Last year, the university announced that with Covid-19 restrictions having eased, all second-year law students would have to attend lectures in person.
The policy was met with backlash from the Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association (VUWSA) and the Disabled Students’ Association.
The students’ union cited equity and health concerns in its opposition, saying while lecture recordings would be available for those who could still not attend, the process of having to apply for a hardship grant first was difficult.
VUWSA President Jessica Ye told NZME the policy ordering students back was “regressive”.
She said students had part-time jobs, mental health concerns and other commitments, and having to make a hardship application to watch lectures was “bureaucratic”.
The union, along with various other student associations and advocacy groups, fought the proposal with a petition and open letter to University leaders, successfully getting the policy overturned.
In a statement released today, the union says the academic board has supported universal access to lecture recordings.
Students will not have to attend their lectures in person and if a class can’t be recorded, alternative materials must be provided.
The new policy comes into effect next year and will be reviewed in 18 months.
Ye said she was “ecstatic” about the decision.
“Overall, [I am] very happy, and feeling like this is a win for students.”
A Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington spokesperson confirmed the policy change.
The university said the policy was intended to be a “key enabler of student success and reflects the university’s commitment to providing equitable access to lecture content for all students”.
“It offers additional support to students who may have missed a lecture or need the additional aid and will enhance the overall student experience.”
The official policy document, seen by our newsroom, details the change will “ensure students unable to attend synchronous classes due to work, illness [and] disability can maintain continuity in their studies and have certainty around access to course content”.
A petition run by the students' association last year to allow universal access to lecture recordings garnered thousands of signatures.
VUWSA also co-launched an open letter with a number of students’ associations and various advocacy groups signing, directed to administrators and leaders at Victoria University.
“Universally accessible lecture recordings are a mainstay that students fundamentally rely on to have an accessible education. Barriers to lecture recordings undermine students’ agency in how they engage with their education,” the letter read.
Cost of living pressures were another reason the groups backed universal lecture recordings.
“Barriers to accessing recordings will only disproportionately disadvantage the academic success of our marginalised students. Students who can regularly show up to their lectures in person and prioritise study over employment or other commitments, tend to be the more privileged students,” the letter added.
Victoria University of Wellington’s academic board approved the change last week.
The updated policy was made in conjunction with VUWSA.
In a statement on social media, VUWSA thanked “all the students and student groups who have supported this campaign over the years”.
“Your effort was the difference in achieving this milestone.”
VUW’s disability services entity Te Amaru said the change will make a “tremendous difference for disabled students and is a big relief”.
The students’ union has been pushing for this policy change since before the pandemic.
Ye said the university ran consultation with the student body before 2020, to see what would help support their mental health and academic obligations.
“Overwhelmingly, students said that lecture recordings were the most important thing that would support them.”
