The Students’ Union ran a high profile research project between December 23 – January 11, asking University of Leicester students for their feedback on their experience this year and their perceptions of the value for money.
In total, 1,481 students took part in the 'Refunds and Compensation' survey. This represents 8% of the overall student population at University of Leicester. All respondents answered all questions.
Disclaimer: We have attempted to ensure this campaign is informative and is reflective of student respondent views. Tuition fees are a topic of national crisis and we’ve been transparent about our asks to the university and the government. The results of the campaign are not an attempt to critique the hard work of academic and professional staff that have worked hard to deliver in uncertain circumstances. Our asks of the university are what we believe they can control, here are the results:
Value for Money
Students were asked to consider their University experience over the first term of 2020/21 academic year, and to tell us whether they felt their experience was what they expected and if it was worth their tuition fees.
Your Asks: Refunds
Respondents were asked a range of questions regarding refunds and compensation, and what they felt entitled to. Below are the results:
Refund Priorities
Within this section, students were asked to prioritise other areas related to their student experience that they needed refunding or compensating the most. Respondents could pick more than one option
Your Students' Union's Asks
Now you've seen the results of the 'Refunds and Compensation' Survey, here is a list of what your Students' Union will be lobbying for over the coming weeks and months. This research project was a direct response to a number of concerns raised by students with us in different forums, such as Council, via social media, and officer email contact in semester one. We have separated the University of Leicester asks from the Government ones below.
i) University of Leicester
Here are our main asks from the University of Leicester, click each drop-down to view more information.
COVID Hardship Fund: Transparency
Provide greater transparency over what the COVID-19 Hardship Fund can be used for to empower students to access this pot of money. Provide rent rebates for students in university-owned accommodation.
Leadership and Legislation around refunding fees
To jointly lobby the government alongside the Students’ Union for leadership and legislation around refunding fees. This includes:
• Working with the Student Loan Company to remove 50% of the tuition fee debt incurred by students in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 academic year.
• Provide funding for Universities to offer partial refunds of 50% to postgraduate, international and other students who privately fund the cost of their tuition; that would also allow universities to offset a students' fees for their next academic year if they wished to.
• Ensure the Competition Markets Authority formally assess the offers made by all UK Universities to the 2020/21 student intake.
Where do our fees go?
To be transparent and provide students with a breakdown of where their money goes, for a range of groups, including international and postgraduate students. We would also like this to include a full explanation behind how the university decides to use your fees, and any variance in the cost to students.
Improved digital learning experience
To improve the digital experience for students and invest in digital accessibility and online delivery. Even if we get back to a state of face-to-face teaching, the standard must be improved for students who will continue to adopt a distance-learning approach to their University experience, or will not be on campus.
Lobby to freeze international student fees
It is good to see that the University have decided to freeze EU fees following Brexit. But international student fees for many continue to rise exponentially and without reason. We continue to see international student fees disproportionately used to fund universities in the UK. Whilst Leicester is not individual in how they currently use international student funds, we ask them to support us in lobbying the University and taking ownership by freezing fees and committing to improve the international student experience.
ii) The Government
Owing to a lack of clarity for students throughout the pandemic, here are a list of our main asks from the Government:
Academic performance
We want them to work closely with the Office for Students to provide clear guidance to Universities that ensures they are able to implement schemes that consider the impact of the pandemic on academic performance, without fear of reprisal over grade inflation.
Housing & accommodation
• Increase funding for Universities to offer proportionate rebates for students in halls who entered into accommodation contracts for the 2020/21 year.
• Provide funding for private sector landlords and purpose-built accommodation providers to offer proportionate rebates for students living in the private housing sector.
• Legislate to enable students who wish to break University or private-sector accommodation contracts early to be able to do so owing to being unable to access their term-time housing for significant periods of the year.