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In March 2025, Sussex was fined £585,000 by the Office for Students (OfS), which said it had failed to uphold freedom of speech in its trans and non-binary equality policy statement passed in 2018. The policy stated that course materials should "positively represent trans people" and that "transphobic propaganda" would not be tolerated. The OfS gave the case of Kathleen Stock as an example of the "chilling effect" this had on expression of lawful views. Professor Sasha Roseneil, the university’s vice chancellor claimed "the way the OfS has conducted this investigation has been completely unacceptable, its findings are egregious and concocted, and the fine that is being imposed on Sussex is wholly disproportionate." The university has said that it will legally challenge the penalty in the High Court.
== Campus ==
The University of Sussex is situated near the city of Brighton and Hove, next to the Stanmer Park reserve, and extends into the Lewes District in its eastern fringe. The closest train station is Falmer railway station, located at about nine minutes from Brighton station. The campus is also close to the medieval town of Lewes and is approximately an hour away from London. Located within the South Downs National Park, it is the only English university existing in a National Park.
The campus, designed by Sir Basil Spence, is next to the village of Falmer but mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. It is close to the South Downs, which influenced Spence's design of the campus. In 1959, the Basil Spence and Partners company began planning and designing the campus, to be built over a 15-year period. In 1971, 17 buildings had been designed and built winning numerous awards including a medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects and a Civic Trust award. Spence expressed his awe at the beauty of the surrounding region and designed the campus as a stream of low buildings so as not to disturb the natural scenery around. Brick was chosen throughout as it was the dominant material …
