Jewish student awarded four-figure payment after anti-Semitism complaint – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 27th, 2016 in bullying, compensation, complaints, Judaism, news, racism, universities by sally

‘A Jewish student has received an apology and payment of £1,000 from the University of York Students’ Union after complaining of anti-Semitism.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 26th June 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Hold Me Close, I’m an Academic – Panopticon

‘If I am an extremely well-regarded academic at Cambridge (don’t snigger at the back, I could be) and due to my eminence I do some unpaid voluntary work for a major international group (here, the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change), the work in relation to which I do over my university email account, are those emails held by the University under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (“EIR”)?’

Full story

Panopticon, 10th June 2016

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Censorship or justified Concern? – UK Human Rights Blog

‘Mrs Justice Whipple dismissed one claim for judicial review, and refused permission to bring a further claim, in respect of decisions made by Southampton University regarding a proposed conference on the legality of the existence of Israel under international law. She held that the University had lawfully withdrawn its permission to hold the conference in April 2015, and refused permission to challenge the University’s subsequent decision to require the conference organisers to meet the conference’s security costs as a condition of allowing the conference to take place at a later date. The conference organisers had claimed that both decisions represented an unlawful interference with their Article 10 right to free expression and Article 11 right to free assembly.’

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 24th May 2016

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Oxford University law students being issued with ‘trigger warnings’ before lectures – The Independent

‘Undergraduate law students at Oxford university are being issued with “trigger warnings” before lectures containing material deemed too “distressing” – a move which has drawn criticism from academics.’

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The Independent, 10th May 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Curtailment of 30,000 student visas each year sparks row – BBC News

Posted April 25th, 2016 in education, immigration, licensing, news, statistics, universities, visas by sally

‘More than 30,000 non-EU students a year have had their visas curtailed by the Home Office in the past three years, figures obtained by BBC News show.’

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BBC News, 23rd April 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Four cleared in Royal Agricultural University rape case – BBC News

Posted April 12th, 2016 in news, prosecutions, rape, universities by sally

‘Four men accused of rape after a university’s summer ball have been cleared after the case against them was dropped.’

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BBC News, 11th April 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Theresa May faces parliamentary investigation over flimsy basis for student deportations – The Independent

‘Theresa May is to face a parliamentary investigation after an immigration tribunal ruled that the Home Office used unscientific “hearsay” to deport thousands of students from Britain.’

Full story

The Independent, 23rd March 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Universities ‘should update sex crime guidelines’ – BBC News

Posted March 18th, 2016 in harassment, internet, news, sexual offences, universities by tracey

‘Universities should overhaul guidelines on dealing with allegations of sexual assaults and harassment, according to a taskforce set up by the government. Current guidelines were written in 1994 and should be updated to reflect legal changes and the effect of social media, the Universities UK taskforce said.’

Full story

BBC News, 18th March 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Qualifying as a barrister ‘may cost new students up to £127,000’ – The Guardian

Posted February 23rd, 2016 in barristers, diversity, legal education, news, universities by sally

‘Students beginning university may have to spend up to £127,000 to qualify as a barrister, the new chair of the Bar Council has warned.’

Full story

The Guardian, 23rd February 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Prisoners study alongside Durham University undergraduates in unique criminology course – The Independent

Posted January 25th, 2016 in education, news, prisons, rehabilitation, universities by sally

‘When it comes to learning, nothing can compare to real-life experience – as a group of prisoners has proved in a ground-breaking new university course. Inmates at high-security Frankland Prison in County Durham have been studying alongside undergraduates from Durham University in a unique criminology programme. And it is the prisoners who are coming top of the class.’

Full story

The Independent, 25th January 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Higher education reform much-needed, but government must take time to get the framework right, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

‘Reforming higher education in England is both long overdue, and vitally needed to protect the sector’s hard-won reputation.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 15th January 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Bar regulator announces important developments in the 2016 Bar Professional Training Course – Bar Standards Board

Posted December 1st, 2015 in barristers, examinations, legal education, press releases, universities by tracey

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has three announcements to make about the BPTC today. First, today the regulator is publishing statistics about students and providers of the BPTC. Second, there will be changes to the formats of the centralised assessments. Third, the Bar Course Aptitude Test (BCAT), which is an entry requirement, will be deferred until at least March 2016, pending completion of a review.’

Full press release

Bar Standards Board, 1st December 2015

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

How students use FOI to investigate their universities – The Guardian

Posted November 24th, 2015 in freedom of information, news, universities by sally

‘Perhaps you want to know which universities make the most in library fines, or are curious about what the gender pay gap is like at the top. Or maybe you suspect your university staff are spending too much on first-class rail tickets or the dean’s office furnishings. These are just some of the ways that students are using freedom of information (FOI) requests to find out eye-opening facts about their universities’ activities.’

Full story

The Guardian, 24th November 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

#killallwhitemen row: charges dropped against student diversity officer – The Guardian

‘Bahar Mustafa, the Goldsmiths student diversity officer who was due to appear in court after allegedly tweeting the hashtag #killallwhitemen, has had charges against her dropped.’

Full story

The Guardian, 3rd November 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Insisting on a 2:1 degree for barristers “could discriminate against BAME students” – Legal Futures

‘Insisting on an upper second class degree for future barristers could impose a “discriminatory burden” on BAME students, who are less likely to obtain them, a leading academic has argued in response to a Bar Standards Board (BSB) consultation that raises the possibility.’

Full story

Legal Futures, 29th October 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Three in four universities ‘breach law on website information’ – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 23rd, 2015 in consumer protection, fees, internet, news, universities by sally

‘Three quarters of universities are breaching consumer law by failing to tell students what their fees will buy them.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 22nd October 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

University of Sussex to pay student protester £20,000 in damages – The Guardian

Posted October 16th, 2015 in damages, defamation, demonstrations, news, universities by sally

‘The University of Sussex has apologised to a former student, admitting there was “no truth” in its claim that he’d led an unlawful occupation of the university and carried out acts of criminal behaviour.’

Full story

The Guardian, 15th October 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

NUS begins legal action to prevent government scrapping maintenance grants – The Guardian

Posted September 25th, 2015 in budgets, education, equality, loans, news, trade unions, universities by sally

‘The National Union of Students has begun legal action to prevent the government scrapping maintenance grants.’

Full story

The Guardian, 23rd September 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Sexual harassment and universities’ legal obligations – the government’s new taskforce – Education Law Blog

‘Many of you will have heard about the government’s recent decision to set up a taskforce to tackle violence against women on campus. (See the government press release here.) This move is timeous or long overdue (depending on your viewpoint) in the light of the accumulating momentum of campaigns by various individuals and organisations to highlight the high incidence of sexual violence/harassment on campus.’

Full story

Education Law Blog, 23rd September 2015

Source: www.education11kbw.com

Universities must bear consumer law in mind when marketing courses on social media, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 3rd, 2015 in advertising, consumer protection, internet, news, universities by sally

‘FOCUS: As universities adopt increasingly innovative tactics to recruit new students, they must be careful not to ignore their obligations under consumer protection law and must comply with regulatory guidance.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 2nd September 2015

Source: www.out-law.com