University experience is awful at the moment

[Cupcakke]

DD moved into university on Saturday. The rules are very stringent, both campus bars are closed, the university library has very little capacity and the restaurant is take away only. There are virtually no freshers events in person.

Her flat mates are very shy and not very social and she is in a small flat.

Large gatherings keep occurring but the penalty for this is very severe so DD very cautious not to attend these.

She is essentially watching Netflix in her room. I fear for the loneliness. The online events she has attended are poorly attended and just very boring.

Teaching starts next week and her In person contact hours are just 4 hours a week.

Anyone else’s dc thinking this years university experience is non existent.

This is all very difficult to read - poor freshers. Feeling relieved that DD is taking a gap year and has found a job but very sad for her friends who might be in this situation.

Re the ban on going home, a friend's ds went up for some sort of pre-season training, came home, got a call to say some of the other players were now ill, he was asymptomatic but tested positive, both his 50 something parents are now ill.

I feel so sorry for this year’s freshers.
The universities knew that they would not be able to provide adequate teaching. The students were bamboozled into leaving their homes in order to take up university places when they could have stayed in their home towns and (in some cases) commuted to university once a week. Now these students have to fork out for accommodation, food etc.
It took me six months to settle into university life despite attending many social events. I cannot imagine what this year’s freshers are going through.
Just don’t think it’s worth the money or time tbh.

@MrsEricBana- that’s awful

What a mess!

This shouldn't have been allowed to happen. The government stance on university students now being a formal part of a bubble within their uni accommodation makes logical sense, but many of them are really just big kids taking their first independent steps. It usually takes many freshers a long time to settle, and this will make it so hard to
do so.

Universities should have made the likely set-up more clear. Many students will have a small number of teaching hours per week, what are they supposed to do with all of those outer hours.

Again things have been allowed to happen without sufficient forethought or planning.

My Uni are holding online Welcome sessions, have hired double the amount of mentors to keep an eye on First years, have a Freshers fair that is ticket and time slot only so not the usual but still gives Freshers a chance to look at and join any society's to help combat social isolation and make them aware of all the support that is available this year, and are organising online meet ups.

Yes, it's not the usual, but the Gov have just handed down new restrictions so what the fuck are we meant to do, exactly?

I'm one of the mentors and have been assigned a group that matches my personal experiences and skill set, I will be checking in weekly with them and working with my colleagues to set up as many online meetings for people as we can.

This is alongside managing my own transition to online learning.

Having physical events even with tickets such as to a freshers' fair sounds like a very good idea. I don't think for many students everything being on line is fair on them at all. So Higher's university are doing a very good thing there.

My daughter (who is in work, older, graduated) arranged a meeting in Hyde Park for those she works with (in-house legal department). This was before the rule of 6 came in about 2 weeks ago. That worked well and people were very glad she arranged it so they were not all just stuck at home doing the work but could get to see the real people. They were outside, they were walking, they were not close yet it really did help and was covid safe.

It still makes no sense why local sixth forms can run live classes yet unis can’t. Not even one f2f a term... madness.

Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, professor of psychology @ Cambridge and expert on teenage brain development has opened a discussion on Twitter, focusing on mental health needs.
I am actually heartened that she's asking these questions. Students are an easy target but this treatment is potentially dehumanising for so many who are struggling already.

twitter.com/sjblakemore/status/1309385131229163531?s=20

Extremely worried about mental health of our youngsters.. The novelty of being away from home will wear off incredibly quickly, loneliness and boredom will kick in if restrictions are tightened up.

My Dd has one f2f each week plus 4 labs this term..

This could be disastrous I just hope parents have open conversations with their kids so if things aren't well they can make arrangements to bring them home..

I’m sick of the venom being directed at these kids. Woman yesterday was raging that they were “all getting off the tram in a group” - yeah, at the bloody university tram stop- to go to the university!
Then they were “standing in a group in the streets” - they were waiting at the tram stop for a tram! The kids cannot win!

I think it depends where the uni is whether they are prepared to run online classes.

Ours is still face to face for approx 50% of the programmes, building up to that over a few weeks to see how it goes.

I don't know what people want- would they honestly have preferred to keep their children at home and commute up once a week? If so, your child can probably get out of halls if you speak with the housing officer, at least for second term. However, many young people, as I said in my last post, would actually rather be away and trying out their wings rather than sitting in with their parents. I don't think parents really want to accept that...of course there's a place for parental support, and of course there are going to be a handful as there are every year who simply can't cope with uni, and in those cases, picking them up, going home and regrouping is the way forward. In general, though, in many places without lockdown are reasonably ok for students- they get to go onto campus some days, meet people in halls, try out their independence.

They will go home before Christmas anyway, because teaching stops early in Dec and the gov't has no mechanism for stopping that movement (legally I think) unless they ban everyone from moving from place to place (which might happen). It will have happened before they tell everyone they can't do it!

Sometimes what parents want and what young people want are two different things. On Mumsnet, not taking your GCSEs this year was a tragedy, everyone's children were devastated and upset. In real life, my dd was absolutely delighted she didn't have to sit her horrible GCSEs and considered herself lucky! For those that did badly- they can sit them again.

If a course is entirely online, then I can see the rationale for wanting that child back immediately- but remember, some might want to stay away and live in these rather strange circumstances as it's more exciting and interesting than sitting up in their bedroom at mum and dads. Some unis are doing good stuff to help the freshers, ours is, and we are also having face to face student union stuff, with limited numbers.

Also, remember that like schools, the risk of covid is borne primarily by the staff, so lecturers and admin staff, many of whom are over 50 or have pre-existing conditions or are BAME. So, whilst it might feel safe and fine for your young person to attend- we can't actually have all those higher risk staff on campus, so we cannot offer the same face to face experience, full stop. That's what should have happened in schools, and it will be the staff falling ill, not being able to get covid tests, becoming over-stressed, resigning, isolating that stops the whole school show, not the young people.

Sorry I am not good at linking but the childrens commissioner in Scotland has also raised concerns that these measures infringe young peoples basic human rights.
This weekend they can't even go to a cafe with a friend for a coffee! Both my DC are at the same uni and they are going to play golf together to see each other as sport is allowed. Dd and her bubble have also planned a take away, homemade cocktails watching strictly and a beach picnic. I realise she is very fortunate with her group but I have never been prouder of them trying to make the best out of an awful situation. Meanwhile zi sit at home absolutely livid and saddened for them all in equal measures.

DominaShantotto I agree with this. I don't like to see the demonisation of young people for doing things within the rules like going out with friends, socializing in a park ( which is probably the best place to socialise!), going out to a restaurant if they are allowed, having coffee, visiting friends as long as up to 6.

These are legal activities, and unless in lockdown, it's horrible to condemn young people for engaging in them- indeed, I'd go further, it really will be detrimental to their mental health if this is all completely stopped. A few hours on campus is neither here nor there (IMO), but not being able to contact or see or make new friends is really too far.

@popping well said, this in buckets.

Yes, I should have said within the rules in England, not in the rules for Scotland- I do not agree with those Scottish rules by the way.

Also, if you have great track and trace and great testing, then you can leap on any minor outbreaks at unis. If you don't, it spreads and then the perception is that young people are the danger to us. Actually it is our failure to protect them by having good testing/track and trace that has made them vulnerable.

There is a vast difference between ‘same’ f2f experience and zero, which is what most students are getting.

If sixth form can do some f2f so can unis.

There is a vast difference between ‘same’ f2f experience and zero, which is what most students are getting

It varies by uni, ours is sticking with ftof up to 50% of programmes. Our first years are on campus two/three days a week. We are in a lower risk area though (and do have a few covid cases).

I don't know if most unis are now online, this is an interesting question.

@Newgirls exactly!!

I think if my child was in this situation I'd be considering whether it might be better for them to rent a small flat closer to home with a friend rather than live near the university. That way, they still get a bit of independence away from parents, but they're not miles away in a strange place and limited opportunities to meet new people. I feel so sorry for these students.

@Gymntonic

Matt Hancock will have bigger fish to fry come late December than manning road blocks on Christmas Eve. This government have no plan for three months hence and he's just generating headlines for the daily express that don't include a border within the UK.

Thank you @dreamingbohemian. Wishing you the best term possible

This government have no plan for three months hence and he's just generating headlines for the daily express that don't include a border within the UK

very good point

lots of noise about this and not a lot about the 7000 + lorries in the car park that will be Kent that you now need a passport to get into.

@Poppingnostopping I agree with a lot of your points however the one thing you don’t mention is money . University accommodation has become very expensive over the years , many are paying upwards of £6000 a year and for many families this is a considerable expense and one wonders if ‘being independent ‘ is worth that especially when many families many be facing redundancies etc in the family. If there is absolutely no f2f as many are reporting it does seem a bit of an unnecessary luxury/white elephant.

Even though DS2 has zero actual f2f with tutors and illogical, absurd restrictions at his HoR, he still wants to stay put. He's living alone, as an adult in a new city, meeting new people, fending for himself. I'm incredibly proud of him. He has ASD and I thought he might freak out but so far he is doing everything he can to make friends, study for his online course and make his new life work. But he's thriving despite how his uni is handling Covid not because of it. And that concerns me. I hope once the novelty dies down he still finds there's sufficient worth in the course and the residence to stay where he is.

In the worst cases it's been a combination of crap after crap. CAGs cock up meant many were on the back foot with second choice courses and cities. Then maybe they got back on their original course but preferred accommodation was gone. Interestingly suggestions of mass deferral was jumped on with mutterings of universities won't allow and need to reapply...
Then the definition of blended learning has shifted considerably and mine still doesn't know what she's to expect next week. The timetable will be new every week apparently. What she committed to in August no longer exists. Many still don't really know what they're being asked to commit to.
I think those of us who now wah can see the benefits and problems with learning online. It's the social stuff that makes or breaks university experience in the first year. And socially unsettled people, who don't feel as if they belong or who feel distressed, will not make for effective learners.

All my teaching is f2f. However, f2f is a misleading term, implying business as usual, whereas everyone is wearing masks and seated 2 meters apart. I've been told that I have to plan my seminars without the possibility of group discussion taking place because we won't be able to hear each other. Group discussion is the whole point of seminars in my subject! I can't meet the learning outcomes without it, and I know that I will be providing an inferior pedagogy to my colleagues who are doing live seminars online and can facilitate discussion. Instead I'm being told to rely on various digital tools, which will have the effect of significantly dumbing down the module content. I feel like I'm being asked to perform a ludicrous and impossible charade just so that my university can say they are offering f2f. I am much more stressed about how I'm going to deliver these sessions than I am about getting Covid (and, yes, I am worried about that as BAME person with a pre-existing condition). IMO, it's only a matter of time before the students start complaining about the f2f provision as well.

The blame lies with the government and its determination not to offer a penny in bailout money to universities. They should have reduced fees this year, told students to stay at home if possible and compensated universities accordingly. Many universities lost so much money during the last lockdown than another one will finish them off completely.