Wellington students slam 'regressive' requirement to attend lectures in person

The university says interacting with one's peers and sharing perspectives with the wider group is important. Photo / File

Victoria University will require second-year law students to attend lectures in person- a move that has been criticised as regressive and narrow-minded.

The availability of online learning during Covid-19 was seen as a win for students with disabilities, who are now worried the university's new policy could create a barrier to education.

A university spokesperson said classroom-based discussion to test legal arguments and political and policy prescriptions was a strong tradition of the Faculty of Law.

Interacting with peers and sharing perspectives with the wider group was particularly important in 200-level courses, they said.

"The faculty will reach out to all students to identify suitable options for those who may be unable to attend in-person classes, including the release of recordings, to ensure the success of all its students."

Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association (VUWSA) academic vice-president Jessica Ye said the law school did not have a strong culture of asking for help.

"We're just really worried about the students who are already quite marginalised at law school and whether they're going to be able to ask for help, or not, and reach out proactively because that's what the hardship threshold is going to require."

Ye said the new policy was regressive and narrow-minded.

"Students deserve inclusive, modern, high-quality learning and teaching practice and going back to this in-person only focus is regressive. It makes education inaccessible for most students with the cost of living crisis."

Students were already sacrificing time in class so they could work to pay bills, Ye said.

A petition is being launched for recordings of all lectures to be made available to students and VUWSA is seeking an urgent meeting with the university's acting vice-chancellor.

The university said it has consulted the Wellington Law Students' Society and other student groups, before making the decision.

The university said 300-level courses will be offered either in-person or through a combination of in-person and online teaching next year.

Disabled Students' Association President Amber-Rose Stinton said they had been pushing for online learning long before Covid-19, but were told it wasn't practical or feasible.

"When it affected everyone and they did finally figure out how to do it, it was kind of a massive relief because now we had the ability to access education in a way that many of us didn't have access to before."

Stinton said students might not want to disclose their disability to lecturers, making the university's new policy a barrier to learning.