A PETITION has been launched for the University of Worcester to grant its students special consideration for the current academic year.

The petition has gained more than 500 signatures and urges the university to apply a ‘no detriment’ policy to students’ grades, which would act as a ‘safety net’, ensuring students would obtain at least their average grade so far.

The no detriment approach can be used whenever there is disruption to studies, such as the current pandemic.

Natasha, a year three psychology student at the university, who started the petition, said:"I am doing my dissertation online which is really difficult. As all our sessions are online I sometimes feel as though I can't actually ask the questions I want to.

"I know other students feel as though they can't access the support they need. Even with the pandemic and online learning we have not been provided any additional tutorial time with our time being able to get support being limited to only two and a half hours over the entire academic year.

"Considering we are unable to access in person support and build that rapport in person I think providing extra support is necessary."

Another second year student said:"University online has basically been impossible for me.

"I have children around most of the time, and no childcare, trying to home school, while being ill and trying to keep up with the normal routines like cleaning and washing.

"There’s absolutely no way I can get the grades I wanted now, I started university being sure I was going for a first. It’s just impossible now, I’m scraping by."

Year two student Lillie Cresswell, added: “A-Levels and GCSE exams are cancelled yet university students are expected to perform the same and achieve high grades with no access to facilities.

"If A-Levels and GCSE students are having their exams cancelled due to a lack of face to face learning, why is this different for university students?”

A spokeswoman for the University of Worcester, said: “The University of Worcester has a national reputation for combining high educational standards with a highly inclusive and effective approach.

"During the first national lockdown we adjusted the ways in which students are educated and assessed so that they were able to progress their studies and earn their valuable qualifications without any lessening of quality.

"Thanks to student and staff dedication even more students were successful than usual, despite the difficult conditions created by the pandemic and lockdown. We aim to have exactly the same positive results this year, taking into account that the latest lockdown comes at a very different point in the academic year.

"We are already well advanced in our preparations and discussions with the students’ elected representatives and will be publishing our plans for Semester II within the next few days.

"This week is assessment week for Semester 1 and arrangements had already been made well in advance to enable students to take assessments virtually and to provide alternative and equivalent methods and opportunities to ensure that students are fairly assessed and that all mitigating circumstances including the issues created by Covid-19 are taken into account.”

See the petition here: bit.ly/3oKGWGe