The long-awaited outcome of an investigation into the University of Sussex looks to have left the English sector with more questions than answers when it comes to how free speech on campuses will be regulated.

The Office for Students (OfS) issued the university with a ?585,000 fine after finding that its trans and non-binary equality policy statement had a ¡°chilling effect¡± on free speech, leading students and staff ¨C including former professor Kathleen Stock who left the university amid student protests over her views on gender ¨C to ¡°self-censor¡± lawful views.

This result was likely to create uncertainty for the wider sector, said Smita Jamdar, partner and head of education at Shakespeare Martineau law firm.

¡°[Universities] are not left with really clear guidance about what they should do to avoid a similar outcome, despite one of the reasons that the OfS say they¡¯ve taken the steps they have is to send a message to the rest of the sector,¡± she said.

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Jamdar referenced some of the statements identified as problematic by the OfS, such as a university policy that said transphobic ¡°name-calling¡± and ¡°derogatory jokes¡± could lead to disciplinary action.

¡°It¡¯s still not entirely clear to me what the actual objections were to some of the things that the university had done,¡± she said.

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Similarly, she highlighted the accusation by the OfS that the wrong people at the university had made decisions related to policies. ¡°That could end up meaning that universities are spending very very large amounts of time indeed reviewing their schedules of delegation¡­is that what we want universities to be doing?¡±

Sussex has hit back at the regulator for how it conducted the investigation, claiming that, during the three and a half years it took to complete, ¡°the OfS refused to meet or speak with anyone from the university, and with only one person [Stock herself] interviewed¡±.

Questioned about this by reporters, Arif Ahmed, director for freedom of speech and academic freedom at the OfS, conceded that ¡°much of the engagement was in writing¡±, but insisted investigators did ¡°engage with the university on numerous occasions¡± and ¡°looked at a very wide range of evidence¡±.

Ahmed also defended the length of the investigation, saying the timeline ¡°reflects the complexity of the issues involved and the volume and complexity of the evidence that we looked at¡±.

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¡°We don¡¯t want investigations to take huge amounts of time,¡± he said. ¡°On the other hand, it¡¯s also important that we investigate things thoroughly and that we do so fairly as well.¡±

Under legislation that was paused by the current Labour government shortly after it entered government, but has now been given the go-ahead, the OfS plans to operate a complaints scheme for academics and visiting speakers, allowing the regulator to deal with free speech concerns ¡°more straightforwardly and more quickly¡±, he said.

Ahmed also hit back at accusations that the regulator is stoking culture wars. ¡°Our interest is simply protecting freedom of speech. It¡¯s not for the OfS to hold any view at all about the contents of the speech, as long as it's lawful.¡±

Reacting to the news that her former employer will be fined, Stock said: ¡°I¡¯m very pleased to see it, and I hope it sends a strong message to the many universities that still have policies with the very clauses the OfS has ruled against. There is no doubt in my mind that these policies chill lawful speech.¡±

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Sussex has said it will take legal action against the regulator as a result of the ruling and the record fine, which the university¡¯s vice-chancellor described as ¡°disproportionate¡±.

However, writing for Times Higher Education, James Murray, partner at Doyle Clayton law firm, agreed with the OfS¡¯ interpretation of free speech regulations. ¡°In short, the law around free speech is complex, but it is understandable: Sussex just seems to have got it wrong and has paid a hefty price,¡± he writes.

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Murray predicted there will be more ¡°public battles¡± between universities and the OfS in the coming years. ¡°If you thought the change of government meant the culture wars on campus were over, you were almost certainly wrong,¡± he said.

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com