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More than 230,000 former students from over 36 UK universities, including the University of York, are now seeking compensation for the remote teaching delivered during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Founded in 2022, the Student Group Claim (SGC) is a collective pursuing legal action against a number of universities over the alleged loss of teaching quality during the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly across the academic years spanning autumn 2019 to summer 2022.
The campaign gained significant traction following a £21 million settlement with University College London (UCL) in February 2026. This landmark outcome has prompted further legal action against an additional 36 universities.
The claim rests on the premise that universities breached their obligations to students when teaching was moved online in response to Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
Upon enrolling at university, students typically enter into a contract outlining their annual fees, as well as the teaching and support services that their higher learning institution agrees to provide. Under English and Welsh law, this agreement is considered a consumer contract, meaning students are protected by consumer rights legislation in the event that the services they are entitled to are not adequately provided.
Over the 5 year period at the heart of this claim, a range of disruptions affected the quality of university teaching. Chief among these was the Covid-19 lockdown, during which universities repeatedly suspended in-person teaching and access to communal facilities such as libraries and wellbeing spaces in order to comply with government guidelines.
Although these measures were necessary to comply with public health regulations, the loss of access to campus facilities was not reflected in a reduction in tuition fees. While some courses, particularly in the Humanities, were able to adapt through online resources, others, especially in the Sciences, faced significant challenges due to the loss of practical components such as laboratory work. The group also argues that reduced access to facilities likely lowered university operating expenditure, particularly in resource intensive areas, such as the laboratories.
Furthermore, the cherry on top of the proverbial ‘compensation cake’ is the additional disruptions that occurred even after lockdown restrictions were lifted, and teaching returned to ‘normal’. The rise in staff strikes over long-running disputes over pensions, pay and working conditions remain, which means many students continue to face cancelled teaching hours as well as a severe delay in the return of coursework and assessments.
The SGC have stated to the BBC that the disparity between tuition fees and the education ultimately delivered will form a central part of its argument. From a legal perspective, universities will be grappling with whether they adequately were able to strike a balance between their obligations to students and their responsibility to ensure safety during the pandemic.
As the September 2026 response deadline approaches, attention now turns to whether other universities will follow the precedent set by UCL’s sizable settlement. The outcome could set a significant benchmark, not only for current claims, but for how universities are held accountable in future crises.