitting to plagiarism in multiple coursework assessments. The student appealed against their withdrawal explaining that they were under pressure to perform well, and that because both their partner and their child had been unwell, their partner had been unable to offer them any support. They also explained they felt unable to openly discuss their concerns with anyone.
Case summary June 2024 | Not Justified
A PhD candidate submitted their thesis for examination and attended a viva, which was overseen by an independent chair. The student was informed that the examiners had not recommended them for the award of a PhD, but had agreed they could make corrections and resubmit within a year for the award of an MPhil.
Case summary June 2024 | Justified
An international student on an MSc programme with an optional placement year was found to have committed plagiarism in a second and final attempt at an assessment. They were awarded a mark of zero as a penalty.
Case summary June 2024 | Settled
A PhD student complained to their provider that they were being bullied by their supervisor and that the situation was impacting their mental health.
Case summary June 2024 | Not Justified
An international PhD student made an application to extend their period of studies. This was their fourth extension request.
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.
