With university lectures replaced with classes over Zoom, final-year Canterbury Christchurch University journalism student Kelly Bellerson, 20, tells of the reality of taking a degree at a distance

September felt like a fresh start. Everyone was out sunning themselves in the gardens of great British pubs and people were allowed to see their family and friends again.

With education returning to students’ lives, we could only imagine how the new academic year might look socially-distanced. Nine weeks into the first semester and the faults in this learning structure are beginning to surface.

Pre-pandemic, I knew I could drop in for a Q&A session with my lecturers at any time to discuss my progress and have my worries reassured. However, as all of my classes are currently being held online, there is no direct need for me to be on-site.

The once-bustling campus is now a quiet shadow of its former self. I needed to use one of the Mac computers and decided to try my luck and go to my old classroom. It was empty, but I was still thrown out by a member of staff when I attempted to use the software for my television project.

I’m not the type of student who looks to cause trouble, but I was made to feel as though I had committed a crime for just wanting to do some work.

So what happens if there is a glitch with the program and all of my work disappears? Or my meeting cuts out? Who do I go to? On campus, lecturers and technicians would be on hand to help and the problem would be resolved within a matter of minutes.

Now, I have to email the technician and wait a couple of hours or perhaps even a day for a response, putting my work on hold until the issue is sorted. The last thing you need when you’re working on an assignment is the added stress of having to transform yourself into a technician when you’re already trying to navigate your degree from home.

One of my projects requires the technical equipment that the university provides. As a multimedia journalism student, there are a lot of resources I need access to that I can’t afford myself or don’t have at home. In my final year, access is crucial to my studies.

Those who work in television know that creating TV packages requires technical savviness and functioning facilities.

When those are compromised it is difficult to create content to the best of your ability. So what happens when you have to do it all yourself with improvised equipment in an unpredictable environment? This is the currently reality of my degree.

I went to the library after being thrown out of my classroom, in search of a Mac computer that had the right software installed, only to be stopped at the entrance and told that I needed to book a slot.

"There is no fault concerning the quality of teaching by lecturers as they continue to work hard through the situation... However, the absence of lecturers due to illness is a contributing worry among everything else."

It was not made clear to me beforehand that this system had been put in place. So what do I do if the library is fully booked? What happens if it’s fully booked for days in a row? This is an increasing concern as exam season approaches and demand increases.

Being at home it’s hard not to feel distracted or overwhelmed, especially when you are working on your projects by yourself.

There is a huge difference between working in a broadcast studio surrounded by others and working from a bedroom in a cramped student house.

There is no fault concerning the quality of teaching by lecturers as they continue to work hard through the situation and ensure students are up to speed with their modules. However, the absence of lecturers due to illness is a contributing worry among everything else.

From foundation years to masters, we all need the basics to study efficiently.

We are here to use the campus, the classrooms, the equipment, the tech, the lecturers, the help. The second lockdown did not change the way university students have been studying since the start of the semester, it has only highlighted further the issues surrounding remote learning.

This isn’t about missing out on the social aspects of university life like freshers week and clubbing, it’s the fact that students are now missing out on their education.

Placements have been cancelled, work experience postponed and access to the campus and the library have been limited. It couldn’t be harder for students to continue working to the same standards as they were before.

Despite lecturers offering all the help and support they can remotely, it still feels as though we are doing a DIY degree.

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