*This petition has been adapted from similar petitions circling other universities.*

 

During the first wave of the pandemic, all level 5 and 6 students were granted a safety net policy which allowed students to continue to achieve at their best ability.  The pandemic is continuing to rise and is now at a worse peak than it was last spring. The level of stress and worry now is matched and if not greater than what students experienced last year and they only had to work with these conditions for just over a term.

 

Now many students are dealing with the detrimental effects of multiple lockdowns. Many are dealing with losing loved ones, compromised mental health and students and their family and friends catching COVID-19.

 

On top of this, we are being told to treat this year as ‘the new normal’. We are being expected to complete our work to the same ability we were before the pandemic.

 

The university campus provides a safe holding environment for learning which is now unavailable. Library resources and the quiet spaces for study and research they provide are also closed countrywide. The positive motivating atmosphere of the physical student to student support is missing and whilst zoom and teams provide some degree of contact, which clearly isn’t the same. Add to this the home environments, pressures and worries most of if not all students are struggling with at the moment, loss of income both individual and familial, access to reliable IT systems, lack of suitable space to study, sharing resources with at home siblings who are also off school/university and it seems incredible that anyone can study to their highest ability at all.

 

The latest lockdown also has no end date and is likely to last until April when the majority of our work has then been completed. In particular level 6 who how no option but to work on IRP this term as our practical modules have been postponed until the summer term.

 

We have been in contact with tutors who are stating that they may consider a safety net policy for this year stating that last years no detriment policy cannot work the same as it did before as last year’s marks were affected by Covid-19. These marks were created to best indicate what students would have achieved without the pandemic. These are an accurate indication of our level of work, if not they would not have been awarded to students. So we ask, why Bruford are unable to use these as a safety net mark? 

 

Universities such as UEA, University of York, University of Greenwich and Soas have now implemented a no detriment policy. Although we understand the university are working on how this year is going to be graded, we thought that it is important to show the student voice.

 

So, by signing this petition we are asking for the previously instated no detriment policy to allow students to achieve a fair result for this year. 

 

The No Detriment policy only allows us to achieve fair and representative grades. Is this not what you want for your students?

 

We ask that if you feel comfortable doing so when you sign the petition also write a few short sentences stating why it will be harder to complete your studies this year (this can be anonymous), to help make it clear to Bruford that their students need a safety net, and that they are not offering adequate support.