UK Students: Know Your Rights at University During COVID-19

This school year looks a lot different than last year’s.

Students have gone back to university, and freshmen have begun their first year, but it hasn’t been without challenges. While students are locked down in their accommodations, banned from socialising, and many are prohibited from in-person classes, students should know their rights at university. 

Measures are stricter than ever before and students are facing scads of new challenges, so knowing your rights at university can be helpful in many circumstances. 

Can I Get a Refund for My Courses?

While students have been cooped up on campus and taking distance-learning courses, many have wondered if they can get a refund for courses, or at least a break on tuition fees.

So far, rights at university do not cover refunds for distance learning courses, but this may become a heated debate over the following months. 

Universities are still allowed to charge full tuition for online courses, as long as distance-learning classes are following the same curriculum and the quality of education has not been severely affected, The Guardian reported.

Your rights at university include your course being as valuable and satisfactory as the university has advertised it.

If you think your courses are not living up to what you paid for them, complain to the university and seek a solution. If you do not like the response of the university, you can take the complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education for a review.

Some complaints may warrant a refund.

Can I Cancel My Accommodation If I Want to Continue My Studies at Home?

Cancelling your accommodation will depend on who you are renting from.

If your university owns your accommodation, cancelling will be more flexible than with landlord-owned rentals. 

Although your rights where accommodations are concerned may vary depending on who owns your rental, according to Citizens Advice, you are typically responsible for rent due until the fixed term for the accommodation has ended, The Guardian reported.

Be sure to check your contract to know what your rights are when it comes to accommodations. The contract should also tell you how much notice is necessary to give the owner before cancelling.

Other details are important to find out as well, including knowing what you are liable for paying for and if it’s possible to get out of the contract earlier than planned. 

“The starting point is that a tenant is liable for the rent until the end of the agreement,” lawyer Erol Izzet of Carter Jones Solicitors told The Guardian. But, he adds, “there are certain legal doctrines that may be relevant to the issue of Covid-19 and how it has affected a residential lettings agreement: force majeure, frustration or supervening illegality.”

What If My Term-Time Job Is Cancelled and I Can’t Make Rent?

Contact your university as soon as possible to get details to apply to available hardship funds, The Guardian recommends.

Speak to your landlord if you might miss a rent payment so you don’t get charged with additional fees. If you talk to your landlord before missing a payment, you may have the flexibility to come to a new payment agreement.

What If I’m COVID-19 Positive and I Have to Go Home?

If you get sick, you will probably still have to pay rent even if you have to go home.

Rental contracts that have illness clauses are rare, The Guardian reported.

But, in light of the pandemic, talk to your landlord about paying rent if you get sick and have to go home. 

Things Aren’t What I Expected — Can I Drop Out of University?

Your rights at university include being able to leave the school if you have reason to.

There is typically a cooling-off period when you can easily drop out, according to The Guardian. You may be able to pull out of university and get refunded if you are in this period.

Many universities give you two weeks from the date you accepted your spot and some have an extended period.

Check your acceptance contract to find out what your university’s policy is. If you are past the cooling-off period, you may have to pay some tuition, perhaps about 25%.

If you have taken out loans to pay for university, let the student finance department know you are dropping out.

Were you aware of your rights at university during these challenging times? Share your experiences in the comments section below.

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