Decision Report 201406266

Summary

Miss C was a self-funding postgraduate student who decided to withdraw from her programme after facing some personal difficulties and feeling depressed since moving to the university. She complained that the university had not given her support, had not made the process of withdrawing clear and had not agreed to the refund of tuition fee she requested. We considered the correspondence between Miss C and the university, internal correspondence in the course of the university's investigation, and the policy on tuition fee refunds. We found that the university had thoroughly investigated Miss C's complaints and considered new issues that arose through the course of Miss C's withdrawal and complaints. The university clearly explained why they upheld some complaints and not others, and appropriately identified ways their service and communication could be improved. The decision not to refund the fee was taken in line with the university's policy and reasonable consideration given as to whether her mitigating circumstances were exceptional.