Package Travel and Educational Institutions – 39 Essex Chambers

‘Is a field trip provided by a university to undergraduates as part of a degree course a package tour? The court considered the question in McCulloch v University of Leicester (HHJ Hedley, 27 February 2020).’

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39 Essex Chambers, 8th April 2020

Source: www.39essex.com

Oxford dean accused of failing to report child sexual assault claim – The Guardian

Posted March 5th, 2020 in child abuse, news, sexual offences, universities by tracey

‘The head of a prestigious Oxford college has been accused of failing to disclose an allegation of sexual assault of a minor to police or safeguarding officials.’

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The Guardian, 4th March 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Sexual assault claims ‘gagged’ by UK universities – BBC News

Posted February 13th, 2020 in bullying, news, non-disclosure agreements, sexual offences, standards, universities by tracey

‘UK universities are using “gagging” clauses to stop students from going public with complaints of sexual assault, bullying and poor teaching.’

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BBC News, 12th February 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Wellbeing charity and universities launch online resource promoting mental wellbeing practices for legal professionals – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 16th, 2020 in charities, internet, legal profession, mental health, news, universities by sally

‘Legal mental health and wellbeing charity LawCare and academics at the University of Sheffield and The Open University have launched a free, online resource for legal professionals in hopes of teaching better wellbeing practices in the sector.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 16th January 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Students who have been sexually assaulted are being let down by ‘inadequate’ support from universities, regulator warns – The Independent

Posted January 9th, 2020 in harassment, news, sexual offences, universities by tracey

‘Students who have been sexually assaulted or harassed are often being let down by “inadequate” support and “ineffective” reporting procedures in universities, the regulator has warned.’

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The Independent, 9th January 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Pre-92 universities lead way with BPTC pass-rates – Legal Futures

Posted November 26th, 2019 in barristers, examinations, legal education, news, universities by tracey

‘The pre-1992 universities achieve the best results in the centralised exams taken by students on the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC), it has emerged.’

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Legal Futures, 26th November 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Study restrictions ‘unlawfully imposed’ on university students – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 22nd, 2019 in asylum, bail, immigration, news, universities by tracey

‘TThe Home Office has agreed to review its immigration bail guidance, a law firm has said as it was preparing to challenge the government in court next week in a case concerning two asylum-seeking university students.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 21st November 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Universities braced for compensation claims as reveal plans to limit the impact of lecturers’ strikes – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 22nd, 2019 in compensation, industrial action, news, universities by tracey

‘Universities are braced for compensation claims as reveal their plans to limit the impact of lecturers’ strikes.’

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Daily Telegraph, 21st November 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Law degrees unnecessarily homogenous, research finds – Legal Futures

Posted November 11th, 2019 in legal education, news, standards, universities by sally

‘Law schools are not taking advantage of the “enormous regulatory freedom” they have and instead are largely all offering the same kind of law degree, new research has found.’

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Legal Futures, 11th November 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

University of Law slashes price of bar training course – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 23rd, 2019 in barristers, fees, inns of court, legal education, news, universities by tracey

‘The University of Law has dramatically reduced the price of its bar training course to make it “more accessible and affordable” – after the Inns of Court pledged to deliver a cheaper course for aspiring barristers earlier this year.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 22nd October 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Home Office reverses visa decision for second Oxford academic – The Guardian

Posted October 22nd, 2019 in children, deportation, families, immigration, news, universities, visas by tracey

‘The Home Office has made a sudden U-turn on its decision to ban the young children of an Oxford University professor, Amber Murrey, from living with her in the UK – the second time in a week it has reversed a visa refusal for the child of an Oxford academic following reports in the Guardian.’

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The Guardian, 22nd October 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK to deport academic to Democratic Republic of Congo – which she has never visited – The Guardian

‘Furaha Asani, a young academic at Leicester University, was shocked when her visa application was rejected in August. But real fear set in when she realised Britain plans to deport her in three weeks’ time to the Democratic Republic of Congo – a war-torn country she has never visited and where the Home Office agrees sexual violence is pervasive.’

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The Guardian, 15th October 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Sexual violence and harassment cases at universities treble in three years – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 4th, 2019 in harassment, news, sexual offences, statistics, universities by tracey

‘Sexual violence and harassment cases at universities have trebled in three years, as victims reveal their claims are being investigated by novices.’

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Daily Telegraph, 3rd October 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Regulation unlikely to resolve university sexual misconduct case difficulties – OUT-LAW.com

‘The introduction of new regulations or mandating existing guidance is unlikely to address many of the challenges universities face when handling cases concerning serious misconduct, an expert in universities law has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 18th September 2019

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

‘Staggering’ Home Office disregard for innocent people saw thousands lose visas in cheating scandal, MPs say – The Independent

Posted September 18th, 2019 in delay, examinations, fraud, government departments, news, universities, visas by tracey

‘The Home Office showed “staggering” disregard for innocent people during the visa scandal that saw more than 50,000 overseas students accused of cheating and cost taxpayers nearly £20m, MPs have said. The Public Accounts Committee found that hundreds of people were still protesting their innocence at “great personal cost” more than five years after being accused of fraudulently passing English language tests due to the Home Office’s delay in responding to indications that some may have been wrongly caught up in the probe.’

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The Independent, 18th September 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Universities ‘failing’ victims of sexual misconduct – BBC News

‘Dozens of students who reported sexual assaults to their university have said they were failed by complaints processes that left them traumatised.’

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BBC News, 17th September 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

All but one of nine new High Court judges were at Oxbridge – Litigation Futures

Posted August 16th, 2019 in judicial appointments commission, judiciary, news, universities by tracey

‘Nine new High Court judges have been named this week, all but one of whom attended Oxford or Cambridge universities. The Judicial Appointments Commission said that, following an open competition launched in November 2018, it received 64 applications and made 17 recommendations for appointment in June 2019. The exercise was open to practitioners with or without previous judicial experience, but all of these appointments have it.’

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Litigation Futures, 16th August 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Cambridge University graduate sues over handling of sexual harassment complaint – The Independent

Posted August 14th, 2019 in complaints, harassment, news, sex discrimination, universities by michael

‘A former student is suing the University of Cambridge over the way it dealt with her sexual harassment complaint – saying their response left her more traumatised than the harassment itself.’

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The Independent, 14th August 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Cambridge sexual misconduct rule change branded ‘unlawful’ – The Guardian

Posted July 31st, 2019 in complaints, news, rape, sexual offences, universities by sally

‘Lawyers and women’s groups have condemned a decision by Cambridge University to not investigate some students’ complaints of sexual misconduct, including rape, warning it was potentially unlawful.’

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The Guardian, 31st July 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Home Office used ‘confused, misleading, incomplete and unsafe’ evidence to revoke visas of tens of thousands of international students, report finds – The Independent

‘Tens of thousands of international students had their visas revoked after the Home Office used “confused, misleading, incomplete and unsafe” evidence, MPs have said. The department ignored expert advice and relied on “dodgy” evidence when it accused almost 34,000 students of cheating in English language tests in 2015, according to a new report published by the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on the Test of English for International Communication (Toeic).’

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The Independent, 18th July 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk