Union Council this month passed a motion in which SUSU agreed to lobby the University of Southampton to change its policy on withholding degree certification in case of a student having outstanding debt upon completing their degree.

Currently, the University will withhold the degree certificate of any student who finishes their degree with any debt owed to them, however small, as stated in the University’s Ordinances. It is meant to provide leverage to ensure that the debt will be paid in full, and an incentive for students to pay off all debts on time.

In many cases this would be a disproportionate punishment, especially if the debt was not related to tuition fees. The debt a student would have acquired may have nothing to do with tuition fees, but could include debts or fines from accommodation services, the library or parking tickets. Without a degree certificate however, students are unable to prove that they have a qualification, which could potentially impact on their employability and future earnings.

This policy is common amongst most universities within the UK, but a recent case involving Kingston University, which was settled out of court, has been noted for suggesting this practice may in fact be an unfair breach of contract. Head of the University of Southampton legal services, Barbara Halliday, has also suggested that it is a "legal grey area", in a report to the Student Operations Steering Group. If a case should actually go to court, then it is possible the University would lose.

If the contract to study between university and student is regarded as a consumer contract, then penalising students for non-tuition fee related debts creates a contract term that punishes the student for breach of an unrelated contract, which is prohibited by English contract law.

For students that incur tuition fee related debt, unless they have failed to make a single payment, they have shown an attempt to meet the demands, and therefore would be punished for a partial debt that does not represent the full value of a degree certificate.

There are other means available to the University to recover non-tuition fee debt owed to them, such as court action or debt collection agencies, which would have less long term impact on the student, better allowing them to deal with their debts whilst continuing their studies.

SUSU have also suggested a new system for the University to deal with tuition fee debt, in which students are automatically sent a letter upon the late payment of tuition fees, informing them that they must make this payment within an appropriate time. If they cannot do so, then they must make an appointment to discuss the matter and look into a payment plan. If they fail to undertake any course of action, their studies will be suspended until they are able to meet their debt, in which case they can then continue on with their degree course in full.

Student debt is a growing issue, especially with talk of raising the cap on tuition fees, and although the University needs to be able to reclaim debt that is owed to them, alternative means to do so are available and should be used. No such policies are currently in place at any other university, but if the University of Southampton sets a precedent by implementing SUSU’s suggestions, they could soon follow suit.