Manchester rebuked over ‘unfair’ student contracts

The University of Manchester has changed its student contract after being referred to National Trading Standards by the English regulator for using a “blacklisted” term and reserving the right to raise tuition fees in the middle of a course.

The enrolment contract at the Russell Group institution was flagged by the Office for Students (OfS) in 2023 as being unfair and a potential breach of consumer rights, according to a case study report published on 30 July.

One clause of particular concern sought to limit the university’s liability for loss or damage suffered by a student only to the total amount in tuition fees they had paid for their course. This, the OfS said, was a “blacklisted” term because it contradicted contract law.

While Manchester said that it had never relied on the term, it agreed to remove the clause from the contract and informed current and re-enrolling students of the changes, the OfS said.

Manchester’s contract also said it would not be liable to the student for events “outside of our control which we could not have foreseen or prevented”, listing strikes and other forms of industrial action as examples.

The OfS said these events “could reasonably be within the university’s control and therefore unlikely to be classified as a force majeure”. Manchester had since agreed to narrow the wording only to industrial action by non-university staff.

Another term of concern in the contract was thought to give the university too broad a discretion to raise fees in the middle of a course.

“We will review tuition fees annually and may increase tuition fees for subsequent academic years in the circumstances and on the basis of identified in your offer letter,” it said.

This, the OfS said, offered “no explanation of how any increases would be made, the circumstances in which an increase would be made and whether there is a mechanism for an increase or a cap on any increase”.

Students were also given no information on whether they had “the right to cancel the contract if the final price is too high”, according to the regulator.

Following the referral, this clause “was amended to clearly state that tuition fees will remain the same as those applied in the first year of study unless stated otherwise in the offer letter”.

A fourth term that set out how students might be treated if a course was oversubscribed was “vague and open to more than one interpretation”, the OfS said.

This was updated to state that the provider would “consider paying evidenced expenses for finding a suitable course at another institution if it is unable to accommodate applicants”.

Manchester was referred to National Trading Standards alongside two colleges as part of a partnership agreement between the regulator and the body.

Susan Lapworth, chief executive of the OfS, said it was publishing details about the case to “prompt all universities and colleges to look again at the contracts they use”.

“Students must be treated fairly in their contractual relationships with institutions, and we will continue to work with National Trading Standards where we think changes need to be made,” she added.

A Manchester spokesperson said it was “committed to protecting the interests of students and ensuring that our student terms and conditions are fair, legally compliant and consumer friendly”.

A “small number of changes to our terms and conditions” had been made and took effect from the 2023-24 academic year, they added. These were “focused on providing greater clarity and ensuring they better reflected our approach in practice in a number of areas”.

“Importantly, no finding was reached that the terms and conditions were not legally compliant, and no students were adversely affected.”

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com