Imagine spending £22,000 a year for an overseas educational experience, in exchange for only two-months of offline courses with restricted access to school facilities and limited interactions with fellow students and lecturers.
This is exactly what Liu Xingyu, an international student from China experienced during his master’s programme at SOAS, University of London.
The living costs in the UK are higher than those in other countries such as Germany which is 21 per cent less expensive according to the Livingcost.org. Including living costs, Liu said it cost him approximately £45,000 a year to study in the UK, which has taken a considerable toll on him.
For the high price he paid, Liu claims that the promised teaching and support fell short. According to a briefing published by The Migration Observatory at University of Oxford in 2022 entitled ‘Student migration to the UK’, tuition fee income from non-EU students accounted for 17 per cent of UK universities’ total revenue in 2020-2021, and continues to see a substantial increase.
The lack of support combined with the frustration at inadequate academic experiences prompted Liu to join the Student Group Claim and fight for the compensation he deserves.
The first court hearing took place on 24 May, but Liu also attended a rally outside the Royal Courts of Justice in support of compensation for academic disruptions caused by the University and College Union (UCU) strikes and the pandemic.
So far, over 100,000 former and current students in the UK have joined the Student Group Claim to take legal action against at least 18 universities such as King’s College London, the University of Sheffield, and University College London.
Ryan Dunleavy, solicitor for the Student Group Claim explained that strike action along with the pandemic hampered universities’ ability to provide in-person tuition and access to facilities, but they still expected to be paid in full.
“We want to ensure students get fair compensation for the disruption to their academic lives and their ruined university experience,” he continued.
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If successful, domestic students could potentially win approximately £5,000 each, while international students could receive double the amount on par with the higher tuition they pay, according to the Student Group Claim.
The British Council estimates the average tuition fees for an international student to be around £17,000 per year, which is double the amount paid by domestic students.
“The degree I took was absolutely not value for money,” said Lien Haibei, whose master’s program at King’s College London in 2021, cost around £25,000.
With over half a year of the one-year course delivered online, Lien said that virtual learning had significantly lowered the quality of teaching.
“What’s worse is that most of the online courses were recorded lectures. Courses such as UX design and coding which were supposed to be practical, felt like YouTube tutorials.”
Dissatisfied with their university experience, international students like Lien and Liu refused to remain complacent. Instead, they’ve banded together to fight for compensation.
“When you pay for a service, if you did not receive what you paid for, you deserve compensation,” said Dunleavy.
As more students and graduates join the call for compensation, Student Group Claim hopes to bring about the change and justice students deserve.
