We are second year journalism students at Sheffield Hallam University. We began our degree in September 2019 and since then have been met with six weeks of strikes, two national lockdowns and facing our current semester finishing early. 

In total we have missed 13 vital weeks of teaching before we are even half way through our degree, whilst paying £9,250 for the privilege. 

According to the undergraduate academic calendar for 2019/20, we have 31 weeks of academic teaching (excluding holidays) a year and our annual fee is £9,250. This fee divided by our 31 weeks of teaching is £298.38 a week. As we have missed 13 weeks of academic teaching in total, we are asking for £3,879 in compensation (£298.38 x 13), either as a refund or as money off our next tuition fee payment.

We believe this compensation is only fair given the amount of teaching hours we have lost, the limited/non existent access to campus facilities through the majority of 2020 and the fact that our entire second semester of first year was completely cancelled.

Our first year of teaching was supposed to consist of two semesters and six modules in total, but we only received one semester and three of our modules due to the lockdown. We were told that our teaching would not be online but we would just automatically move onto second year in September instead, meaning we have missed three entire modules of our degree.

Since returning to university for our second year in September 2020, all but one session has been online learning. The one session we do have in person is heavily practical based and therefore cannot be done online, even though the government has announced that all teaching must be done online from early December. Yet another teaching element we are now missing out on. 

Online learning has brought its own challenges and although certain campus facilities are open, it is increasingly difficult to access them due to timed access, social distancing, etc. Our degree involves a lot of reading and access to specialist equipment, both of which has been very difficult under the current circumstances.

We recognise that this is not entirely Sheffield Hallam's fault, however we still believe we are entitled to compensation as we are paying for a service that is not being delivered as it should be. 

We also require the implementation of a no-detriment policy and safety net for our upcoming semester one assessments. Our learning has been greatly impacted and although we know our lecturers are trying their best for us, it just is not the same. Online learning is significantly more difficult. We are being forced to both work and rest in our bedrooms and the mental health impacts of the pandemic are taking a toll on us. A no-detriment safety net is only fair given the unusual and unfair circumstances we are experiencing. 

Please sign our petition to support us in our endeavour for a no-detriment safety net policy in place for our assessments and the compensation of £3,879 for our 13 weeks of missed teaching. This is not the university experience we are paying thousands for. 

Wider context links:

Covid impacts on students mental health in Sheffield​

Lecturer strike compensation​

Early Christmas finish​

Tuition fee costs​

Undergraduate calendar 2019/20​

No detriment

Please note: we do not in any way blame our lecturers or Sheffield Hallam University for these missed weeks of teaching, however although it may not be their fault, they are still unable to provide the service we are paying for. Therefore, we believe compensation is required.