Consumer protection for students

What is consumer law?

A number of different laws protect the interests and rights of consumers when they buy goods and services.

Some of these laws – such as the Consumer Rights Act 2015 – address the interests and rights of students and require universities and colleges to do, or not do, certain things.

What can students expect?

Under consumer law, students can expect the following:

• Universities and colleges must provide up-front, clear, intelligible, unambiguous and timely information and be clear about what they offer on any course.
• Terms and conditions that apply to students must be fair and balanced.
• Descriptions of the services for which students are paying should be clear and not be misleading.
• Universities and colleges must ensure that how they handle complaints is accessible, clear and fair to students. Where complaints are not resolved through the higher education provider’s own complaints procedures, students can take their complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA). The OIA provides a dispute resolution service for students.

Know your rights

Choosing the right course and university or college is an important decision.

You invest a lot of time and money in higher education, and it can be difficult to move to a different course if you're dissatisfied.

Knowing your consumer rights should help you to:

• get the information you need when deciding which university, college or course to choose
• get fair treatment while you’re studying and know how to raise any concerns you have about your provider or course
• be protected if things go wrong on your course.