On Wednesday the 4th June we held a Live Q&A session in response to the concerns raised in regards to the University's recent changes to the bus provision. As a Union it's our duty to support and empower student voice. Many of you had raised important questions and shared your frustrations, and we wanted to ensure that students had the opportunity to be heard and to offer an opportunity for you to understand the reasoning behind why those decisions were made.
On Wednesday the 4th June we held a Live Q&A session in response to the concerns raised in regards to the University's recent changes to the bus provision. As a Union it's our duty to support and empower student voice. Many of you had raised important questions and shared your frustrations, and we wanted to ensure that students had the opportunity to be heard and to offer an opportunity for you to understand the reasoning behind why those decisions were made.
To support this, we set up a hybrid Q&A session open to all students. This was an opportunity to speak directly with University staff and gain clarity around the changes, as well as raise any questions. The panel included:
- Ollie Shearer – Director of Campus Life and Student Living
- Sarah Richardson – Head of Student Services
- Russ Lewis – Head of Student Engagement
Ollie opened the session with a presentation to help students understand why there was a need to introduce a bus fare and explain why the change was necessary; this is a difficult decision which is being taken very seriously. He spoke about how the UK’s education sector is facing significant financial challenges and financial sustainability requires difficult decisions. Pre Covid there was a high number of University bus riders (around 6000 daily users), however post Covid number of bus riders has decreased to around 2000, a 2/3 drop in usage.
Providing the service at no cost to users currently costs the University £3m over 5 years, and with escalating costs for declining use,the free model is no longer viable. Ollie explained that introducing a fare is essential to ensure the continued operation of the Unibus and allows the opportunity to address past quality, reliability and overcrowding issues.
To ensure that students who are in greatest need continue to feel supported, changes have been introduced to the financial support available. For students with a household income of £25k - £36,592, the bursary will increase from £600 to £1000. Students with a household income below £25k will continue to receive a £1,000 bursary, and there will be additional support for care leavers of a new £1,000 bursary.
Following the meeting, the university ensured that all feedback will be considered. Throughout the meeting students were assured that there is support available to help them, such as support for disabled students, bursaries, the Discretionary Support Fund (DSF) & Student Support Plans (SSPs).
Students were reassured that the best place to start if they’re struggling or need support is with the Student Hub team, whether its financial support, or disability support there's a team of dedicated staff ready to help every student here at Derby. Sarah Richardson explained that without students coming to her team they are unable to understand what it is students are struggling with and where they need to support,to ensure they get the most out of their time at university.
The University is addressing accessibility in terms of walking routes. They will be formally raising concerns from students with Derby City Council (DCC), and they will be actively engaging with DCC to seek improvements. Safety is paramount: the early morning/night services (6.00pm – 7.30am) will remain designated off-peak. Students are encouraged if they haven't already, to download and familiarise themselves with the SafeZone App, which works to protect students and staff in and around all Derby campuses.
There’s also increased safety patrols, as well as a partnership with local police. During the end of the presentation, Ollie spoke about alternatives that had been considered, which have to be balanced with the need to manage University resources effectively across all student support areas, as well as the decision to focus on targeted financial assistance and those students most impacted.
Following the presentation, a live Q&A was opened with questions asked both online and in-person. Additionally, we had sent out a pre-submitted form, and received 25 questions in advance. The questions from the form and those captured during the session can be found in the University FAQ section (some FAQ’s can be found below also).
1. Student at meeting: Bus fare is increasing but we don’t see any changes as yet. Ollie.S: In terms of improvements, at busy times there should be more space as only those that need to use the buses will use them. We will be monitoring ongoing improvements around reliability and raise the quality of the service.
2. Student at meeting: Tuition fees are also increasing, so this is just another increase. Ollie.S: Do understand but demand has decreased and the University wants to invest in other areas that will have the greatest and most far reaching effects for all students not just the 2000 bus users.
3. Student at meeting: Spoke to some students living outside Derby, whose motivations to attend lectures will decrease due to transport costs. Sarah.R: Financial support will be increased next year and a portion of that increase will be to help with transport costs. Please come forward to discuss access to Student Hardship Fund.
4. Student on Teams: Many international students depend on the bus service being free. Most international students do a part time job and full time course and with the rise in living costs, this new cost will decrease students’ engagement and attendance. This is a collective opinion from international students. Is anything in place for international students as we are not able to access bursaries. Sarah.R: Understand that this will weigh heavy. The Discretionary Support Fund is available to international students so please reach out. Also, there will be workshops specifically for international students, being held next year. Ollie.S: Personalised needs will be addressed on an individual case, so best way to help support you is for you to engage with us.
5. Student at meeting: Housing is a big problem so any additional financial support we get will go towards this and general living costs. Is there not other ways of helping yourselves out financially? For example, high staff pay – currently 16 University staff members earning over £100k. Sarah.R: lots of steps are being taken across the University regarding cost reductions. Significant changes have been made already. This is just one of lots of steps being taken.
6. Student on Teams: Can we request a timeline for when we will be able to see the improvements? Ollie.S: Should see changes around space on buses almost immediately. With regards to route changes, once we identify what will best suit those who use the Unibus, any changes will take 100 days to implement due to the need for external consultation with organisations such as the city council.
7. Student at meeting: Tuition Fees should include other services; where’s my Tuition Fee going? Already working full time and it’s a struggle. Ollie.S: The last thing we want to see is you not attending university so please engage with us. Where Tuition Fees go is publicly available, but they don’t typically cover transport. If we’re going to grow then we need to put the £3 million spend over 5 years, into other facilities which benefit the greatest number of students, such as libraries for example. The fare is below the national cap at £2 and there is still support available on an individual basis so please reach out.
8. Student at meeting: You mentioned consultation but where’s the evidence of this? I have 2000 signatures on a petition which is a tenth of the student population; if that grows would it make you change your mind? Ollie.S: Minutes were taken and can be shared; people’s ideas did help us formulate our plan. We have to make the change; it’s not sustainable and we have to protect our core services. Sarah.R: we have to make this decision so how can we work together with you to help support you? We can look at working together to help solve this. How can we do things differently? Russ.L: Student Voice is really helpful and we’d like this feedback to be maintained.
9. Student on Teams: Will students be given any input on or advance notice regarding changes? Ollie.S: Yes of course, please keep talking to us as we want to make the change as successful as possible. Route changes will be driven by students. Russ.L: Will make sure students are part of any suggested or planned route changes. Sarah.R: Disabled Services team runs student empowerment session, so please use these groups so we can hear from you.
10. Student on Teams: Would it be possible for the University to meet students halfway? Would it be possible to reduce the fare to £1 or £1.50? Ollie.S: For us the halfway meet comes in having a dialogue so we can understand personal circumstances and offer individual support for each individual. We looked at a phased approach to fares but decided better to make a decision to give students clarity rather than having to re-visit it again at a later date.