Does anyone have experience with discrimination by HE provider?

[Frieda_3287]

Debilitating endo symptoms meant that my in-person attendance has always been quite bad for years now. Not long ago, I was told that I would not be allowed to continue my course if I need to take frequent medical absences and/or finish my deferred coursework remotely. And that if going on-campus would be such a difficulty/risk to my health, they are now considering determining that I am straight up not fit to study and drop me from the course entirely. To them, lack of attendance means bad academic performance and not hitting learning outcomes, even though my grades prove otherwise. For context, I have a lot of deferred work due to being bedridden most of last year and had my lap surgery. I was told why I had those absences were irrelevant.

This situation is all due to a policy change that started last year (not notified about it till now) and that attendance requirements have been made mandatory again when it wasn't even mandatory pre-pandemic. I know it is all part of the plan to move past the pandemic but quite frankly, these rules were made without consulting anyone who may have a long term medical condition or affected by the pandemic (i.e. someone who is immunocompromised or has severe long Covid). It is all quite baffling.

Does anyone have any experience with this kind of issue with an HE provider? Would like to hear how it can be resolved if anyone has? Any suggestions on where to seek support or advice from is welcome too. I honestly just want to resolve this without it becoming a legal dispute and finish my course.

[Hidden]

Hello Frieda, I'm very sorry to hear this. There are a couple of things that your HE provider would need to consider and their position may be tied by regulatory requirements in that some qualifications do require a minimum level of attendance. You don't say what kind of programme you're enrolled in, but for some professional qualifications (e.g. in health and education) students must have attended for a certain number of hours/sessions (a bit like airline pilots requiring a certain number of flight hours before they can qualify) to be eligible for the qualification (regardless of coursework grades). If this is the case for your course, then there's not a great deal to be done although the "Fitness to Study" process should explore all possible avenues. To this end, and regardless of what kind of course you're on, you should read the Fitness to Study policy and approach your Student Union to assist and support you during the process. In addition, if you haven't already done so, I would really recommend you get in touch with your HE provider's Disability Services team to explore your eligibility for Reasonable Adjustments. My own university is fairly lax about attendance (apart from for "regulated qualifications") and "Fitness to Study" is usually only invoked in cases where the student is considered to be at risk to themselves or to others. If your course is not one of those for which there is a regulatory requirement for minimum attendance then try to think of the Fitness to Study process as an opportunity for you to explore how your HE provider can support you to complete your course and it will strengthen your case if you can get the Student Union and Disability Services on board with this. Good luck.

[Frieda_3287 in reply to Hidden]

Hi DrMummy, thank you for responding to my post Without saying too much in detail, my course is in humanities and all the stuff they insist can only be done in person are things like access to PC (I have my own) and group discussions (can easily be done online via calls or discussion boards) so I hope this explains why I don't understand they would consider me not fit for study. I also have tutors' statements supporting my learning progress and ability to complete assignments but apparently that's irrelevant too.

I have actually tried contacting the disability team and the SU but was told that since it's a policy level rule, there's not much they can do within their power. It was actually the disability support team who suggested that I likely wouldn't be considered fit for study because of the absences and the fact that I was absent because of endo+surgery was irrelevant. I was also told by them that the fitness to study process can be put in place by my school at this point already.

In any case, I am glad you sound like you're having a much easier time with your HE provider and I hope it continues to be the case. All the best to you

[Hidden in reply to Frieda_3287]

Hi again Frieda. I have to say I'm very surprised by the attitude of your SU and Disability Services team. In this case I would be inclined to make a formal complaint about discrimination on the basis of sex (because only women get Endo) and disability. I would also put this complaint directly to the Pro-Vice Chancellor with responsibility for the "student experience" and copy in the Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. In your complaint make direct reference to Disability Services failure to support you or to make reasonable adjustments to account for your medical condition. Try to end the complaint by expressing your hope that you can work with the college/university to find a way to enable you to successfully complete your studies - this puts the ball in their court to not only address the shortcomings of your treatment so far, but also to challenge them to identify ways to support you going forward. I'd also go back to your SU and press them for more support - just shrugging and saying "its policy" isn't good enough if the enforcement of that policy actively discriminates against groups with protected characteristics under the Equality Act. You might also want to have a look at the website for the Office for Students (the HE Regulator) as this also has advice for students who are unhappy with their HEI.

[Frieda_3287 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for the advice! I'll definitely have a look at Office for Students now and potentially work towards a formal complaint depending on their next reply. Hope you have a nice day

[Hidden]

I am baffled by this I studied History and the lecturers never checked who turned up.

[Frieda_3287 in reply to Hidden]

Mine unfortunately does record attendance even though they don't fail people for it, nor do you gain/lose marks over it. As to why the lack of attendance would prevent me from being able to continue the course (even if it has no relevance to grades), I was told that it is simply down to statistics showing that students with higher attendance rates are more likely to pass/have better grades.

I retorted that my attendance rate (pretty terrible) and grades (was on track to graduate first class/2:1), considering my chronic illness, should show that this general rule doesn't apply to me. In response, they just kept emphasising on the prevalence of that statistic so I don't even know what to say anymore.