Keeping it Legal and Compliant
As content creators we are both morally and legally obligated to ensure that we provide accurate and clear information to our users.
Accuracy and authenticity
Brand trust is crucial for our reputation, so our content must be authentic and accurate.
Whatever the audience our information must be transparent, easy to understand, and any terms and conditions must be fair and easily accessible.
Good practice
Whenever you’re creating content, you need to be absolutely certain of its transparency and accuracy. To make sure you’re legal and compliant, you should:
- fact-check everything you write
- check with expert colleagues if you aren’t sure and get them to sign off on copy
- use disclaimers and give examples of situations that might cause the information to change
- add dates to your content
- where possible use the web as the single source of truth for detail that changes regularly and maintain its accuracy
- give the source of any claims you make about being the ‘best’ whether it’s using league rankings, survey results etc
- ensure you have the correct GDPR permissions to use any user-generated content or media of individuals
Familiarise yourself with Consumer Protection Law
Consumer protection law covers a wide range of areas, including:
- advertising
- pre-contractual information
- terms and conditions of contracts
- contract variations
- complaints
Before creating content for the University, you should make sure you’re aware of:
- the Consumer Rights Act 2015
- the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008
- the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.8
Relevant organisations
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the UK’s lead competition and consumer authority. It issues advice for higher education providers on consumer law. It has taken enforcement action to help secure change across the sector. The CMA has extensive discretionary powers over compliance and enforcement activities.
Local authority trading standards departments have duties to enforce consumer protection law in their local areas. They can also offer advice to consumers and those selling goods or services.
National Trading Standards is distinct from local authority trading standards departments, but works with these services. It conducts national and regional consumer protection work.
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute is the professional membership body for trading standards professionals. It runs the Consumer Codes Approval Scheme, which is open to all businesses to apply to join.
The Office for Students is the statutory regulator for higher education in England. It uses notifications from students and other third parties to inform its monitoring activity. This ensures that providers follow their ongoing conditions of registration. These include having due regard to relevant guidance on how to comply with consumer protection law.
The Office of the Independent Adjudicator is an independent body. It's purpose is to review student complaints about higher education providers in England and Wales. It issues guidance to share learning from complaints.
The Advertising Standards Authority is the UK’s independent regulator of advertising across all media.
Acknowledgements
You must always reference the source of any accolades/proof points. You also need to make sure you have the right to use any photographs or other media and credit the owner.
Copyright and disclaimers
Any content you produce should also include relevant copyright notices and disclaimers.
The copyright wording for Newcastle University is:
© Newcastle University, [DATE]
The University of Newcastle upon Tyne trading as Newcastle University.
This is because our official name of the University in our Statutes is University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Disclaimers must be fair and clear, and clarify why information may change.
Disclaimer example
Although great care is taken in compiling this Undergraduate Prospectus, it is for the general guidance of prospective students only. This publication is intended for those who are interested in applying for admission to the University in 2025 and is intended as advance publicity for information and guidance purposes only. The content of this publication does not form a contract between the University and a prospective student.
Details included are correct at the time of publication in January 2024. The most up-to-date and detailed source of information at any time is the undergraduate website ncl.ac.uk/undergraduate.
The matters covered by this publication are subject to change from time to time, both before and after a candidate’s admission. The University reserves the right to make changes as reasonably necessary and unavoidable changes may on occasion have to be made, affecting the availability of degrees, subjects, modules and options within degrees, and of additional opportunities such as placements, field trips and exchange visits. The reasons for change could include, but are not limited to timetabling issues, changes in staff, requirements of programme-accrediting bodies, academic changes within subject areas, or due to minimum student numbers on a course.
The University makes all reasonable efforts to deliver the programmes of study and other services and facilities as described in its marketing material. However, it may be necessary to make changes to its provision in response to significant disruption.
The University is committed to delivering learning outcomes notwithstanding any necessary changes to mode of delivery. For the latest information go to ncl.ac.uk/study/experience.
The University is not responsible for the content of any websites which do not form part of the Newcastle University domain (www.ncl.ac.uk) and whose addresses are given in this publication.