STUDENTS are fuming with the way their university has treated them after discontinuing their course.

Pharmacy students at Sussex University were told in October their course was no longer accepting new students and would be discontinued after they complete their degree.

Second year Raveena Amlani, 20, said this was devaluing the reputation of the course and having a serious effect on the wellbeing of the students.

She said: “My mental health has seriously declined since being at this university and I don’t think I can stand it much longer.

“I just don’t think they care about the impact this decision has had on us.

“It has taken about seven months before I have been able to actually meet with someone external from the university to look into my complaint about this decision and at how the staff have been dealing with us.”

Ms Amlani said the university has offered students affected by their decision £250 “compensation”.

She said: “They are trying to put a price on our mental health. They think they can make up for it by giving us £250 when what we need is clarity about what the next step for us is.

“In some countries the students are only taken seriously if they have completed a degree that is still running and still taking on students so for some of the international students this is a nightmare.”

In response to their concerns, the university has set up counselling services.

But Ms Amlani said the appointments are only available during the day, making it hard for them to book a slot given their lectures run between 9am and 6pm.

She said: “There has been little to no care about our mental health and how the uncertainty is affecting us or our futures.”

A Sussex University spokesman said: “Our pharmacy students remain our top priority.

“We have reassured everyone on the course that they will be able to complete their degrees and we expect the MPharm course to be fully accredited by the time the first students graduate in 2020.

“Since the decision was taken to stop accepting new pharmacy students, we have been in regular communications with our current students and have put in place additional support, including counselling, which is scheduled for when we know students are on campus.”

She said while all current students can complete their pharmacy qualification at Sussex, they have offered them a one-off payment for involvement in the consultation process.

They have set up financial support to help students if they wish to move to pharmacy courses at other universities.

Duncan Rudkin, Chief Executive of the General Pharmaceutical Council, wrote to all Sussex pharmacy students in December.

He said: “I wanted to reiterate that my colleagues and I at the GPhC are committed to supporting you during the remainder of your pharmacy education and training.

“I want to reassure you that we will use our approval powers to work closely with the university and do everything we can to make sure the course achieves full accreditation.”