UCL SU pledges to support students fighting for academic safety net this year

They’re releasing a full statement on Thursday addressing tuition fees and a safety net


This evening the UCL SU has promised to help students lobby the university for a safety net policy in 2021.

UCL Student Union Education Officer, Ayman Benmati addressed students on SU social media outlining the commitments of the Union to students during these ‘tough’ times.

The union have also helped students in UCL accommodation to get a relaxation on their rent payments. 

We spoke to Ayman about the current climate for students and he said:

“The learning environment here at UCL is no longer one that we believe is sufficient, and as a Students’ Union, we can no longer in good faith trust that UCL is able to fulfil the learning objectives of its students. Our position is absolutely clear- we will be doing our utmost to lobby UCL for the kind of blanket mitigations that our students so desperately need and deserve.”

Ayman’s message can be found below.

In the video he says:

“Hi everyone, Ayman here, your Education Officer. First of all, I just want to wish you all a happy new year.

I’ve just come on here talk to you a little bit about the safety net and the no detriment policy.

Especially in light of the recent announcement of a national lockdown and also the subsequent cancellation of face-to-face teaching here at UCL, students’ confidence in how they’re going to perform in assessments has taken a serious hit.

In addition, students’ capacity to learn has also been seriously affected and the learning environment here provided by UCL is absolutely no longer one that we believe is sufficient for most students to achieve their learning objectives.

And so, for that reason, our stance is absolutely clear – that we’re going to be doing our utmost to lobby UCL to implement the kind of blanket mitigations that you as students so need and deserve.

On Thursday we’re going to be releasing our official statement on the matter going to be talking a little bit about the safety net, tuition fee refunds, and also the learning environment that we find ourselves in.

Until then please hold tight and try and enjoy the remainder of the winter break.”

We will be in touch with the Union to update you on Thursday’s statement.