Covid-19 has affected every student at Loughborough University. Even prior to Loughborough making the decision to move to remote learning and examination on March 27th 2020, students were having to take the decision on whether to prioritise their university work, or their health and the health of others by deciding whether to enter university buildings for lectures, library books etc. as study areas were still functioning, but at a risk to students. Effectively, from March 17th students were advised to leave, if they wish to do so, as University was no longer considered a safe space to continue studying. However, since the university's closure of non-essential campus buildings, many students are now left without library books, a suitable place to work, seminars, practical sessions, WiFi, computer facilities and questionable mental wellbeing as they adapt to unfamiliar environments during a period of such uncertainty.
 
Some students' decisions regarding what to do in this difficult time, such as whether to live alone in Loughborough instead of with family, will be heavily influenced by the university work they still need to prioritise, whilst many have had no choice but to uproot their lives yet still perform academically. Many students will now be made to complete work in an environment that will not enable them to convey their true abilities, and many students' work will be hindered by illness of themselves or those around them. Similarly, student welfare has been immensely impacted, with many students' mental health likely to be affected significantly during this difficult time. This situation has proven unprecedented by all means, and in times where we should be coming together as a nation, community and family, students are instead having to brunt the weight of education, health, mental wellbeing, and emotional stress. Our academic performance is not, and should not, be a reflection of Coronavirus, and therefore I am asking for the following.

I am asking Loughborough University to consider using a mitigation system similar to that being used by the University of Exeter in order to bring about fairer results for second and third year undergraduate students. At 9.40AM the University of Exeter announced that student assessment would be mitigated through a "safety net" policy. The Deputy Vice Chancellor wrote that:

o  "So long as [students] would qualify to progress/graduate based on [their] marks obtained this year ... then [the university] will ensure that [students'] final academic year average is the same as, or higher than, the average [they] have attained up to Sunday 15th March."
o  "If [students] achieve higher marks in assessments submitted and examinations undertaken after Sunday 15th March then [they] will be able to raise your mark for the year."
o  In summary, "as long as you qualify to pass the year, completing the summer assessments can only help not hinder you because we will not let the extraordinary circumstances in which you are completing these assessments leave you with a mark below your current overall mark."

I believe using this type of mitigating system will help to create more equal results for students being assessed at the University. This is because it allows students to achieve a grade which reflects how they can work in normal circumstances, whilst still providing an incentive to do well in summer assessments and give students who did not achieve their desired grades last semester a chance to improve. Many Russell group Universities have adapted to the use of this safety net, and Loughborough students are therefore currently put at an unfair disadvantage in not just the competitive job market, but also in awarded degree classifications and mental wellbeing.