Students sue for damages

Two students are set to challenge job losses and restructuring at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, in the high court.

Helen Vincent and Heather Mitchell, second-year students at the Institute of Biological Sciences, have applied for legal aid. They fear that restructuring at the institute, which could involve 18 job losses, could damage the quality of their education. The institute dropped from a 3 to a 2 in the latest research assessment exercise and lost around Pounds 600,000 in research funding. "We've just got an excellent in teaching and we know the university can't guarantee to get that again,"said Ms Vincent.

Their solicitor Colin Taylor said the restructuring may have breached contract under the Students' Charter: "If we get as far as judicial review, the high court judge could force the university to abandon its plans and award damages."

The university declined to comment.