Can a university ban private interaction between students?

[Balance]

Jurisdiction

United Kingdom

A student is enrolled at a British university and is currently participating in a group project with other students. There was conflict within the group, which culminated in accusations were made of intimidation, shouting etc in a group meeting of the students. All students involved in this meeting made complaints to the course director and learning support staff and were told that a thorough investigation would take place. The staff have said they all communications between group members should be done only through the Microsoft Teams and for the remainder of the project each member is:

• "only allowed to meet with the rest of the team as a whole"
• "send/receive messages on Teams"
• "work on their own - no other option is allowed."

The staff members have told the group members to leave the WhatsApp group chat the team members had used to communicate project related matters.

The university doesn't seem interested in investigating the events of the argument that initiated the complaints, claiming conflicting accounts, but now have employed rather restrictive measures on the group of students.

My question is: can a university impose restrictions on personal communication between students?

 

[justblue]

A student is enrolled at a British university and is currently participating in a group project with other students. There was conflict within the group, which culminated in accusations were made of intimidation, shouting etc in a group meeting of the students. All students involved in this meeting made complaints to the course director and learning support staff and were told that a thorough investigation would take place. The staff have said they all communications between group members should be done only through the Microsoft Teams and for the remainder of the project each member is:

• "only allowed to meet with the rest of the team as a whole"
• "send/receive messages on Teams"
• "work on their own - no other option is allowed."

The staff members have told the group members to leave the WhatsApp group chat the team members had used to communicate project related matters.

The university doesn't seem interested in investigating the events of the argument that initiated the complaints, claiming conflicting accounts, but now have employed rather restrictive measures on the group of students.

My question is: can a university impose restrictions on personal communication between students?

This site is for United States legal matters.

 

[Balance]

This site is for United States legal matters.

Apologies, how do I remove this post from the forum?

 

[justblue]

Apologies, how do I remove this post from the forum?

Just leave it....it's fine.

 

[adjusterjack]

Apologies, how do I remove this post from the forum?

No need.

There are a couple of UK related sites that you can post the question on:

Legal Advice UK - Legal help and advice for those in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland (reddit.com)

Forums - LegalBeagles Forum

Presumably, all the involved students were over 18 years old and were at least 18 when they enrolled at the university. A person is an adult in the UK at the age of 18. That means he has the ability to contract and be bound by those contracts that he makes.

When the students enrolled at the university they very likely agreed to be bound by the university rules and disciplinary procedures. That's a contract.

So, yes, I do believe that the university staff can impose those restrictions and make them stick. Fail to comply and you might risk suspension or expulsion.