Have you received a fine from your university in the course of your studies? Well, you’re not alone. National newspaper The Independent recently put in a Freedom of Information request asking 136 of the UK’s universities to release information about student fines – how much and for what reasons. The total figure claimed in fines was over £534,000.
The Main Reasons Students are Fined
Fines for returning books later have been a key aspect of student life for decades. However, the £534,000 that The Independent totalled up excluded library fines. Over 18,000 fines were given out during the last academic year with these reasons being the most common:
- Vaping and smoking in bedrooms appear to be the most common
- Anti-social behaviour such as loudness of music or voices keeping neighbours awake was also fairly common
- The newspaper learnt that one student had damaged a campus Christmas tree
- Others related to drug use and being drunk and disorderly on campus
All these reasons would be considered reasonable in most cases.
Some Bizarre Reasons for Fines
But the FIO from The Independent revealed some stranger reasons for issuing fines to students. This information was not reported by students, but by universities themselves. One student was fined for “dropping a glass bottle”. Another was fined for untidiness. No further details were added but it is presumed that this related to the student’s accommodation.
Such strange reasons for fining students seem unduly harsh. But it has also called into question the purpose of such fines. Damage to property is understandable – after all, repairs of replacements will cost money and it’s only fair the student pays. Other fines are in place to deter bad behaviour such as making too much noise and disturbing local residents, or as punitive measures to deter health and safety risks such as smoking on campus or setting off fire alarms.
Universities Respond
The universities who took part in the FOI were given the right of reply on their fining policy. The general feeling is that such fines are issued rarely in the student population compared to the general population. The argument was that fines were necessary for health and safety across the campus including in halls, and to deter anti-social behaviour. The bizarre fines that were issued were done so as isolated incidents and were not a matter of course. Most fines were around £20 and most universities stressed that the number of fines issued throughout the year were small.
On a final note, students should consider their behaviour and how it impacts others. A fire alarm set off as a joke means a call out from the fire brigade which could be taken away from a genuine emergency. The best way to avoid fines is not to engage in behaviour that would result in one.