How can I convince British university to reverse their refusal to let me remote study?

Question

How do I change British university's mind? I don't want to argue or get into a debate. For privacy, I prefer not to disclose more details. The course isn't science or medicine, so there are not many reasons to study this on campus. I started remote study in Oct. 2021.

Their refusal unnerves me because the university's Health Centre is overwhelmed. It takes months to book one appointment. I heard from friends they can see you just at most twice each term. I prefer my psychiatrist who knows me well. My parents want me to stay at home, so they can take care of me.

Other reasons for remote study

I didn't mention these yet because they feel less persuasive.

COVID is rebounding in Britain. Londoners ignore mask rules. “Face coverings must be worn for the full duration of journeys on the TfL network, including inside our stations and bus stations,”. This anti-mask makes me so anxious! But is this baleful enough to convince my university?

I want to save money by studying from home, rather than rent expensive accommodation. I'm on low income.

This is the reply I have received from the university:

We are responding to your request for remote study for 2022. As stated in our email to all students, the faculty prefers students to study on campus starting from January 2022, except those with exceptional circumstances that prevent them from returning.

Thank you for providing your psychiatrist's letter to explain your relevant circumstances, namely your Major Depressive Disorder for which you are taking antidepressants. We are deeply sympathetic to your depression. We recognize the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated mental health, particularly for anyone with psychiatric illnesses.

Nonetheless we are unable to accept your request. The university has a Health Centre with psychiatrists who are very experienced in and has regularly dealt with psychiatric illnesses. We have confirmed with the Health Centre that they are happy to schedule you for regular consultations upon your return. They also confirmed that the NHS covers your antidepressants for a very nominal fee. Therefore there is no sufficient basis that your Major Depressive Disorder prevents you from returning to campus.

Answer 1

How do I change British university's mind?

Speaking as somebody in a Swedish university that's currently in the process of "going back to campus", you most likely can't. Even if individual teachers or program managers are sympathetic to your concerns, whether to allow students to study remotely (and if yes, under what conditions and for how long) is generally a political process that is decided high up in university administration, and they will not make judgements on individual student cases. If the policy of your university is that all students need to study from campus, it's likely nothing you say will make them make an official exception for you.

Inofficially, it may be possible to take individual courses remotely. Especially during the transition period, many teachers will likely be acutely aware that some students have valid reasons (health or otherwise) for avoiding campus for the moment, and most universities really don't have all that much say or insight into how individual teachers design and run their courses (so many teachers at the moment choose course designs that can also be done remotely, if feasible for the course). That said, this will likely be entirely inofficial, so you'll have little right to demand accomodations or complain if, for instance, a hybrid course is more difficult to follow remotely than if you were in class. I would also expect that this degree of teacher understanding will wane over time, due to the COVID situation improving but also due to people accepting these issues as the "new normal".

Their refusal unnerves me, because university's Health Centre is overwhelmed. It takes months to book one appointment. I heard from friends they can see you just at most twice each term. I am cared much better at home. I prefer my psychiatrist who knows me well. My parents want me stay at home so they can care me. They don't want me to fall into suicide ideation.

I really, really sympathise with this concern, but it may be time to consider whether interrupting your studies is not the more productive way to protect your mental health than trying to wring out an official exception from a university that is probably under significant political pressure to return to normal studies as soon as possible.

Answer 2

Your University will almost certainly have a formal appeals procedure that can be used to appeal against academic and procedural decisions, such as this. There should be on-line information on the forms and procedures for this process on the university website. The student union is likely to be able to provide advice and support. Whether an appeal is successful depends on the reasons for making the appeal and the documentary evidence you can provide.

Nobody can say what the chances of success are without knowing the detailed reason, which you should certainly not post here! I would suggest though that saving money is unlikely to be regarded as a sufficient reason. If you do want to study from home, I think e.g. the Open University would be a much better bet as they are specifically set up for that purpose (so you are less likely to disadvantage yourself by not being on campus). You might want to consider a transfer instead?