Students punished with thousands of fines totalling more than half a million, figures show

‘Universities should not be using exorbitant fines as a top-up fee’

The National Union of Students has urged universities not to act ‘punitively’ towards young people accruing ‘unacceptable’ debt during their studies (PA)

Cash-strapped students have been hit with thousands of punitive fines by universities – totalling more than half a million pounds – at a time when graduates face £50,000 of debt, The Independent can reveal.

Students have been forced to pay up for speaking in the library, setting off fire alarms through “careless” cooking, and holding unauthorised parties, according to freedom of information requests by The Independent.

The National Union of Students (NUS) has urged universities across the UK to resist the temptation to act “punitively” towards young people who are accruing “unacceptable” debt during their studies.

More than 18,000 disciplinary fines were given out to students by institutions across the UK for the academic years 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18. The figure does not include library or admin fines.

Students, who now have to pay up to £9,250 a year for tuition fees, were fined more than £534,000 over three years, the figures show – which are based on responses to FOI requests to 155 UK universities.

But the true cost of the fines issued by universities is likely to be much higher as a number of institutions refused to break down how much students were fined.

Of the 136 universities that responded, 17 did not give full comparable data on the total number of fines issued per year. Meanwhile, 30 universities did not break down the value of the fines issued to students.

These fines, which are up to £1,300, were issued for a wide range of reasons – including vaping in rooms, general untidiness, keeping neighbours awake, and in one case “dropping a glass bottle”.

One student was penalised for damage to a Christmas tree, while other youngsters were given fines for urinating in public.

But the most common reasons for students being fined were breaches of fire safety, antisocial behaviour and noise, smoking and drugs-related offences.

The data shows that there is not one clear policy across the sector. Nineteen universities said they did not fine students for disciplinary matters, whereas other institutions hand out hundreds of fines each year.

Nottingham University issued the most fines – a total of 1,758 over three years – and Essex charged the second most (1,380). Surrey, Newcastle and Southampton also made the top five.

It is unclear what the majority of universities spend the income raised from fines on – and there are fears that the cash could be used to plug the funding gap at a time when institutions are struggling financially.

Eva Crossan Jory, the NUS vice-president for welfare, said: “Thanks to our broken funding model, students are forced to accrue excessive amounts of debt just to access an education in the first place; it should go without saying that universities should not be using exorbitant fines as a kind of top-up fee.

“If there’s evidence that student fines are being treated as an additional income stream by institutions to plug funding gaps elsewhere, particularly in the context of the financial hardship which many students face, then serious questions must be asked about the fairness of such policies.”

She added: “Universities must resist the temptation to act punitively, and as such any response should be proportionate, especially if there is evidence that students are receiving large fines as a result.

“This is particularly pronounced in an era where students are accruing such unacceptable and unnecessary amounts of debts. If students are facing financial hardship as a result of disproportionate fines, and if this is the case, policies should be reviewed .”

But universities say the number of fines they have issued is low in comparison to the large student population they serve – and they argue that the fines are in place to ensure a safe environment exists on campus and in the community.

A University of Southampton spokesperson said: “The wellbeing of all our students is a top priority for us and we have a number of policies in place to ensure they can enjoy their time here in a safe environment.

“At the start of the academic year we provide everyone with as much information as we can on items and actions that could cause harm to themselves and others.

“If anyone does create a safety risk, a small fine is one approach we may consider; most fines are £20 and the number issued each year is extremely small compared with our total student population of 24,000.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the University of Surrey said: “We strike a careful balance between ensuring that all students can enjoy their time at the University of Surrey untroubled by poor behaviour on the part of a minority and looking after the financial well-being of our students.

“Financial penalties play a proportionate part in striking that balance.”

A spokesperson for Universities UK, which represents institutions across the country, said: “It is a matter for individual universities to determine what is acceptable or unacceptable behaviour by students, along with any sanctions that may occur if the code is breached, including the appropriate use of fines.

“The important thing is ensuring that students are familiar with the institution’s code of conduct and that there are clear procedures to resolve matters when behaviour is unacceptable, and for serious issues to be escalated to the appropriate authority.”