This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Aberdeen chapter.

“It’s Just People Who Care More About the Perception of the University Than the Actual Students”- Chloe Irving, Economics and IR student

Last April the University of Aberdeen developed a No Detriment Policy in an attempt to support students amidst the new pandemic. The policy aimed to allow students to progress through their degrees as planned alongside a new set of procedures to ease the issues of studying from home. Flexibility of assignments, adaptable extensions, changes to the calculation of degrees, and changes to the capping of resit grades were amongst the new procedures introduced to make studying under the new circumstances easier.

Despite the still existing pandemic and lack of on-campus teaching, last week the University of Aberdeen Senate voted down the No Detriment Policy for the new semester, removing any protection that students had.

The University proceeded to email all undergraduates and postgraduates citing the need for students who had been affected by the pandemic to have “consistency and fairness” in their studies and that individual circumstances would be reviewed following Senate’s decision to end the policy. The email contained links on how to report absences due to ill-health and an email address for any questions to be sent to.

Speaking to Her Campus, Iona Hancock, President of the University of Aberdeen CND Society and Secretary of Her Campus Aberdeen, stated that “every lecturer I have spoken to since the new year has talked of how difficult things are right now, how much sympathy they have for students, and how much they themselves are struggling to adapting to the pandemic, so where is this energy when it matters? Where is that support for students when it counts?”.

Reaction on social media has been extremely critical of Senate’s decision, with online petitions and groups gathering mass popularity within the student community (and beyond). Many students have been highlighting the hypocrisy of the move- with the University consistently addressing the importance of mental health and reiterating where students can go for support, this removal of a safety net does not make sense.

Veera Lampinen, a third-year psychology student, described Senate’s decision as “disgusting” and noted the hypocrisy of the University highlighting mental health as a key issue “and then when they are presented with tangible efforts to help students, they are against it”.

Changes in law from the Scottish Government mean that many students who went home for Christmas are unable to return to their university accommodation in Aberdeen, making it illegal for a large number of students to study in Aberdeen this semester. This is extremely different to last semester, where the majority of students were allowed to return to Aberdeen.

Despite the University’s email attempting to dismiss claims that students would be adversely impacted as a result of Senate’s move, students have been critical of this stance. This includes Natalie Campbell, a fourth-year English with Creative Writing student, who told Her Campus that “the university has chosen to put academic elitism and egoism before supporting student welfare. If it can’t support current students, why should future generations want to come here?”

Discussing the contradictory nature of the Senate’s decision, Katie Beenson, a fourth-year history student, told Her Campus: “I am quite frankly tired of seeing support for mental health advertised and assured while little has been done to protect out actual education”.

An online petition started by AUSA (Aberdeen University’s Student Association), with the goal of demanding George Boyne (Principal of the University of Aberdeen) to call an emergency meeting of the University Senate to hear the No Detriment Policy again.

Gäiä Jeannot, Spokesperson of the No-Detriment Policy Campaign committee, stated that “as far as we stand, the University has failed to support its students equally and fairly. By voting down the ND policy the university continues to uphold academic elitism rather than putting the needs of its students first. We are supposed to be able to turn to our university in times of need, but they have, through this vote, failed us.”.

In the meantime, the NDP committee, formed following last week’s events, are encouraging students to get involved with their campaign for a No Detriment Policy. You can find StudentsforNDP on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter (linked below) to get involved in their campaign. There is also an official petition link (which will be linked below) from AUSA which aims to reconsider the policy. Sharing posts, signing the petition, and getting involved online will hopefully encourage Senate to reconsider the policy and help to save our degrees.

Useful Resources:

Links to University Mental and Physical Health Services:

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/students/support/health-3628.php

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/students/support/counselling-3635.php

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/staffnet/working-here/wellbeing-portal/mental-health-and-stress-5228.php

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/students/student-life/student-advice-and-support.php

Links to Non-University, but Aberdeen based, Mental and Physical Health Services:

https://www.mha.uk.net/

https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services/coronavirus-covid-19/your-mental-health-wellbeing-during-coronavirus

http://www.penumbra.org.uk/service-locations/north-area-services/aberdeen/

https://www.samh.org.uk/

https://aberdeen.nightline.ac.uk/