Oxford University’s Covid safety measures signal a dismal year ahead for students

Virtual drinking games and empty lecture theatres are to be expected this month as universities plan to re-open in unprecedented conditions. But the social distancing measures at some universities are going far beyond government guidance.

Take Oxford University. As well as following government guidelines, students are being asked to sign a “Responsibility Agreement” to comply with university and college regulations. The problem is that, at nearly a third of the university’s colleges, the students do not yet know what they will be signing up to.

“It’s the sheer level of confusion and uncertainty that is the issue”, says a student at Lincoln College who is moving back in to student accommodation this weekend. The student has not received any information from the college on what restrictions to expect. “It’s like signing a blank cheque.”

And the rules on self-isolation imposed by some other colleges may prompt students to think twice before signing. At Brasenose College, isolating students will only be permitted a daily 30-minute walk around the quads, with a face covering, according to the student newspaper Cherwell. International students quarantining at Oriel College will be charged an extra £400 to have their meals delivered to their door for the next two weeks. At Balliol College, meals must be ordered three days in advance while takeaways must be carefully delivered by a friend.

Thankfully, the presence of campus testing facilities should ensure most students do not suffer the social exile of self-isolation. But not all universities will have the infrastructure and funding available to Oxford colleges, even as all face the same challenge. They must find a way to house and teach a record number of students while preventing outbreaks of infections.

Some universities, like Durham, have offered bursaries to encourage new students to defer their offers until the 2021-2022 academic year, and an survey conducted by the University and College Union in May revealed that, unsurprisingly, a fifth of school leavers were considering taking a year out to avoid a lacklustre university experience.

Oxford’s efforts to ensure social distancing at all costs, however, have left students frustrated. Last month, over 1,000 Oxford students signed a petition against the University’s proposal to turn a local sports centre into more teaching space, arguing that the cancellation of sports practice and fixtures would have “a significant impact on student experience as well as students’ physical and mental wellbeing”. Yet, without adequate space off campus, the cancellation of college sports seems likely, according to a member of the University’s hockey club.

According to one source, students have not yet received a response after being consulted on next year’s summer exams, which are already expected to be held online. In a move being made at other universities, library opening times have been shortened and study slots will require online reservation.

Oxford colleges were applauded for their response to the A-level results fiasco – many of them were among the first institutions to welcome offer-holders regardless of their assigned grade. Yet this has created new problems for the colleges when it comes to managing those for whom they are now responsible. The majority will continue to receive face-to-face teaching in small groups, and online lectures. The challenge of maintaining a world-class education for Oxford’s 24,000 students will compromise its equally world-class social and extra-curricular experiences.

Nor can students expect any compensation, says the Department of Education. University budgets are already under pressure from falling numbers of international student and increased costs relating to the pandemic.

If preparations at Oxford are anything close to being representative of those underway at other universities, then students across the UK face a dismal year ahead. While prospects on the outside remain bleak, taking a year out may not have been such a bad idea.