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Journalism students win thousands in compensation after course complaints

Journalism students have won thousands of pounds in compensation after claiming their course did not represent “value for money”.

Sheffield Hallam University has awarded 22 postgraduate students £500 each for the “distress and inconvenience” caused by their department “being unable to deliver some opportunities within the timescale of the course”.

HTFP reported in May how the students had demanded a refund after raising concerns including a lack of placements and the fact the course is not accredited by the National Council for the Training of Journalists.

Sheffield daily The Star now reports a university complaints panel has upheld two of the nine complaints the students raised, relating to work placements and “the gaining of skills”.

Sheffield Hallam

The panel said: “In acknowledging your concerns in this regard, we did also note that the department has made and continues to make considerable positive steps to support you and we see this as substantial in mitigating this basis of complaint.”

MA international journalism student Lydia Turner, who led the campaign, told Star reporter Steve Jones: “We were a little bit disappointed because in an ideal scenario we would have liked to pursue it further to see if we could get more, but because everyone was struggling so bad we didn’t want to wait another 57 days.

“I feel it’s a win for them more than it’s a win for us. If we would have had time to continue with it then I think we definitely could have got a lot more.”

Lydia, from Coventry, said she was contacted by students at other universities in a similar position after The Star’s original story was published in May, including a postgraduate journalism student at Leeds Trinity University who “was in the exact same position”.

The 22-year-old added: “I definitely feel in that sense it’s not only helped the students on our course but those at another university as well. That makes it all more worthwhile.

“It shows it’s a national issue, not just one linked to our university. The exposure of the article connected us to more people with more stories, that gave us a platform.”

A Sheffield Hallam spokesperson told The Star The students have been offered “continued support and advice”.

The spokesperson added: “The university acknowledges the disappointment felt by the students due to a lack of available work placements and the opportunity to put skills into practice because of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent national lockdown.

“The panel’s decision to uphold parts of the complaint was made based on the inconvenience and distress caused by external factors.

“The panel also recognised that the high quality of teaching and support on this course was effectively maintained during this unprecedented period.”

Professor Malcolm Todd, deputy vice-chancellor at Leeds Trinity, told The Star their student complaints process is “strictly confidential” and the university does not make the outcomes of such investigations public.