Consumer Law and changes to existing provision

4. In May 2023, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) updated its consumer law advice for higher education providers, first published in March 2015 to bring the advice up to date, for example in its references to consumer law and to stakeholders. Whilst some of the language and references in the legislation changed, the obligations on HE providers are substantially the same as they were at the time of publication of the original advice which set out the CMA’s views on compliance in a number of areas, including the provision of information for undergraduate students. QAA have prepared a practical guide that aims to help providers present good quality information to prospective students, including entry requirements, course structure and delivery, module information, assessment and feedback, and course costs. The updated and reissued advice (31 May 2023) is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64771faeb32b9e0012a95f30/Consumer_law_advice_for_higher_education_providers_.pdf

5. Faculties must plan carefully before making any changes to existing schemes and their constituent modules. Where changes are proposed as part of annual monitoring or review exercises, or in response to student or external feedback mechanisms, departments need to consult with current students (including those who have accepted an offer but who have not yet commenced their studies) before the changes are considered for approval. The exact nature of this consultation will depend on the extent of the proposed changes but could consist of one of the following. Departments should consult the Academic Registry QA team for further guidance: qaestaff@aber.ac.uk:

(i) Consultation through the Staff-Student Consultative Committee

(ii) Consultation with individual students by email, with responses to be sent to Student Academic Representatives for a collective discussion at SSCC

(iii) Consultation with individual students by email, requiring agreement by all students.

6. In cases where option modules may not be offered due to insufficient interest or staff unavailability, this must be made clear to students in published information, and students must be advised of any changes to available modules as soon as possible so that they can choose an alternative. This will be made clear to students in departmental handbooks, which included a common statement at university level.