THE students’ union at Bournemouth University has questioned whether additional measures are in place to protect students.

Full-time officers for Students’ Union Bournemouth University (SUBU) met with the university’s executive team to ask what measures were in place to help during the pandemic.

The executive team comprised of John Vinney, vice-chancellor, Tim McIntyre-Bhatty, deputy vice-chancellor and Jim Andrews, chief operating officer.

And they asked if BU would be able to deliver on offering “uncapped reassessments”, the opportunity for students to defer studies and to ensure marks will not fall below the average already achieved.

BU was also asked what additional measures it was willing to put in place to protect student outcomes and would BU commit to writing a letter to private accommodation providers supporting a rent rebate.

The union said it was dissatisfied with the results of the meeting, where it said the university claimed reassessment attempts “would not be suitable” due to the desire to avoid delays for students in the completion of their degrees. Also, a “no detriment policy” was “not the best solution for now”as many students do not have a complete set of marks from the first term.

Additionally, the university reportedly said that offering rent rebates was “not a quick or easy decision for BU to make” as it was concerned about the “long-term financial impact on providers”.

The university said hardship funding was available.

In a statement to students, SUBU said: “Naturally, we were incredibly disappointed that BU did not respond to the pressure we have placed on them with immediate, tangible actions.

“However, we will continue to lobby the University and to ensure BU is doing all it can to aid you through this.”

A spokesperson for BU said: “Student wellbeing is our absolute priority as we continue with our teaching, the majority of which is currently online, and implement requests made by the government. We will continue to work with the students’ union to listen to the issues students are raising, and will do all within our own ability to support them. Any student who is in any way adversely affected should contact our AskBU team for support.

“We are working with the government, as well as Universities UK and the Office for Students, to ensure that universities are fully supported to enable students to achieve learning outcomes.”