Why are students paying high fees for courses that are now online and paying for tenancies they are now trapped into now

[Molly333]

Why are students paying high fees for courses that are now online?
Why are students now trapped into tenancy agreements to rent near uni when they could have studied from home where they have support at this awful time?
Why havnt the universities planned classes of teaching like schools have ?

Why have you started two threads?

Biology labs do not work through a webcam

Classes are still happening.
Teachers are still teaching.
Administrators are still administrating.
Things are being done differently.
People still need to be paid.
Not all classes are online. There are students who need access to labs and equipment.
Etc etc

Online classes or blending learning don't cost any less to run 🤦🏻‍♀️

What’s with the multiple threads?

The trouble is it's actually really expensive and time consuming to move teaching online in a meaningful way. Of course students feel like they're missing out (and they are) but universities are not sitting back surrounding by piles of cash. They're having to reinvest in remote learning resources.

@listeningquietly as a lab manager for a university teaching lab I can confirm they do not! Our spends will be double this year as no one can work in pairs as normal. Labs start tomorrow and I cannot tell you how hard we've all worker to get them students back in the lab!

kshaw
I have friends at the Crick. I understand what you have gone through.

Some courses are tin exclusively through distance learning ATM so no need for students to sign tenancy agreements, if they did it was their choice to do so. No reason why they can't learn from home. One of my nephew's is doing this ATM. He is a fresher, disappointed he won't go off to uni and make new friends but also recognises it will save him over £10k this year.

Other courses involve blended learning and lecturers and tutors still need to be paid.

Some students decided to take a year out and earn some money if they have jobs as they want the full 'sudeny experience'.

No one is forcing students to sign up to anything they don't want to.

If it bothers you so much then defer until face to face teaching becomes available.

As has already been pointed out, it doesn't cost any less to teach students by going online.

It's a car crash for all of us. Not just students and lecturers.

Valid points made . Sorry for extra posts not good at this

Some courses are tin exclusively through distance learning ATM so no need for students to sign tenancy agreements, if they did it was their choice to do so.
Um
Because the Tenancies were signed in February by second and third years
do you folks not know how the system works ?

If it bothers you so much then defer until face to face teaching becomes available.
Is deferral offered to 2nd and 3rd years ?

Some courses are tin exclusively through distance learning ATM so no need for students to sign tenancy agreements, if they did it was their choice to do so.

This year's second years signed up for accommodation this year months before the pandemic started.

I feel really sorry for the students living in local lockdown areas, especially the first years, but it would have been a mistake to do blanket online learning for all.

My DS is in second year and lives in a student house. There are only 20 students in his 'bubble' and they are stuck able to do the practical elements of his course (music) f2f, with measures put in to place. It would have been awful of him of he had to stay at home and do online learning and he probably would have dropped out.

Maybe first years should have all been given the option of online learning for this term, I'm not sure though, it's difficult. Part of me thinks students need to try and make the best of it and ride it out, and universities need to support as much as they can, emotionally and with practicalities like food. The government should be considering exports funding to help with this. It won't be forever, although it probably feels like it right now.

Um
Because the Tenancies were signed in February by second and third years
do you folks not know how the system works ?

Or in November in our case

Students saw this coming. They made their own decisions, I doubt anyone forced them into signing up.

If anything, this second spike illustrates how life has changed and how we just have to get on with it. I suspect I would have recommended my children take a gap year if it were them but, actually, changes are likely to now be around for a long time. Perhaps it is good to start studying in this brave new world.And its not like getting a job this year as a gap is going to be particularly easy and travelling pretty much a no-no.

May as well get on with it, get their head in those books and study hard!

Universities have changed the goal posts. A family member has just gone to uni and is doing a joint honours degree. 50% of his degree is a language and the uni originally said they would be doing small group tutorials for language practice. So the family member decided to go to uni and live in student accommodation so they could attend this very important element. However the uni have since changed their mind and are going to do the classes over zoom instead. Had this been known sooner the family member would have stayed at home and not wasted money on accommodation they just don’t need. I’m a teacher seeing hundreds of kids each week and I’m managing so I can’t see why the uni can’t run small tutorial groups, particularly when the students are paying £9000 a year. His other element is a humanities subject which was always planned to be taught online. He decided to go and live near uni specifically to attend the small tutorial language classes which are now not happening. They only informed the students recently so tenancy agreements were already signed and deposits paid.

@Kez200
Students saw this coming. They made their own decisions, I doubt anyone forced them into signing up
Do show me the headlines about Covid lockdowns in January

• when second and third years were signing their tenancies

They are second years with degrees to finish. Thats no different than all of us with things that are carp. Like job losses.

One might argue theyve always signed up too early. Now youll say "they had to". Its all part of the way things were and weve all had to adapt to awful things