ANGLIA Ruskin University drew in the most complaints and appeals from its students in the past year when compared to other universities in the UK, a report has said.

For the academic year 2012-13, 992 students made a formal complaint, or academic appeal against the university, which has a prominent campus in Chelmsford.

The research was done as part of a national study, which revealed more than 20,000 students in 120 universities made complaints that year – ten per cent more than in 2010/11.

The research showed that among those to complain about the university recently were a group of law students, who had just completed a three-year law degree at the Chelmsford campus.

Several signed up to take a Legal Practice Course in order to become trainee solicitors, but, after paying their deposit, they were told the course would not run in the city next year and they would have to travel 45 miles to Cambridge. The university rejected the students’ complaint.

A spokesman for the university said: “We teach 32,000 students and of the figure of 992 appeals and complaints, fewer than 10 were actually complaints, a matter on which we have satisfied the Office of the Independent Adjudicator on audit.

“The vast majority were academic appeals where students queried assessment marks, or submitted late notification of mitigating circumstances they believe could have affected their performance in an assessment task.”