Students returning for New Year and exams

[FVFrog]

My DS19 has announced he is returning to uni (London) before NYE so he is back to get back in study mode and prepare for exams. I have no doubt he is going back to party with his flat (and wider hall community) for NYE. Anyone else’s student DC doing similar?

Loads of them are heading back to halls/houses to party with their flat/house mates tonight.

@BigSandyBalls2015

Loads of them are heading back to halls/houses to party with their flat/house mates tonight.

..their flat/house mates are regarded as being in the same household - so whats the issue?

and how exactly do you know 'loads' are heading back?

My dd happy to stay at home until she's due back (was due back 11th but lab changed to week commencing 18th now.. I'm guessing it could be put back
even further).

She's fortunate to be seeing close school friend whilst home.. Close Uni friends/housemates not due back till probably the 25th onwards. So returning to Uni may mean she would be on her own in their townhouse hence not in a rush to get back yet.

She cancelled going to London to stay with Uni Friends over NY but will be celebrating NY with her one school friend tonight.

Well I have three at uni (one doing a masters) two out of three have gone back and honestly yes part of the motivation is to be able to see in NYE with flat mates. all their flat mates are doing the same.
I would imagine there is a fair number doing this.

@eve...the issue being they were asked not to return.. Advice was given not to return unless f2f teaching was going ahead and that advice was reconfirmed yesterday.

If you are on some of the forums it's very clear lots of students have returned to celebrate new year or preempted the new advice delaying return which was given yesterday.

I fully understand why students have returned to Uni and if I was their age I'd probably want to do the same... We'll just have to cross fingers that their return doesn't have a negative affect on the wider community where they are based which could mean businesses have to stay closed longer than necessary if cases increase significantly within the student community... Like what happened back in September where it was mainly students who had the virus but businesses had to close because cases were too high.

@Frazzled6 The guidance says they are allowed to return if they don’t have appropriate study facilities or if they have mental health issues or need additional support.

I cant speak for all Unis, but they Uni's mine are at has had less than 200 students out of a cohort of 1000's positive at any 1 time and this return unlike in Sept has testing on site available.

I cant speak for all Unis, but they Uni's mine are at has had less than 200 students out of a cohort of 1000's positive at any 1 time and this return unlike in Sept has testing on site available

The problem with the new rapid testing regime is that half of those 200 will now be told they are negative when they are not and consequently will not be self-isolating. That's not a good situation.

But it's better than having to refund accommodation costs, apparently.

@Frazzled6 my DS has had zero face to face teaching the first term and none scheduled for this term and he is doing what should be a lab based science. The internet where we live (semi rural) is unreliable and even when working the bandwidth not adequate to support more than one person streaming an online lecture/seminar. He needs to be back in his uni city so he can adequately access the second rate science education he is paying 9k for!

The new guidance does not change anything as far as I can see. Surely most universities have already advised students not to return early if it can be avoided, but that they can return if absolutely necessary for the reasons outlined in the "new" advice.

Advice along these lines has been available on the website of the university my son goes to for a couple of weeks now.

Eve I have uni aged DCs and know their friends. Most of my friends also have DCs this age 🤷🏼‍♀️

@BigSandyBalls2015 I think you are absolutely correct!

@BigSandyBalls2015

Eve I have uni aged DCs and know their friends. Most of my friends also have DCs this age 🤷🏼‍♀️

So that’s your example...

mine is that none of my sons house mates or friends are back - 1 is currently sat in a deserted Uni library working on his dissertation draft. Other goes back Sat , realises he will be on his own but prefers to be there . All of his uni friends from home are staying home for now and no parties going on anywhere.

Universirties minister to students - don't come back until the last week of January, at the earliest (I paraphrase)

t.co/ZQh0PUSFjp?amp=1

A bit late as some had already reflown the nest?

We had a long email from uni today - basically only come back for 11th on a limited list of courses with placements lined up. Commuter students stay the fuck away (so much for me going to work in the library rather than having to google my arse through assignments), rest of the student body - no fucking clue when they'll let them back.

It is one colossal shit shitshow. Timetables for next term were released late as fuck, then withdrawn, now are being withheld (so I can't plan childcare) and we're having to do assignments while essentially banned from the premises. I was fairly positive about online learning but it's been shite and if I knew in August what I know now I'd have taken the year off.

The students I know aren't partying - they're trying desperately to bang out assignments without any access to books and only whatever journals they can find online.