Universities minister still can't organise piss up in brewery

[titchy]

Thanks Michelle. Do you not think more than one working days notice was needed to tell lab students not to come back next week? How do you propose we ensure our International students who were due to fly back to the UK on Monday to now stay where they are?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-from-michelle-donelan-to-higher-education-providers

My son's uni has made it very clear so far that although teaching won't be in person, their halls accommodation remains open to them and they are able to access it at any time. It is costing us £190 a week and it is annoying that the government are stating they don't want students to return to campus but aren't prepared to support the university to refund the fees for halls. It will be interesting to see if the situation changes following the announcement yesterday but I doubt it.

Problem with this week at a time business, is it's fine for those who live locally. But for ones like dd who have to go by train that is going to be an extra expense.
She got tickets for her (5 hour) journey when they came out because that's the only way to get them cheap. She'll lose the money on that (£35) if she can't go back then. That's fine, we discussed that risk and decided it was worth it.
But then if she has to book another date at a week's notice that's going to be over £100, and that might change again before they get to it the way things are going, so it could end up being costly.

@Witchend

Problem with this week at a time business, is it's fine for those who live locally. But for ones like dd who have to go by train that is going to be an extra expense. She got tickets for her (5 hour) journey when they came out because that's the only way to get them cheap. She'll lose the money on that (£35) if she can't go back then. That's fine, we discussed that risk and decided it was worth it. But then if she has to book another date at a week's notice that's going to be over £100, and that might change again before they get to it the way things are going, so it could end up being costly.

It’s a consistent theme that the guidance generally seems to assume students are 28, live in halls, are financially stable (without needing to work) and have loving families who can drop everything to collect them/house them at a moments notice.

That students are 18. Obviously. Though my kind regards and thoughts to the 28yo students

@EduCated absolutely right! I said this about the pick up before Christmas and telling them not to use public transport. Not every student lives a couple of hours from their Home Counties home with two parents where one can pop up to uni in their second family car and pick up their DC!

Once again, my own Department (and university) are way ahead of a well-funded, staffed and politically connected government minister and her civil service department. We’ve been planning for various scenarios- including teaching a practice-based subject remotely - since March 2020.

But the wrath of parents and students will not be visited on this utterly incompetent government. It will be university staff who will have to absorb the student anxiety, the complaints, and the anger.

Without any support.

@QueenoftheAir, I don't know where you work but Cambridge has been really good at keeping my DD updated. She is in her Masters year and needs lab time to complete her project. She is tested weekly (PSR test). I planned to take her back a fortnight today. Her personal tutor who is a non-scientist emailed to say she could go from 18th but when she emailed to say it's a full day's round trip for us and DH & I are both key workers, he said it was fine for her to go earlier.

As a teacher myself, I share your frustration with this shambolic and pathetic government. My school heard nothing from the DfE until Wednesday late afternoon. The Head called a SLT meeting for Thursday morning, by which time the guidance had changed TWICE. Our remote teaching/learning set up is good but I am still not sure where I will be and who will be there. Yet MN'ers are happy to call me work-shy, lazy and incompetent... Maybe they should direct it at out beloved Secretary of State.

As a teacher myself, I share your frustration with this shambolic and pathetic government

You have my sincere and enraged sympathy! I think teachers have been the sacrificial lambs in this debacle. Several teachers I know have either had to take unacceptable risks (late stage pregnancy, but told they have to keep working, even after a colleague died of C-19, another shielding family members) or resign. You people are working in conditions which are illegal in other workplaces.

I was allowed to make a choice - on discussion with my Head of Department & Director of Education - to teach online from September (age & underlying conditions). Also that my university put in place very good COVID secure measures, but they also make seminar & small group teaching very difficult.

My university is also doing its darndest to keep students in the loop with weekly emails with a summary at the beginning giving bullet point actions for student. Free access to testing, and lots of online resources and support. It's cost around £10 million so far, and our C-19 bill is likely to hit £20 million by the academic year end. With no extra from the government & on a tuition fee which doesn't quite cover our teaching costs ...

DD and her course mates are trying to work out if their subject (school of physical sciences) is included in the "natural sciences can go back" rule, she currently has timetabled labs on the 18th.

Added pressure is that if she does go back, will she be the only person in her flat, and how good for her MH would that be [sigh]. On the plus side, the counselling support from her uni has been pretty great so far, with only a 4 week wait for CBT.

If only we knew, @MyVisionsComeFromScent ... if only we knew ...

I refer you to the title of this thread!

@QueenoftheAir

If only we knew, *@MyVisionsComeFromScent* ... if only we knew ...

I refer you to the title of this thread!

DD has decided that apple crumble with rum will make sense of it all 🤣

Yet MN'ers are happy to call me work-shy, lazy and incompetent

It's outrageous, isn't it? I'm sorry you get such flak @Malbecfan - you guys are heroes, as far as I"m concerned. and (Malbec of course)

As the magic money tree seems to have been found I don't see why parents who are paying expensive private and university rents should not get those repaid or be allowed to set them against their forthcoming tax liabilities. I have paid well over £6k for a course my son is doing which I am 99.9% sure will be 100% online.

..£6k rent. I also paid the £9k course fee and I have no problems with that side of it as he is getting the online workshops, exams etc

@DownstairsMixUp

I'm lost to, I'm a speech and language therapist student so no idea if I'm counted as someone that still needs to attend face to face lectures

I'm another SALT - we were specifically on the list my uni issued of courses going back first like originally we were told. We're back physically because placements are due to start on the 2nd week of term - we have fuck all face to face teaching anyway.

@QueenoftheAir thank you so much. I stupidly looked at one of the teacher-bashing threads on the Coronavirus boards and regret it.

It really irks me to read posts where colleagues are described as lazy or uncaring. Educationally, my lot didn't cover the curriculum in the way we wanted. But they all had meaningful work to complete and as a result of some of it, I have changed my schemes of work to include some of those tasks as the kids really enjoyed them. Teaching music in a room with no instruments where singing is prohibited isn't easy, but I am doing my best. I would love to challenge some of the more vocal ones out there to show me how to do it better but I can't be bothered with the flak.

I hope you have a successful term