Gavin Williamson hints he may back calls for refunds on tuition fees

Over the last year there have been persistent calls for students to be offered refunds on fees, which are normally £9,250 a year, because most of them have only been able to access teaching via a laptop. Students have also missed out on much of the socialising associated with the normal university experience.

But until now ministers have not backed calls for the widespread payment of refunds, arguing that the move to online learning forced by the pandemic did not stop universities offering quality education.

The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education has ordered universities to offer compensation for lost teaching in some cases, but only in relation to a small number of complaints involving unusual circumstances.

On Tuesday, Williamson stressed he expected the student experience to be very different in the next academic year from what it has been since the start of the pandemic.

“Our guidance is clear, our direction is clear and we do expect all universities, unless there’s unprecedented reasons, to be moving back to the situation of actually delivering lessons, lectures, face to face,” he told Sky News.

“I think universities have got to sort of stand up their offer to their own students. I think they have the flexibility and the ability to deliver face-to-face lectures, and expect them to be delivering face-to-face lectures.”

A record number of students have been accepted on to UK degree courses this year, Ucas figures show. A total of 435,430 people from the UK and overseas have had places confirmed, up 5% on the same point last year, according to data published by the university admissions service. Among UK applicants, 388,230 have been accepted – an 8% rise compared with results day last year. A record 395,770 students have also been accepted on to their first choice of full-time course in the UK, up 8% from 365,500 at the same point in 2020.

Williamson’s comment suggests the government faces a clash with the higher education sector, because many universities have said they intend to keep some of their teaching online in the autumn.

Asked whether students should get refunds if they did not receive in-person teaching, Williamson said: “Universities have got to stand up their offers to their students, but we have got the Office for Students, which is targeting universities which have low-quality courses which aren’t doing enough, and we will give the OfS all the power, all the backing, in order to pursue those universities that aren’t delivering enough for students that are paying their fees.

“I think if universities are not delivering, not delivering what students expect, then actually they shouldn’t be charging the full fees.”

But Williamson also stressed he did not have direct power to tell universities what to do. He said the teaching available in lecture theatres was only part of the university experiences that students were paying for.

Last year, almost 300,000 people signed an online Commons petition saying students should receive a partial refund on the fees paid for the 2020-21 academic year because they were not receiving face-to-face teaching.

But, in a parliamentary debate on the petition in November, the universities minister, Michelle Donelan, said she did not accept that online teaching necessarily meant that students were not receiving a first-class education. She said the OfS was there to ensure quality was maintained.

She also said tuition fees covered the costs not just of teaching, but of other services provided by universities, and that these were still operating during the pandemic.