It’s time to consider how students should be compensated for this year of university
University students have been largely neglected throughout the coronavirus pandemic. A survey distributed among 30 UK universities sheds light on student experiences, with 85 per cent believing that some form of compensation is deserved.
Source: UCL Imagestore
It is safe to say that 2020 has been a whirlwind of a year for everyone in the world, and university students are no exception. These are supposed to be the best years of our lives; a time when we should be going to the pub after lectures, joining societies, trying new things, meeting our life-long friends, and getting a degree in the meantime. With the first term finished and 2020 over, the much-earned Christmas break has not released students from their uncertainty, mental health issues and course curriculums that have been severely impacted by the pandemic. Many young people are going to accumulate at least £9,000 worth of debt for this year. The government, as well as universities, need to consider the justification for this, and what they could be doing to make students feel less neglected by their institutions. That £9,000 should be going towards academic tuition, facilities and resources that are normally provided seamlessly to students. But when access to these amenities becomes restricted, it raises the question of compensation. I surveyed 100 students from 30 different universities in the UK, and they all shared a similar sentiment towards this academic year and value for money.
Some would say that “university students knew what they were getting themselves into this year.” It should first be made clear that no, they did not. The government’s rhetoric had everyone hoping that the pandemic would be under control by now. Unfortunately, as we transition into 2021, the prospect of a return to normality by the end of the academic year is looking slimmer and slimmer.
That being said, let’s first consider the main reason that people go to university – to receive a higher education and gain a qualification. Most universities have moved teaching online, with some allowing a few hours of face-to-face teaching per week. Despite some students not taking to the new system of teaching, moving online is of course the right approach to avoid large-scale transmission of the virus on campus. However, Covid-19 has had an impact on administration and organisation within universities which has left most students with fewer contact hours than they were promised. 75 per cent of students surveyed claim to be missing contact hours this year, with 38 per cent claiming that they are missing more than 5 hours a week. For some, this means the majority of their degree is not being taught. Science students cannot access their labs, where a large proportion of their course is taught, while design students cannot access their workshops and are therefore unable to produce the quality of work that is expected of them. Many students needing to use certain software that can only be accessed on university computers simply do not have the resources to complete their modules at home. One law student at BPP University said that the exam software crashed for some students and the university has told them to retake their exams at a later date, which ultimately will delay the start date of their prospective jobs.
Moreover, 86 per cent of students are worried that their grades will be negatively affected by the impact the pandemic has had on university teaching, and most universities have still not agreed to apply a no-detriment policy to grades this year, as some did for students back in April. When completing my own undergraduate degree in 2020, my peers and I were saved a great deal of stress and anxiety via the policy in the lead up to the exam period, and it should be given to students this year too, reflecting the amount of teaching they are not even receiving. To add to this confusion, many universities have not been very communicative with their students; a student at Exeter says that it is very difficult asking teachers about complex topics over email, while others complain that their emails have often been ignored by lecturers.
Even when disregarding the reduction of academic content, the pandemic’s effects on students’ personal lives and work ethics have been immense. When one’s bedroom becomes their workspace, it is often difficult to stay motivated, and relaxing becomes a struggle as the boundaries between work time and down time are skewed. The majority of students surveyed say they are a lot more productive when working somewhere that is not their house, and while some universities have tried to provide access to study spaces, the reality for students has not always been helpful. Twenty per cent of students say they have not had access to study spaces on campus this year, and of those that have, not everyone has felt safe being on campus during a pandemic. According to one student at Sheffield Hallam University, study spaces are “extremely limited and often inconvenient to use” as the 3-hour time slots get booked up very quickly. Another student said they would appreciate a space on campus that is open 24/7 to allow more students the chance to study away from home. While this predicament is no one’s fault and little can be done while the virus is still out of control, 87 per cent of students say that their motivation to work this term has been greatly impacted, understandably – a future consideration for a no-detriment policy.
The most pressing problem looming over students is mental health. With everyone’s social life afflicted, societies unable to organise events and activities, and the number one daily priority being simply to get some fresh air, the pandemic has only served to exacerbate the growing mental health crisis amongst students. Nine out of ten students say that their mental health has been either extremely or quite impacted by experiencing the pandemic while at university, and the same number say that the capacity to make friends has been reduced hugely. Among the most affected have been postgraduate students, some of whom have had to move to a new city in the hope of being taught face-to-face, but who have not been able to meet anyone at all, because they live alone and have not seen anyone else from their course. Meeting new people is what university is all about, but a sense of isolation has plagued this academic year for students of all years and the mental health implications will be severe.
Over half of students whose mental health has been significantly impacted do not feel as though they have had their university’s full support or even proper access to their welfare services. This is an area in which universities should have invested more time and money for decades, but the Covid-19 pandemic has firmly raised this as a priority. It is unacceptable that so many students live at university, so as to not miss out on the limited face-to-face teaching that is being provided, but are then forced, in some cases, to isolate in halls of residence for weeks on end without any wellbeing support from their university.
Overall, students have unanimously agreed that they are not getting their money’s worth at university this year. As much as 85 per cent of students feel that some sort of compensation is warranted, with 48 per cent feeling that at least a quarter of their tuition debt should be written off. These figures do not symbolise an act of rebellion or gratuitous entitlement, but of genuine frustration arising from not receiving the experience that they are still being expected to pay for. In fact, only one in four students believe that their university has done everything in its capacity to accommodate students this year. Given the continuing severity of the pandemic, Exeter University has told students not to return until at least the start of February, without giving first year students an option to save on their student accommodation in January. Additional financial pressures have befallen some students who have lost their part-time jobs, affecting their ability to pay for accommodation.
There might be an argument for this academic year being worth the money if students were receiving the same quality of education as they would be if life were normal, but that is simply no longer the case. Not only has the quality of education been affected, but the quantity as well. We should not forget that student loans are charged with an interest rate of 5.6 per cent - far higher than the interest rates offered at any UK banks. The student population has been overlooked by the government for years, and is now landing itself in the most student debt of any UK generation, while being set to experience the most obstacles when searching for jobs and trying to mount the property ladder. Meanwhile a deadly pandemic sweeps the nation, and we are possibly plummeting into the worst recession in 300 years, which will only further the financial struggle for current students.
Some universities have tried to appease frustrated students who by allowing sports activities to go ahead (thus spreading the rate of infection). This seems a manipulative tactic to make students feel as though they are getting their money’s worth while disregarding the spread of coronavirus. A student at Loughborough has summed this term up as a “less enjoyable experience as we are not getting what university is all about in terms of personal development and a lot of the unique opportunities that university offers cannot go ahead”. While the unprecedented circumstances we find ourselves in could not have been foreseen by universities, it can be said without a doubt that students have largely been neglected this year by their institutions and by the government, and they should not be expected to pay the price for this pandemic. As one student bluntly put it, “Covid Uni is just not the same,” and students therefore should not be indebted the same amount.
Pi Opinion content does not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial team, Pi Media society, Students’ Union UCL or University College London. We aim to publish opinions from across the student body — if you read anything you would like to respond to, get in touch via email.