On 12 May, we spoke to Michelle Donelan, Minister of State for Universities, about the return to in-person teaching, financial compensation, graduate employment support and the Freedom of Speech Bill.
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FP: Students are set to return to in-person teaching on Monday 17 May, however many are feeling disappointed and frustrated at this as for most, teaching will have finished by then. A year of online teaching, financial pressures and isolation has been damaging to students’ mental health.
How will the government compensate for the impact this delay has had on their studies and their mental health?
MD: First of all, I want to acknowledge that the last year has been extremely challenging for students including for their wellbeing and their mental health. It’s certainly not the year that they would have anticipated in normal times, especially with the wider student experience and the restrictions that we’ve had to put in place to protect public health and protect the NHS.
We wanted to get students back as quickly as we possibly could – we’ve done that in a tranche system, where those on critical key worker courses, then those on creative and practical courses and now that final tranche are back. Throughout that learning has continued due to the tenacity of students and also the tenacity and hard work of Higher Education staff. Yes, it has been online but we’ve seen some amazing and innovative examples of online learning taking place.
I am delighted that students can return to face-to-face teaching next week and if their course has finished they can at least go back to their university accommodation should they want to and get some of that student experience back.
FP: Many students feel the government’s financial hardship fund is not enough and that the quality and quantity of education does not reflect the tuition fees they are paying – £9,250 a year and double that for international students.
What financial compensation can the government offer to all students, particularly those that feel they deserve full or partial tuition fee refunds for this year?
MD: The government sets the maximum tuition fees universities can charge and we don’t set a minimum. Throughout this pandemic, universities have decided to continue to charge the maximum so in return we have expected that the quantity of taught time whether online or in-person is retained, that the quality is retained and that it is accessible for all students.
If a student feels that isn’t the case, and I do stress that universities have worked really hard in this area and so have academic staff, but there will be some students who quite rightly feel that they haven’t had that deal so they can make a formal complaint to their university. If that isn’t satisfactory at the end of that it can go to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) to fee refunds. We have seen some case studies from the OIA of students doing that throughout the pandemic up to the tune of £5,000. They can also do a notification on the Office for Students (OfS) website which can be anonymous and can trigger an investigation by the OfS into the quality of provision.
FP: University of Sheffield Rent Strike campaigners and SU Officers have secured rent rebates and early-release clauses for students who have not been able to return to university halls. However, those in private accommodation have not received the same support. One student I have spoken to has had to spend £4,000 on a room in a student house she couldn’t use for the year because she was shielding.
What compensation will you give to the students in private accommodation who were not able to return to university due to government restrictions?
MD: We have urged all accommodation providers to give refunds to students where they are in a position to do so and to put student welfare and fairness at the heart of their decision. However, as you point out, for some it will be impossible to do that. For example, there may be a situation where a student’s landlord only has one or two properties and they rely on that for their own income. In that scenario we would urge a student, if that is putting them into hardship, to go to their university and apply for the hardship funding. We have given £85 million of additional money to universities to assist with this. Universities UK do estimate that the average payment that a university makes in terms of hardship funding is about £1,000 per student. We have been very clear with universities that there shouldn’t be a stipulation for how many times a university student can apply for hardship.
FP: Dedicated employment support, careers fairs and usual work placements and internship opportunities have not been available to students as a result of the pandemic. Many are feeling anxious about trying to enter a challenging labour market after graduation.
How will the government support students to succeed in employment in a post-Covid economy?
MD: We have been working throughout this pandemic to protect jobs and people’s livelihoods through various mechanisms including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the grants we have given to businesses, and the general support that has assisted our economy.
To help students who may be graduating this year we have published a graduate support package this Monday. That is designed to signpost students to all of the opportunities available, whether that is if they want to continue studying, enter the labour market or gain work experience. It also points to other government resources, like the skills toolkit that we have that provides free, online courses that are fantastic and can really add value to CVs. We have given £32 million extra funding to the National Careers Service which can support students. We have urged universities to really add to the support available to their students in this context and they have done that. We have seen some fantastic examples of universities going above and beyond, some are even offering careers services for life to those that are graduating this year, or are offering free additional top-up courses that they can add to their CV.
It is important to stress that employers that I have spoken to have been quite eager to interview those that are graduating this year given the sheer resilience that students have displayed and the fact that the quality of degrees has not in any way been damaged by the pandemic.
FP: There are plans in place to safeguard freedom of speech at universities. How do you intend to tackle extremism, homophobia, transphobia, racism and sexism that is hiding under the blanket of free speech?
MD: The Freedom of Speech Bill that we are introducing is designed to protect or promote lawful free speech. It is not in any way designed to protect or promote unlawful free speech. It won’t be encouraging or inciting violence or terrorism, it doesn’t supersede the Prevent duty, it doesn’t encourage harassment or hate crime. It is about protecting and promoting free speech.
At times, that will be offensive or will be views that we disagree with, but that is needed to have open and frank debate to ensure universities remain bastions of innovation and pushing the boundaries and ensuring we can progress society. For too long, we have seen this real threat of censorship that has been caused by this growing, chilling threat. We have seen studies by the likes of Policy Exchange at King’s College showing that students and academics are self-censoring in what they say and the research they are doing. That is curtailing the offer of our higher education institutions that are some of the best in the world. It is important that we make good on our manifesto commitment, that we bolster existing legislation and take tangible action to ensure that if free speech is breached there is a repercussion.
