At the beginning of a new academic year, there is usually a widespread sense of optimism on campus. Freshers arrive hopeful to make new friends, while returning students are eager to reunite with old ones. Many feel excited as they embark on new courses, and grow closer towards graduation day.
However, the fallout of the previous semester’s strikes, protests and financial hardships has clouded the excitement usually felt by returning students.
The ongoing conflict between faculty and senior management over pay, pensions and working conditions since April earlier this year has yet to be resolved. Disrupted classes and the continuation of the dispute between University faculty and Senior leaders has left many students anxious about the unpredictability of the upcoming year.
There is limited hope towards the prospect of a ‘normal’ academic year, since the UCU announced further strike days in September affecting 136 universities. UCU members rejected a 5% pay increase and have expressed their desire to pass a mandate for continuing 6 months of strikes at the next ballot. Faculty staff and students remain disappointed by the indeterminate end to the dispute.
This negatively affects the mental health of many students since many in their final year worry that they too will not receive degree classifications if there is another marking boycott. The Student spoke to Edinburgh University students who say they feel disillusioned with the quality of their degrees, with many “concerned about not receiving exam feedback.”
The struggle to find a flat in Edinburgh has been felt by nearly all students. Edinburgh-based charity Slurp conducted a survey revealing that 1 in 5 returning students still haven’t signed a tenancy (as of January 2023). The rising rent prices and lack of affordable student accommodation have left many students paying an average of £1,327 on rent (according to a CityLets Report.) This spike in rent prices is unattainable for many students, with some choosing to move into housing co-operatives such as Edinburgh Student Housing Co-op.
Many feel that there has been insufficient action by universities nationally to help students find long-term accommodation. These worries have massively impacted the optimism of many students to return to their studies, as many are unsure of which sofa they will have to sleep on next.
To add to the financial anxiety created by the housing crisis, the cost-of-living crisis continues to seep into the new academic year. Many students live on extremely tight budgets. Last year, studies by Sutton Trust found that 63% of students skimped on buying food and other essentials during the first semester. Over a quarter of students skip meals due to high food costs.
Many students are being forced to spend time working rather than studying with over half of students nationally missing classes to work. In 2023 over 50% of students surveyed by the Higher Education Policy Institute have part-time jobs. A high academic workload combined with pressures from work can massively limit students’ free time. Financial hardships are having a widespread negative impact on students’ mental health, with 94% of students reportedly concerned about the cost-of-living crisis.
Many students’ concerns about the new year lie in the lack of action to resolve student complaints last term. Students are still not satisfied in the new year by the lack of change to the University’s treatment of sexual violence survivors in response to a protest led by student activist Aarti Mukhedkar last term by more than 300 students.
The petition started by Mukhedkar spread around campus and aimed to change the Redressal System at the University for Sexual Violence Victims. It garnered nearly 61,000 signatures and continues to rise but there has been little response from Edinburgh University leaders. In fact, previous programmes such as the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre services have been closed due to lack of funding. The resentment from the student body has been created by the inability of Senior Management to positively respond to student protests, such as telling victims to not report assaulters, which has led to many students feeling unsupported by the University.
The return to University is an exciting prospect for many. However, the perceived lack of support has left students feeling pessimistic about the year ahead.
“File:Old College, University of Edinburgh (24923171570).jpg” by LWYang from USA is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
An earlier version of this article claimed that Slurp’s survey on student housing was carried out in September, instead of January, 2023. This has now been corrected.