As places where an often internationally mobile population of
people study, work and live, higher education providers will be
thinking about the impact of COVID-19 on their institutions. While
legal considerations may understandably not be at the top of any
institution's contingency planning list, there are some useful
general points to bear in mind.
First, alterations to the provider's usual services to
students that are a necessary response to COVID-19 should be
covered by the force majeure clause that any well drafted
institution-student contract will contain. Interruptions to
services caused by force majeure are not a breach of contract.
However deciding what is "necessary" to respond to
COVID-19 may not be easy. So for example following official Public
Health England guidance is highly likely to be necessary and very
unlikely to be a breach. Common sense measures that go beyond
official guidance may be more vulnerable and the institution will
have to balance the
