The excitement and hard work that comes with getting into university is something that as a student you will never forget. Going on open days, endless revision, moving out for the first time, there is so much to look forward to and so much work that goes into it. But with all that excitement comes the responsibility of taking out a student loan. A student loan which now in the UK has students paying almost £10,000 for undergraduate education. Over the past few years there has been much debate about the cost of student education and which currently remains the same. However, with the recent strikes that took place and Coronavirus sweeping the nation, universities were forced to close their facilities and send students back home. With this unexpected turn of events, many students have questioned what impact this would have on their current student loans and examinations.
Currently, I am in my second year of university studying English Literature.
With the recent strike and closure of my university, I truly believe that the time I have missed in my lectures, in my seminars, with my teachers, and with my tutors has been a great struggle with how I am coping with revision and the rest of my learning on my course. I completely understand that the staff and the university have done their absolute best in organising online teaching and my course leaders and teachers have been great in trying to make the best of these unplanned circumstances. I also appreciate how much time and effort has gone into reorganising assessments and examinations. However, at the same time the quality of the education needs to match what we have paid for. It's important to remember that the lack of almost one-third of a semester is a grave loss to many students and the stress of this situation is extremely detrimental to students wellbeing.
Many creative students seem to be struggling with their university work. One of my best friends who is currently studying fashion design has expressed how the lack of resources has made it extremely difficult to continue her studies from home. For students who are doing a creative degree e.g. fine art, fashion, graphic design, architecture and so on, resources such as: 3D printers, laster cutters, screen printing, mannequins, and sewing machines are not accessible online which means they rely on their universities for these resources. Even so much as finding enough space at home to work properly can be difficult for many of these students. It is the facilities that are put in place by universities that create a comfortable learning and working environment for students where they have access to everything they need to aid them in performing their best in their degree. Even if we take a step back and look at students more generally. There are students who may not own computers or have access to wifi and therefore rely on their university facilities, there are students who may need books for an assignment that are not available online and could only find in their student library, students who may need to conduct experiments for lab results which they cannot do without the resources and facilities of their university this would include students doing sciences. All of the circumstances I have listed are things that cannot be done online and will therefore not reflect a student's performance in their overall exams or assessments.
The biggest struggle in finances would definitely fall with study abroad schemes and international students. The fees for international students range from $17,000 to $25,000 to study in the UK. It is estimated that international students need between $1,300-$1,600 per month for living expenses depending on if they live in or out of London. With the pandemic, many students have been sent back home and continue to pay for their accommodations even though they are currently no longer living there. In this case, it only makes sense that there is some form of compensation given to these students who are continuing to pay for an empty room while they are halfway across the world. There are students who have had to come early from their study abroad schemes and have missed out on their experience and a major part of their degree because of these circumstances.
It is important to note also that everyone's situation is different. There are international students, students whose parents are key workers and might have needed to take care of their younger siblings, students who have self-isolated, students whose mental health may have taken a toll, the list is endless. Due to this, I believe it is not good enough to access every student in the same way in terms of exams, and even online teaching. This is why it is vital to take into account how many students have paid for a degree but have not got their money's worth.
While I understand that the pandemic is an extreme scenario that the university could never have predicted, in my opinion, I believe it is unfair to not provide a form of compensation that could be: a portion of our student loans being refunded or compensation through our exam and coursework results. It is not fair to judge a students performance during this time solely using online assessments as this has been a very difficult time for many students and everyone is processing the circumstances differently. What needs to be taken into account more than anything is how many students have been affected by this and how many of these students are being forced to pay for facilities, schemes and resources that they have not been provided with. For this reason I strongly believe that students are entitled to a refund in their student loans. Most of all I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during this time and adhering to the government's advice on social distancing and self-isolating.
Pass on the message,
Miss Minority