Challenges to ‘academic immunity’—the beginning of a new era?

Abstract

Whilst the term 'academic immunity' is not one usually used, in practice academics in higher education institutions (HEIs) have been immune from legal challenges to their key professional activities. The historical position in the UK has seen both university visitors and the courts consistently refusing to interfere with decisions described as having the nature of academic judgment. HEIs may have contractual obligations to students for the provision of the agreed syllabus with sufficient numbers of skilled staff, but they and the academics who work for them retain very significant freedom in terms of the detailed provision of the academic 'product.' In this article I consider the prospect of 'academic immunity' surviving recent changes in other areas of law, notably the introductions of the Human Rights Act 1998, the abolition of the immunity advocates enjoyed against claims in negligence and the coming into force of key aspects of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act. I conclude that a continued refusal by the courts to look behind the academic decision making process is untenable. This in turn has significant implications for quality control within HEIs and for the future development of academics as a profession.