Two students are suing their university for nearly £50,000 over a "Mickey Mouse" qualification which they say failed to deliver on promises.
Ingrid Santana and Paul Wayte have launched legal action against Anglia Ruskin University for what they allege was breach of contract and other statutory breaches on its Legal Practice course.
The pair have said the university's claim of offering high-quality legal training was fraudulently misleading - but Anglia Ruskin denies all allegations, and is applying for the claim to be struck out.
Both students claim that promises of specialist modules, high-quality teaching and flexible learning did not materialise after they had paid for their courses.
Ingrid Santana and Paul Wayte have launched legal action against Anglia Ruskin University over what they allege was breach of contract
ANGLIA RUSKIN UNIVERSITY
They also allege that specialist modules were promised but then withdrawn during the course due to lack of lecturers.
Both Santana and Wayte were both denied access to online learning while studying at Anglia Ruskin, they said, and claimed that "flexible learning" was a key reason why they chose to study there.
Santana, a mother-of-two, said "reasonable adjustments" were not made when she had to isolate because her children had Covid.
She told The Telegraph: "I think this is a Mickey Mouse degree. I believe this country has higher standards at some secondary schools than at this university."
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Both Santana and Wayte were both denied access to 'online learning' while studying at Anglia Ruskin (file photo)
GETTY"They told me that it was a flexible course, that I could continue doing it while working and they also gave me the idea it could fit around my commitments and work."
Meanwhile, Wayte said: "I feel like we've been sold a dream and left with a mess and Anglia Ruskin have washed their hands of us now that they've got our money."
He described it as "100 per cent a Mickey Mouse degree."
The university maintains that online learning was not appropriate for the course, according to guidance from the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Wayte passed the course but says he has struggled to find legal work since and is now pursuing a career in another sector.
"I expected my investment to pay me back with a legal career and I've got nothing," he said.
Santana failed the course and has abandoned her legal ambitions.
"I wanted to become a lawyer. I was ready to do it," she said. "I have found myself poorer, without a qualification, and very tired. My ambition to become a lawyer is gone."
A spokesman for Anglia Ruskin said: "Given that both claimants had to resit exams or retake modules multiple times, and that one of them still failed, it should be clear to anyone that while are committed to supporting all our students to succeed, we are rigorous in our requirement of high standards.
"ARU's course content and delivery have been rated as outstanding by the independent higher education regulator, the Office for Students (OfS), and we are among just 22 per cent of institutions in the country to receive a Gold rating in the OfS's Teaching Excellence Framework.
"We strongly refute the allegations of both claimants and have applied for their claims to be struck out."
