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My exam results have been withheld but I don't know why and the university won't tell me. Is there anything I can do?

My exam results have been withheld but I don't know why and the university won't tell me.  Is there anything I can do?

It is fairly common practice for a university or college to withhold a student's exam results because of unresolved issues over money, such as, for example, debts arising from overdue library books. However, according to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), this could, in fact, be a breach of consumer laws.

Indeed, the OFT has sent written communications to around 200 universities and other educational institutions regarding the practice, warning them that not allowing students to graduate or to continue with their course could in fact be illegal.

Following a complaint that was made to the National Union of Students, the OFT investigated the issue and discovered that as many as 75% of institutions of higher education had clauses written into their terms and conditions that stipulated that they could stop students graduating or continuing on to the next year of their course if there were debts arising from unpaid tuition fees. With a view to working with Universities UK (the official representative body for universities) to curtail this practice, the OFT has written to these universities and urged them to review their terms and conditions and change them where necessary, encouraging universities to conduct their business with "increased awareness and compliance with the law."

The consumer watchdog maintains that the use of such academic sanctions, no matter what the circumstances, could in fact be in breach of consumer protection law. It is especially concerned that, in some cases, university contracts allow the university to punish students by withholding results even in cases when the students owe small amounts of money wholly unrelated to academic achievement, or even when there is some dispute over the legitimacy of the debt.

Senior Director at the OFT, Nisha Arora, has said that many universities need to change their policy regarding this issue. "Preventing progression or graduation not only affects students' educational experience," she said, "but could also significantly harm their future employment prospects and ability to pay off their debts."

The National Union of Students had previously been made aware that many universities were withholding results and delaying graduation even where student debts related to wholly non-academic issues such as parking fines or rent arrears. Former vice president of the NUS, Colum McGuire, described the practice as "incredibly unfair", adding, "It's almost laughable that students who are in thousands of pounds of tuition fee debt were having academic sanctions placed on them for money owed for non-academic debt."

If your exam results are being withheld by your university this could be a breach of your consumer rights. To find out how best to proceed, contact one our dedicated specialists to discuss the details of your case in the strictest of confidence.

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