From the archives for 1st April: UK Universities hit by DPI mis-selling scandal.

In the early 2020s UK Universities were hit by compensation claims running into the billions of pounds in respect of the ill fated Degree Protection Insurance (DPI) scheme that they had sold to unsuspecting consumers students..

The origins of the scandal appear in 2015/16 when vulnerable Universities were feeling the financial pressure of rising costs and dwindling revenues (due to fee capping and visa restrictions for domestic and international applicants respectively).
Scores of experienced teaching staff had deserted " research focused" universities for private practice or consultancy or early retirement leaving the higher paid "research active" staff to carry the burden of increased domestic student numbers and increased expectations of stellar learning opportunities.

So, enter left, the equally beleaguered Investment banks, seeking new outlets for their "jam today" products such as DPI.

DPI was a simple concept: for payment of a 10% fee premium (£900 on a £9,000 undergraduate fee - double for International fees! ...without anyone even blushing at the disparity...) students could claim on the policy for:

• Failure of University to provide a chauffeur driven car from station / airport on arrival (£50)
• Failure of University to explain why cheating in exams is not allowed (£100 - double if you get caught!)
• Failure by the University to award a good mark for your essay, even when your mate thought it was worth a lot more (£200 on each occasion)
• Failure of University to ensure that you got out of bed before 1pm in term-time (£50 per day)
• Failure of University to force you to turn up to a lecture or seminar (£50 per occasion)
• Failure of the lecturer to deploy very heavy hints regarding the exam questions (£100 per exam)
• Failure to secure a £100,000 p.a. job in an Investment Bank (or similar) within 1 year of graduation.

DPI also carried a "no claim bonus" of up to 50% for subsequent years' premiums, making the scheme very profitable indeed for Banks and Universities alike.  The DPI policies were sold through University Finance offices on a commission basis.  Claims handling was concentrated in a call centre in rural Ukraine.

OFFSTUD, the Office of the Student Commisar, began to receive complaints from DPI buyers as early as 2014 - before the scheme started - and accelerated its investigation and report (due in 2030, perhaps).