Students at UWE Bristol have been housed more than an hour away in Wales. Students have claimed they have been spending almost £20 a day on transport whilst missing lectures all amid the cost of living crisis.
They have said that they are also struggling to afford food and have been socially impacted as their friends socialise in Bristol. Amongst those who are currently in halls in Newport - in another country to where they applied to university - one student has quit already, returning back home to her family in the Midlands.
Speaking to WalesOnline, 19-year-old business and economics student Dami Areola who went through clearing which she said “seemed fine,” but she added she “hadn’t factored in that I would have to pay for my own transport. Despite applying for a £70 railcard which the university covered, she was still paying £10 a day to commute to classes.
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UWE said it had offered a travel support package to students in the Newport accommodation, agreeing to cover the cost of a railcard for those living in Newport for three years. It also said it had offered to pay for taxis to and from the accommodation and the train station in Newport.
A spokesperson for the University said: “We understand that a number of students have experienced difficulties with the reimbursement process. We will work with these students to ensure that they are fully reimbursed.”
Dami said students were being asked to commute an hour each way for a 40 minute lecture, adding, “It doesn’t seem like a good use of my time and it’s affecting my education.” With freshers week events happening in Bristol city centre, Dami said her and her friend were missing out.
She said: “It’s not what you expect as a fresher. Newport isn’t awful, and we try to make do with what we have.
“We’ve had a couple of decent experiences, but it’s certainly not what I had in mind.”
Currently 127 UWE students live in Newport blocks. Jennifer Reina, 18, from London said many felt the same as her. Due to railway disruption coaches were organised by the University.
However, one of the coaches turned up late too which led to her missing lectures. She said: “Due to the rail strikes this week we weren’t going to be able to get into uni, so they’ve given us free coach travel. That indicates they are able to do that, but next week we’ll be back to normal with trains and we’ll have to pay for those trains.
Even today, the coaches were supposed to be at our accommodation at 8am, and it came at 9am. So my friends and I have missed our lectures.
I’ve now missed two of my lectures today, so I’ve essentially wasted my time.”
UWE is building more accommodation on Frenchay Campus for an additional 2,250 students, with the first 900 rooms available from September 2023.
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