University of Aberdeen students demand new vote on no detriment policy
The University's senate rejected the policy which would ensure students would experience no negative academic impacts because of the pandemic - now over 1,200 people have signed a petition demanding a rethink.
Students at the University of Aberdeen have created a online petition calling the Uni's Principal George Boyne to call an emergency meeting of it's senate.
This is the same senate that rejected a no detriment policy earlier this week - but over 1,200 students have signed the petition calling on a new vote.
They say the University has failed it's students.
‘No Detriment (ND) Policy’ is a policy proposed by Vice-Principal for Education, Ruth Taylor and developed in collaboration with the AUSA Vice President for Education, Ondrej Kučerák. Its aim was to ensure that there would be negative academic impacts because of the pandemic.
Ondrej Kučerák, AUSA Vice President for Education said:
“The University Senate has failed students. We are demanding that the Principal George Boyne calls for an emergency Senate meeting and give Senators a chance to do the right thing.
Students are angry and they should be. The University should be doing everything in its power to protect and support students during unprecedented times. Instead its left them feeling dejected, stressed and alone. The message this vote sends to students is appalling.
With the enormous amount of feedback we’ve had from the students since the vote we’ve created a petition that has already been signed by over a 1000 people. Students are not going to sit back and accept this. Unless the University acts quickly this is going to escalate.”
Natalie Campbell, a fourth year English with creative writing student said:
“The senate’s vote against the No Detriment policy was deeply upsetting as it showed a complete lack of care for students in favour of academic elitism and egotism."
The lockdown has hit me really hard. I’ve been unable to see my family for almost a year now as they don’t live in Aberdeen and I have had to spend time shielding due to a chronic health condition. I’ve found myself struggling with my mental health due to the isolation, I’ve had greater levels of anxiety which has made it difficult to feel motivated and focus on university work.
I find it difficult to talk about how the lockdown has affected me as we’re all going through the same thing and I don’t want to burden other people with my concerns but I feel that it’s important to be open and honest about how difficult the last year has been.”
Northsound requested a response from the University to the fallout of the vote and the petition.
A University of Aberdeen spokesperson said:
“Throughout the pandemic the University has placed great emphasis on caring for the well-being of our students, and we continue to do so. While Senate did not support the specific No Detriment policy that was proposed for our second half session, it did endorse the need for consistency and fairness for students who have been adversely affected by the pandemic.
“We have in place a range of processes to enable students to inform us of their circumstances, for example if they require an extension or are suffering ill-health or other mitigating circumstances. This might include inadequate access to IT, poor working conditions at home or elsewhere, family issues, or any other factors."
“The University’s existing procedures on assessment and degree award enable and support achievement and will be used to ensure that students’ performance during this time is supported. We are working with Aberdeen University Students’ Association to take forward this work so that no student is disadvantaged.”
A group of students have set up a no detriment policy team.
A spokesperson for the group said:
"We are campaigning to have a No Detriment Policy implemented by the University of Aberdeen. This policy would have provided a safety net to support all students studying throughout the pandemic. By voting against a this policy the University has failed students and has chosen to put academic elitism and egotism before supporting student welfare. We are calling for a No Detriment policy that will provide all students fair and equal access to support during this time of global crisis. "