Last year the university introduced a no detriment policy for the summer term, preventing students from scoring any lower than they had previously on assessments completed prior to the first government lockdown. 

Since the beginning of term in September, students have undergone multiple tier changes, and now a second lockdown with no end date set in stone. The conditions that students are in have not improved since March and are now just as uncertain. Most of us are away from family and have once again lost our study spaces, our community and are trying to keep our heads above water.

We are asking the university to implement a new no detriment policy, like the one in March, for at least final year students. Students are working in conditions they were never prepared for, with less support, and growing uncertainty. A lot are also dealing with mental health issues that can very easily affect the standard of work produced, and the effects of covid such as job loss, family separation and in the worse cases, bereavement. 

It is not an argument of tuition fees, whether the government has done right or wrong, it is about giving students the best shot at finishing their degrees, in a time when we can be certain about nothing. 

Yours sincerely, 

A tired and anxious student.