A university student from the peninsula has called on university bosses to cut fees while learning is being done mainly online.

Charlotte Hughes, from Shotley, is set to start a two year, full time Masters of Science in Speech and Language Therapy, at the University of Essex, and will pay tuition fees of £9,250, more than £3,000 a term, for the privilege of being taught online at home.

Students at the University of Essex, that has a campus at Wivenhoe near Colchester and another at Southend, have also been told the Christmas holiday will be extended by two weeks, meaning even less tuition time, but no reduction in the fees have been offered.

Charlotte, who already has a degree from the University of York in languages, has been working at a special needs school in Ipswich, and is keen to expand her skill set and qualification to progress her career and help more people.

She has also worked part-time in pubs while away and now back in Shotley, and has worked in a department store, in order to pay her own way through university wherever possible.

"I feel quite disappointed with the situation, firstly in that it was an exciting new venture which will now begin in quite a

mundane way but more so with the fact that a reduction in fees hasn't even been considered in this instance.

"I agree that with technology we can achieve a lot but as far as learning support goes, I'm sure anyone who has completed any level of higher education will agree that it is paramount to be able to contact tutors on a regular basis, often urgently due to deadlines.

"Having spoken to friends who were finishing their studies during lock down, many of them have said they found it difficult to get in touch with university staff outside of scheduled progress meetings."

"Having been out of education myself for three years, I was relying on support from university staff to help re-immerse myself into academia and I do not feel confident that I will receive the level of support online that I would have done face to face. Nor will I have the opportunity to establish relationships with staff who I will be working closely with over the next two years."

Charlotte is concerned she and other students will suffer when they try to complete the minimum number of hours of clinical placement as part of the course, with everything moving online,

She said: "I believe this will result there being no placement in the first term and I am concerned as to how that will have a knock on effect on squeezing it in later in the year."

Charlotte would like to see discounts worked out fairly per course, with the cost of one contact hour calculated based on £9,250 and then multiplied by the number of contact hours students actually receive, in contrast to if we were learning on campus.

She said: "I absolutely believe universities can afford to make cuts in fees to accommodate for the loss of learning. You have only to look at the salaries of the likes of the vice chancellor of The University York to understand that they have money to spare."

Another option would be for campus administrators to look at the Open University model and their fees taken into consideration and met somewhere in the middle, with similar courses offered by OU, some £3,000 a year less expensive.

For many going to university means leaving home for the first time and embracing a whole new way of living. Charlotte feels new students will miss out on many new experiences

"Having already had a fantastic undergraduate experience at university, the lack of social side is disappointing but wont have a huge impact on me," said Charlotte. "I do however think freshers attending university this year for the first time will really miss out on establishing those strong friendships.

"Many, if not all of the friends I am still in touch with now, five years later, are those friends I met in the first couple of weeks at university at student union organised events (freshers week)."

A petition by students last academic year for a refund of fees was signed by 350,000 forcing Government to hold a debate, with a date to be set by parliament.

Essex University has been contacted to comment but has not responded.

However, a section on the university's website about Masters Degrees states: "Life at Essex is full of opportunities. You'll work with world-leading researchers who are driven to make a difference and you can get involved with departmental research, speak at conferences or even work as a lab assistant. Whatever your discipline, we can help you go further and gain real-world, valuable experience for your current or future career."