$7.55 million settlement awarded to students whose degrees were unaccredited
The University of Newcastle has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit for $7.55 million after 163 students alleged it had engaged in misleading conduct after their engineering degree was found to be unaccredited.
The University of Newcastle has reached a $7.55 million settlement with 163 students who claimed the university misled them by stating their Bachelor of Medical Engineering (honors) degree was accredited. The plaintiffs, who studied the program in 2018 and 2019, argued the university falsely suggested the course was accredited, causing stress and financial strain, including an additional year of study and a $55,000 HECS debt.
Lead plaintiff Andreas Sklavos said the settlement brings a sense of relief, with the university acknowledging the error in their online information and offering support for students to pursue professional accreditation. Although the university initially denied negligence and defended running an unaccredited degree, they have since achieved full accreditation for the course, with accreditation retrospectively applied to students who began the program in 2020.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
