UCL to review ‘no detriment’ policy after pressure from student campaigns

UCL has announced that it is reassessing its “no detriment” policy after numerous campaigns calling for grade mitigation policies gained popularity.

Source: UCL Imagestore

On January 6, UCL Vice-Provost Anthony Smith announced that the university is revisiting and reviewing its “no detriment” policy. Professor Smith acknowledged students’ concerns over their ability to perform as best as they could with a third national lockdown underway and UCL’s suspension of face-to-face teaching until at least February 22. 

Professor Smith will therefore work with academic colleagues and student leaders to determine how to best overcome the challenges brought on by the pandemic and ensuing restrictions. He has stated that the university wants to reward students for their hard work in light of the difficult circumstances and that it will seek to “ensure that a UCL degree continues to be regarded as amongst the best in the world.” Students will be updated promptly on the conclusions of these discussions.     

Since England’s third lockdown was announced last week, students worried about the impact of the new restrictions on academic performance and mental wellbeing have been circulating petitions, lobbying for UK universities across the country to implement a “no detriment” policy. 

UCL student Dom Borghino has created a letter template which  students can adapt to send to their own university, to lobby provosts to restore or implement a “no detriment" policy for this year. The letter argues that the justifications for implementing the policy last year continue to be pertinent at this stage.

While the policy was implemented last year “to compensate for the weeks of teaching that had been affected by the lockdown in March and the early finishing of classes” as well as “to mitigate the troubles faced by students when undergoing unfamiliar alternative assessments,” the letter argues that both the online teaching and the alternative assessments set in place this year remain unfamiliar territory to students and university staff, and therefore concessions are necessary. 

A student at the University of Exeter has also launched a campaign, appealing to the UK government to introduce “national, fair mitigation policies” that ensures that students’ futures are protected. The petition has now gained over 17,000 signatures.   

Another petition further urges the need for UCL to enact a “no detriment” policy and has already garnered over 3,000 signatures. All efforts to reinstate the safety net have cited the deleterious effects of lockdown on students’ academic performance, mental wellbeing and financial constraints. 

Following the mounting student pressures to bring back the “no detriment” policy, UCL Students’ Union has released a statement on January 7, reassuring students that they have the union’s full support. The Student’s Union recognised that the Temporary Operating Model, put in place in Term 1 and designed on the basis that in-person teaching would resume in some capacity in January, is no longer sufficient. 

Now that the circumstances have changed drastically, the union has pledged to introduce necessary measures in line with the current climate. The union is currently working alongside UCL “on the design of the safety net and additional academic mitigation,” similar to what was established the previous academic year. 

The Student’s Union was present at the emergency meeting held by UCL’s Education Committee on January 8. The outcome of this meeting is not yet known, however, it was expected that this meeting would re-introduce the Examinations and Assessments Contingency Panel, which had outlined the previous “no detriment” policy and played a significant role in making the Term 3 assessment period more convenient and “less burdensome” on students. 

As such, the Student’s Union foresees that the outcome of this emergency meeting will be similar to that of last academic year and these conclusions will be disclosed to the wider student body promptly. UCL’s sabbatical officers will communicate any updates pertaining to changes in the learning environment via email and the Student’s Union’s website over the upcoming weeks. 

Both UCL’s Student’s Union and vice-provost have reiterated that UCL will fully support students in achieving their learning objectives, in addition to commending students and staff for their resilience and continued hard work.