‘Unlawful’ OfS ruling against University of Sussex should be quashed, court told

Students on campus at the University of Sussex. The university claimed it had suffered ‘severe’ consequences as a result of the regulator’s decision last March. Photograph: Simon Dack/Alamy

A ruling by an education watchdog that led to the University of Sussex being hit with a record £585,000 fine should be quashed as “unlawful”, “unreasonable” and “procedurally unfair”, a court has heard.

In a judicial review hearing before the high court in London on Tuesday, the university claimed it had suffered “severe” consequences as a result of the landmark decision last March by England’s higher education regulator, the Office for Students (OfS).