Tier 4 Students & Covid 19

Branch Meeting held on Wednesday 1st July 2020

Motion carried with a majority:  Passed: for 65 members, against 1, abstentions 9.           Amendments in bold passed by Branch Committee

The Covid 19 crisis has exposed the inequalities in our society. It has also made clear the central contribution of migrants to all essential services in the UK. Yet Tier 4 students have been left particularly vulnerable in the current crisis. Many are unable to return home, are isolated and have been left without resources to pay fees or living expenses due to the loss of income for communities across the world. We commend the university for suspending the policy of no IT access for students unable to pay their fees.   

However we note that the International Student Emergency Fund can only be accessed if fee payments are up to date and other funds such as the Hardship Fund and the Students success scholarship have not been made available to Tier 4 students. We are also aware that in the name of education, employers are exploiting Tier 4 students by offering them unpaid placements.  

We request Hallam management to support Tier 4 students through the following:  

  1. Hallam offers all Tier 4 students a chance to apply for a 6 month fee suspension to recognize the particularly acute and vulnerable situation for such students 
  2. Hallam continues to suspend the policy of no IT access for students unable to pay fees on time for the next academic year. 
  3. Increase the hardship funds available to Tier 4 students over the summer period and make the International Student Emergency Fund available to all Tier 4 students without requiring fee payments to be up to date. Actively communicate this support through the university website and through email and all university communication channels. 
  4. Stop the exploitation of Tier 4 students through unpaid placements. If students cannot be paid, the university could at least accept student fee payments from employers to prevent such exploitation. 

 Hallam UCU will Make a donation of £250 to the URBC Mutual Aid fund for International students https://www.gofundme.com/f/urbc-mutual-aid-for-uk-international-students  

Hallam UCU also encourages all members to take part in the URBC technology and monitoring survey https://www.unisresistbordercontrols.org.uk/covid-survey/