'We want our money back' - Sheffield Hallam University's response to coronavirus divides opinion among students

The university came under fire after issuing the post on Sunday, March 15, in which it stated it would be transitioning to online learning in an effort to reduce the spread of Covid-19 amongst the student environment.

Dozens of frustrated students flooded the comment section, angered over the lack of communication from the university as well as not being understanding to queries of students on placement.

But others praised its efforts, noting the decision was ‘sensible’ given the ever-changing government advice.

In the post, Sheffield Hallam said: “The University remains open. However, we will use next week to manage a transition to teaching and learning activities being delivered online wherever possible, which will be completed by Monday 23 March. All students and staff are being emailed directly.”

Responding to the post, student Vieri Ngȏ, said: "Give me the money back. I lost money to come here and now what I have is the strikes and coronavirus affecting my education. I lost my part-time job and pay for accommodation when I stay here."

However, Deborah WasGill, offered a different view. She said: “Thank you for keeping us safe. I'm sure you have some serious decisions to make over the next few weeks. No one knows what will happen next. Exams will be considered, I am sure, but health must come first.”

Sheffield Hallam has since issued various other updates including creating a dedicated page on coronavirus to share the latest information and answer frequent questions.

Face-to-face teaching was suspended on Monday, March 16, with immediate effect, while staff were told not to attend the university from Tuesday, March 17, and to work remotely were possible unless advised otherwise.

Christine Emelone, a second-year journalism student, said: “We finish in April which is not very far away and all the deadlines are packed in but because of what has happened we are not able to get the material needed to do our assessments.

“For example with our TV module, even now things like varsity have been cancelled so we aren’t able to get interviews, and aren’t able to do about 80 per cent of our work. I do understand it is not the lecturer's fault but I personally feel the university is not taking that into consideration and there isn’t any leeway.”

The university has stressed that, as the situation is changing on a daily basis, it is working hard to answer all of any queries students may have.

Heads of department and line managers will also be in contact with students and staff to confirm teaching and working arrangements.

A Sheffield Hallam spokesperson said: “The university continues to treat this as a major incident and, like organisations across the country, is having to dramatically change ways of working in response to the rapidly changing situation. Our top priority remains the health and safety of students, staff and those who make up our wider community.

“An Incident Management Group, led by members of the University Leadership Team, is meeting daily to manage this incredibly challenging transition period and ensure all students and staff have the latest information available to them.

“We have set up a dedicated information page on our website which is updated on a daily basis, as well as establishing a Help Centre for questions or concerns that aren’t answered on our advice page.

“We have also been communicating updates with students and staff through a variety of channels – including email and social media to keep them as up to date as possible on the current situation and the University’s plans.

“We appreciate this is a challenging and rapidly changing situation, but we are doing everything we can to ensure our students are kept informed.”