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So here's the January guidance https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/students-returning-to-higher-education-from-spring-term
Some students will be told to go home and not return for nine weeks. They will of course be also told to still pay their rent over that period.
So for some students, next term on campus will be approx 6 weeks long. For which, obviously, they'll have to pay 3 months' rent. They're also the ones less likely to need or get in-person teaching. But they can't cancel rent contracts.
Interesting that the guidance mentions entry testing but NOT ongoing screening. Why is testing-on-arrival somehow more important than regular asymp screening? That makes no sense.
One of things that's astonishing is "While we are confident that the face-to-face teaching element of blended learning can be done in COVID-secure environments, the mass movement of students across the country poses a greater risk for the transmission of infection between areas"
So DfE mentions the risks of mass travel, and being on campus for teaching, but doesn't mention living in densely populated accommodation? It's all the more extraordinary because the evidence we have says THAT IS WHERE THE PROBLEM WAS THIS TERM.
Don't blame us! Blame your uni!
These are the people you might want to allow back "first". Quite what a small and specialist institution all of whose students fit one of these bullets is to do is never mentioned obviously.
This part is remarkable. Students studying away from home are going to come back whenever they want, partly to make use of the space they've rented. But effectively they won't be allowed a test until their F2F teaching starts and they won't be allowed to use campus facilities...
...because officially universities have to pretend they're not there yet. Doh!
This breath-taking list are the sorts of student who have to wait until last week of Jan/early Feb,. You'll see it's not in any way the mirror image of the earlier list and lost of students could be both. So it's a profoundly unhelpful list.
It's says here that "all HE providers should offer asymptomatic mass testing to all students on their return in January" (really? ALL providers?) although "DfE will support smaller HE providers in partnering with neighbouring providers if they cannot provide their own test site"
On the same day that Boris is promising to get the injection live on telly, I am back here - there will be huge, justifiable pressure from students to push back the end of the academic year come January.
It will I think feel really shameful to (snow) plough on regardless next term https://wonkhe.com/blogs/staff-and-students-need-a-welcome-break/
There's a bonus letter from Michelle D sent to VCs today. Largely the same content. Why are ministers incapable of a short sharp thank you to SUs for their work this term/year alongside uni staff?
There's a section headed "Testing on arrival and during term" that never mentions the latter. Almost as if it was edited out. But I'd be prepping to staff that if I was a VC.
Thais part really is quite extraordinary. The DfE guidance says "we expect that the majority of students, other than those who need or choose to remain, will return to their family home during the student travel window" and this bit here confirms that universities...
...should do all they can to discourage students from coming back before their F2F teaching starts (if at all!). Even setting aside the consumer law considerations over F2F/online teaching, the cries for rent rebates will be strong here. Government is all but ...
... preventing students from using accommodation that they've paid for. There are legal parallels over in the holiday industry that will deserve interrogation.
We also by the way STILL have no clarity from DfE on what universities can do for students in households on their own over the break (for about nine/ten weeks). These are international students who can't afford proper tests, estranged students, care experienced students etc
Can they sit together on Christmas Day and get a meal? Can they move in with eachother over the break? Can they do anything other than look at eachother from afar in a library for over two months? Who knows. Nobody cares.
Student hardship? The twig has been given a tiny extension! "Today I announced that I will be making available up to £20m on a one-off basis to support those that need it most, particularly disadvantaged students". That's the first new money all year for student hardship.
I can't stress enough quite how pitiful that is. Just think for a minute how little that ids going to amount to once OfS has doled it out.
Where this all gets to very very quickly is universities telling students living in uni run halls to not come back and HAVING to offer rent rebates. Which will then raise the question - what about people in private halls and HMOs?
OfS has published an FAQ version here. Its the like when you used to buy Nokia ringtone versions of your favorite pop songs. https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-students/student-guide-to-coronavirus/returning-to-university-in-2021/
Its notable for making the wild assumption that teaching AND LEARNING can all just be moved online with no deterioration in quality of the student experience. OfS is just trolling students over consumer law and student experience at this stage.
By the way. More students than universities care to admit or ministers dare to notice have been allocated almost no F2F this term. Imagine being told you can't come to your uni town/city til Feb- but then are REQUIRED TO to get "away from home" maintenance rates so you pay...
...your rent even though theres no need to actually be there!
There is also a strong chance that students that for example that follow the guidance may live in say a 10 person household, two of which are allowed back every week over five weeks. They'll all get a test on arrival, generating in some cases seven full weeks of self-isolation!
Also. And yes im subtweeting here. Being allowed to open your refectory or library for people having to stay over Christmas isn't much use if you still can't mingle even in a safe way. The new legislation has restricted the education gatherings exception to formal teaching.
So you can give out turkey lunch on Xmas day but people attending cant talk to others unless they've formally bubbled. And its no contact with other humans for up to nine weeks outside of Xmas week.
Either unis need a dedicated programme of support groups (for whuch there is also an exemption) or facilitated household consolidation. But "our library and canteen will be open" wont cut it when the rules wont even allow use of halls common rooms for inter household mingling
Oh and just finally on the £20m for disadvantaged students. Gavin cut funding for them by £16m in May, so its only £4m really. Wales managed £10m which would be £150m in England if adjusted for size of student population.
Anyways. All written up here https://wonkhe.com/blogs/dfe-publishes-staggering-advice-for-universities-on-students-return-in-2021/
