More than 170,000 current and former students have been brought together in a legal claim targeting 36 UK universities, alleging they were charged for in-person higher education but received a reduced online experience during the Covid pandemic.

The move follows a confidential settlement reached between University College London (UCL) and the Student Claim Group. UCL has not admitted liability and the terms of that deal remain private.

Lawyers acting for the group have dispatched pre-action letters to each university named, warning that they intend to seek compensation for tuition and other losses tied to courses delivered remotely or with restricted campus access.

The original case against UCL covered roughly 6,000 students and had been scheduled for a court hearing in March before the settlement.

Pre-action correspondence has been sent to the following universities:

• University of Bath
• University of Birmingham
• Birmingham City University
• University of Bristol
• Cardiff University
• City, University of London
• St George’s, University of London
• University of London
• Coventry University
• De Montfort University
• University of East Anglia
• University of Exeter
• Imperial College London
• University of Kent
• King’s College London
• University of Leeds
• Leeds Beckett University
• University of Liverpool
• Liverpool John Moores University
• London School of Economics and Political Science
• Loughborough University
• The University of Manchester
• Manchester Metropolitan University
• Newcastle University
• University of Nottingham
• Nottingham Trent University
• Northumbria University
• University of Portsmouth
• Queen Mary University of London
• University of Reading
• University of Sheffield
• Sheffield Hallam University
• University of Southampton
• Swansea University
• University of the Arts London
• University of the West of England
• University of Warwick
• University of York

The central issue is the difference in value between tuition delivered in person and teaching provided online. Economic analysis of that gap is expected to underpin the claims, according to those bringing the action.

Lawyers for the students say consumer law takes precedence over contractual clauses that universities might use to limit liability for disruption.

One pre-action letter notes that in addition to monetary losses, students “suffered disappointment and distress as a result of the failure of the university to provide the services promised”.

Shimon Goldwater, a partner in Asserson Solicitors, described the lost learning as serious and unresolved: “was one of the great injustices to come out of the pandemic – and it’s never been remedied”. He also said, “It’s very simple, in English law if you paid for a five-star holiday and received a one-star holiday, you are entitled to compensation.”

During large parts of the pandemic, university teaching in the UK moved online, students were often confined to accommodation or returned home, and access to shared laboratories, workshops and studios was limited. Practical and arts-based programmes were particularly affected.

Those disruptions were compounded for some students by later strikes over pensions, pay and working conditions, which the claimants say added to missed teaching and campus activities.

By 2022-23, some courses continued to use hybrid delivery models, with a significant portion of teaching still online on certain programmes.

Neither the Student Claim Group nor UCL has made the full terms of their settlement public. Universities UK, the representative body for more than 140 institutions, has been approached for comment.

The UK Government at the time said universities were responsible for setting their own fees and that it expected them to continue to deliver a high-quality education.

Students wishing to bring claims relating to Covid-era provision have until September 2026 to file under the timetable set for these actions.