$7.55 million settlement awarded to students whose degrees were unaccredited

Students from the University of Newcastle have claimed victory in a class action lawsuit against the university, which will see 163 students receive a share of the $7.55 million settlement.Students who undertook a Bachelor of Medical Engineering (honors) in 2018 and 2019 took the university to New South Wales Supreme Court claiming they had engaged in misleading conduct by suggesting the course was accredited.Lead plaintiff Andreas Sklavos, who launched the class action in February last year, said he was relieved the university had settled during mediation after "years of disappointment and stress".The 28-year-old undertook an extra year of study to become accredited with Engineering Australia and was left with a $55,000 HECS debt.Lead plaintiff Andreas Sklavos said he was pleased the case had been finalised. (ABC News: Chris Taylor)Outside court, Mr Sklavos spoke about the impact the lack of accreditation had on students' lives."[It] feels very good. I'm glad that they recognised everything and that they were apologising for what has happened and putting their best foot forward moving forward."The University of Newcastle has since achieved full accreditation for the course, with accreditation retrospectively applied to students who commenced the program from 2020.In court the university acknowledged that accreditation for the course was not a prerequisite but may be important for some students.In a statement, the university said they were "offering support and assistance to students who commenced the program prior to 2020 to pursue professional accreditation".The class action involved students from 2018 and 2019 who believed the degree was accredited by the professional body and they would be able to work abroad.However, an email in 2020 from the University of Newcastle revealed that wasn't the case."An error was made in the information posted on the website about professional recognition," it said.The University of Newcastle originally denied negligence and defended running unaccredited degrees claiming the website spelled out the university was "seeking" accreditation from Engineering Australia.The multi-million-dollar settlement comes after a string of class actions against universities where students have claimed damages for unaccredited degrees.Duke Myrteza from Australian Law Partners represented the students and said the result was a great outcome.Newcastle University has since achieved full accreditation for the course. (ABC News: Dan Cox)He said he was "very happy for the students now the matter has been resolved"."[This] is a great outcome for the students of the university."The firm achieved a separate settlement for students from James Cook University in 2023, alleging their financial services major was unaccredited.Australian Law Partners are currently engaged in two separate class actions alleging unaccredited courses against Western Sydney University and the International College of Management Sydney.Mr Myrteza also achieved a settlement for students from James Cook University in 2023. (ABC News: Chris Gillette)"There are a number of standards that universities must uphold in terms of what online material they promote degrees or other courses by and certainly the recent litigation underlines the importance that universities comply with those standards so students aren't misled."Mr Sklavos said he is now ready to step forward in his career after feeling like he was falling behind his peers but warned students to be vigilant when choosing a degree."My warning to anyone looking at undertaking higher education would be to check that the courses they're choosing are accredited by a recognised body."