Case Summaries
Back to Case SummariesStudent transfer - CS122402
Case summary December 2024 | Settled
An international student was studying on a two-year Masters programme. During the summer between the student’s first and second years the provider learned that the course hadn’t been accredited by the relevant professional, statutory and regulatory body (PSRB) as expected. Students were informed of this several weeks later, 10 days before the start of the second year. Because the course wouldn’t be accredited, students would need to pass an additional exam after completing their studies to be able to register with the PSRB.
The provider offered to pay for the examination fees and provide students with support to prepare for the exam. Some students decided to transfer to other providers that were PSRB accredited to complete their studies.
The student complained to the provider. They had successfully applied to transfer to a different provider. However, they said they had been unable to go ahead with the transfer because the delay in communicating the accreditation decision meant they’d already signed an accommodation contract and that there wasn’t enough time to arrange a new student visa. They also said that because they held an international undergraduate degree that wasn’t recognised by the PSRB, they would need to pass an additional exam before they could register with the PSRB. The provider upheld the student’s complaint and offered to cover the examination fees and provide additional support for both exams the student would need to take. It also offered the student £4,000 as compensation for distress and inconvenience. The student was unhappy with the provider’s offer and complained to us.
During our review of the complaint, we were concerned that the provider’s offer wasn’t reasonable because it didn’t go far enough to recognise the impact of the issues on the student. We contacted the provider to discuss our initial view of the case and invited it to consider putting forward an offer to settle the complaint. We noted that the delay in notifying students of the accreditation decision had limited the student’s opportunity to transfer to a different provider due to the additional hurdle they faced in needing to arrange a new visa at short notice. We also noted that the information available to students had assured them the provider expected the course to be accredited and didn’t include any guidance on the implications for students if the course ultimately wasn’t. The accreditation decision had additional consequences for the student because they didn’t hold a first degree recognised by the PSRB. If the student had understood the potential implications in advance, it was likely they would have decided to study somewhere else where PSRB accreditation was already in place. The student’s visa had expired and they had been unable to make arrangements to take the exams from their home country and were left with no clear path to registration with the PSRB.
The provider put forward two different settlement offers in addition to agreeing to waive the student’s outstanding fee debt. If the student wanted to pursue arrangements to complete the exams, it would re-make its offer to pay for the exams with support and offer the student financial compensation of £27,000. If the student didn’t want to take the exams, it would offer the student £50,000. The student accepted the second offer and the complaint to us was Settled.