Right now, no one knows for sure what university is going to look like for students returning to their studies in September. It feels like every university across the country is making a different announcement about online teaching, face to face classes and new forms of assessment. But what happens when Covid-19 disrupts your whole degree programme? In these unpredictable times, universities and students alike are faced with difficult decisions about a future they can’t yet envision.
I found myself in this predicament at the start of lockdown; a situation that only became more confusing as the months dragged on. As a Modern Languages student at the University of Southampton, a year abroad is a compulsory part of my degree, a necessary component to get my language abilities to a high enough level to be able to graduate, and an opportunity to carry an independent research project that relied heavily on a physical presence in the host country.
“In short, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
For this reason, I spent most of my lockdown in a haze of uncertainty as I awaited emails from department heads and personal tutors that would guide me in down any path that made sense. Eventually, once the year abroad was officially postponed, I made the difficult decision to defer my studies for a year and to try again in 2021. In short, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I’m not alone. All of my classmates have had to make choices based on their personal circumstances about what the rest of their degree would look like.
Anyone who was spending this academic year abroad has already felt this uncertainly. Megan Gaen, who spent this year in Germany as an English language assistant had to leave the country suddenly and get back to the UK. She was able to continue her job virtually, but this might not be possible for students who were due to start their jobs in September. Instead, they must wait and see if their future employers are offering virtual opportunities or if they will have to wait until January to start their new jobs.
“I’ve decided now to just leave it down to fate.”
Just as every university in the UK has a different system in place to resume teaching in the autumn, modern languages students are each facing unique situations. Whether they’ve had a work placement cancelled or they’re waiting for much-needed answers from their host university, it can feel like there’s a deadline looming to make some very difficult choices.
“I’ve decided now to just leave it down to fate, I’ve applied for a job placement back home in Brighton but if I’m not successful I’ll begin online study from September. It really helps me to take my mind off it now it’s out of my control” says BSc Maths and French student Amy Colfer.
She, like many others, needs to decide between suspending her studies for a year, opting for a semester abroad beginning in January, or dropping French completely. “I was originally considering a switch to a 3-year Maths degree, but I felt I didn’t want to discard all my hard work in French for the last 2 years”.
Although it has been a frustrating couple of months, she praised her university tutors for their support throughout lockdown. “I’ve been very grateful for the meetings they’ve held to let us know what’s going on, and for the opportunity to have regular talks and meetings with my personal tutor about my options”.
But it isn’t just modern languages students who are affected: international students are facing similar worries as September approaches.
Alyssa-Caroline Burnette is a PhD Victorian Literature and Gender Studies student who was set to move to England to start her programme in the autumn. Her main worry: the logistics of travelling safely. “I still don’t know whether I’ll be able to come in September as planned or defer until January”, she says.
Across the board, people await answers that their universities just can’t provide, and Alyssa-Caroline is no exception: “As of mid-July, I still don’t have a straight answer!”. Students in the UK are already facing an uphill battle of conflicting information, but the added pressure of an international move makes this all the more frustrating.
In any case, many of these students have to make a decision about how they’re going to spend the 2020-2021 academic year. Where exchange programmes are not possible, the university must rush to rearrange degree programmes so that they can provide an education for their students this year.
Paired with the looming possibility of a second wave that could affect semester 2 plans, deferring for a year is becoming an increasingly attractive choice.
For me, the exchange programme was a deal-breaker for my degree. The possibility that I would miss out on it completely didn’t seem worth it for me, so in the end, essentially writing off the year and trying again later was the best option. Others decided to push through so they can graduate when they expected. The co-existence of these choices raises even more unexpected issues – the emotional consequences.
This side of such a significant academic disruption is perhaps one of the most important things to consider. With year groups divided on suspending or continuing their studies, it’s likely that groups of students won’t be graduating with the people they started their degree with. Universities need to take into account that this fact will have a powerful influence over the decisions made by students in the coming months.
The impact of the pandemic will be felt by students for years to come. Whether they’ve had to make unprecedented changes to their programme, or they graduate later than anticipated, everyone will see a difference in their studies come September.
Vicky Greer
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Featured image courtesy of @vheath via Unsplash.