New covid rules - no visitors of student houses of more than 6?

[avenueq]

Do we think this is what it means - if a student house already has seven or more housemates, nobody can visit? Or ok as long as not all of them congregate?

Also, what happens if/when the student wants to come back home for a weekend visit? Reading "the rules" , that isn't allowed, because they are now a different (uni) household, so no overnight stays anywhere else?

My DD is one of many at her uni that commute. Does this mean that she can't mix with others on her course any more as she can't go to their accommodation or add to their 'house group' to socialise or carry out group work? She also works at a well known department store which employs many people, so she can 'mix' with them but not fellow students? Seems sensible to me . . . .

Catmaiden overnight stays atenpermitted as long as the rule of 6 isn't breached. This is from the gov website:

Yes, you can stay overnight in someone else’s home. From 14 September there will be a new legal limit on the gathering sizes. This will mean that you may only stay overnight in someone else’s home if you do not form a group of more than 6 people

@teta could you link to that newsletter/website please?

@PastaAndPizzaPlease it's covidmessenger.com. You can ask for notifications for up to 5 different areas

But@veryverystudents won't be out a lot. They will be in their rooms with online lectures

Are universities massively increasing their teaching time, then (as in, delivering extra actual lectures for each module, compared to.previous years, not academic staff having to work extra hours because in person sessions have to be run several times over to keep group size down, which they obviously will have to)? I don't think even Biochemist DS1 had wall to wall lectures / labs and IR /MFL DD certainly didn't last year. Although, to be fair, I'm not sure she has actually got her full timetable yet for the coming year.

@MarchingFrogs Bristol announced a long time ago that all lectures would be online . In fact dd's were all online after lockdown, with online exams. All clinical sessions will be in smaller groups apparently. Her course is pretty much full days and has been since first year, though I'm not sure about her timetable this year. She's 21 so I don't ask her for the finer details any more .
Obviously many other courses will have far fewer lectures and may also have limited social options. Freshers could find this very tricky. Apparently Bristol's Freshers week is online this year.

Yes, I appreciate that all universities are moving lectures online, but unless they are also expanding the number that each student is offered / expected to access, they won't have any less time not accessing lectures than they would have done previously. So no need not to be able to use the same amount of time as previously for activities other than accessing lectures, unless you ate not to leave your room is a condition of enrolment.

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make here @MarchingFrogs ?
This thread was a discussion on the new covid rules and how it will affect students. Not a discussion on how many man-hours the average student spends on lectures/practicals and/or socialising.

@MarchingFrogs

Yes, I appreciate that all universities are moving lectures online, but unless they are also expanding the number that each student is offered / expected to access, they won't have any less time not accessing lectures than they would have done previously. So no need not to be able to use the same amount of time as previously for activities other than accessing lectures, unless you ate not to leave your room is a condition of enrolment.

But the point is there are no other activities available.

I'm worried about this my DS2s girlfriend is a student at the uni @ApolloandDaphne is talking about, they have not seen each other all summer (international student). I don't think the girls in the flat are going to have a rota to decide who can have boyfriends over, its going to be 6 but from 4 households. I can't stop him he's an adult, i just hope nobody reports them. He's just at home doing online college stuff when he's not with her, he doesnt go out at all, not even to the shops.

@Wbeezer

I'm worried about this my DS2s girlfriend is a student at the uni *@ApolloandDaphne* is talking about, they have not seen each other all summer (international student). I don't think the girls in the flat are going to have a rota to decide who can have boyfriends over, its going to be 6 but from 4 households. I can't stop him he's an adult, i just hope nobody reports them. He's just at home doing online college stuff when he's not with her, he doesnt go out at all, not even to the shops.

Does he live nearby? There is nothing to stop them meeting outside or her coming to your house if the numbers allow?

@MarchingFrogs are you advocating that a condition of university enrollment be that students do no leave their rooms?

There is no way students in student houses are not going to have boyfriend/girlfriends stay over. Most student houses in dd university town are 6-10 people big.

@Appolo and Daphne, the only direct bus was cancelled using Covid as an excuse so travel there and back in a day not feasible. Girlfriend has had Covid already. Will probably stay with us at some point but she is allergic to our cats so its not straight forward.
DS is virtually self isolating to make it safer (good excuse to have me deliver meals to his room but that's another story).
They are smitten and have already given up lots of opportunities this year, i will not judge them if they bend the rules (wouldn't be illegal in England) they won't be throwing parties.
I dont know, they might work out a boyfriend rota , DS cant go at weekends at the moment so that might help.

@MarchingFrogsare you advocating that a condition of university enrollment be that students do no leave their rooms?

Oh fgs, no, I am not!! Precisely the opposite...

I was merely pointing out that the statement that they can't go out, they will be stuck in their rooms watching lectures online is a nonsense unless both the number of lectures they have to access actually takes up all of their time (which would involve a big increase in the number of lectures an individual STEM student was required to attend, let alone the average individual Arts / Humanities / Social Science student) and they had been essentially placed under house arrest. And until either or both of those conditions obtain, there is nothing to stop them going out - even if only in smaller groups - and at least exploring the locality; even if there are no nightclubs open (surely no university is planning on streaming live lectures at midnight anyway?), there are still cafes / parks / cinemas / discovering where other facilities are in advance of them possibly being able to reopen.

@MarchingFrogs if you've read the thread from the beginning my response that you've so carefully highlighted is in response to a post from @veryvery. Not a prescriptive description of student Life .

Slightly off the subject, but anyway - it will be interesting to see what happens to drop out rates of the new first years after two weeks to a month - whether they'll be higher than normal.

(Does anyone know how long you can leave it before you 'use up' that year's entitlement to student funding? There was a discussion on another thread that if, say, you drop out after a term you have still used up that year, so are only entitled to another 3 yrs of maintenance/tuition loans.)

I think I saw that Wales is only imposing the 6 limit on indoor gatherings. A significant difference for students there.

Just to clarify, I don't advocate 3 in, 3 out, 3 stay parties but was just highlighting this would be legal according to the new rules, as I interpret them at least. But obviously not good concerning Covid transmission.

Well the guidance says you can’t meet socially in a group of more than 6. So if 2 people are sitting in their bedrooms watching Netflix then you can still have a group of 6 meeting socially in the kitchen.

But I imagine students in halls are going to be policed by the university rather than the actual police - they’ll need to follow uni rules which may be stricter than the law, and say things like no visitors at all.

How are universities going to have the manpower to do this? Obvious flouting of rules in the form of loud parties yes, but quiet get-togethers I doubt it. 'Pre's' are a big part of uni life.

Also I check every day and the new rule of 6 regs are not yet out (England) so we cannot even read what they say yet and only have non binding Government summaries of what is intended so far.

I have been against all the mandatory rules from the start by the way although I have not broken them.

Wales is only imposing the 6 limit on indoor gatherings. A significant difference for students there

I think they're counting on the Welsh weather to do its bit to minimise numbers meeting outside! They may be able to meet in groups of 30 outside, but will they want to?!

At my daughter's halls of residence only residents with a card pass are allowed in. Now admittedly, reception isn't manned 24/7 but there is CCTV and secure entry systems.

Under normal circumstances occasional overnight visitors are allowed but now its no visitors.

@Comefromaway how can they enforce that?.
They're not nuns or in a nursing home.
I would be interested in the legal position on this. My daughter's theory is the universities want to be seen to be doing the right thing, so they can then absolve themselves of any responsibility, when things ( and they will! ) go wrong.