HUNDREDS of students are having to attend lectures until 8pm this semester because of a shortage of teaching space.
The move, which has increased the student working day to 11 hours, has been widely condemned for its impact on the student experience.

The late lectures have left some students with childcare problems and others having to give up part-time jobs.

Hannah Flather, a Business Management student affected by the issue, said: “I was forced to give up hockey due to my 6-8pm lecture on a Monday. Training is specifically set outside of the study period allocated by the University from 9-6. This lecture has been shoved outside of this boundary thus I cannot attend training thus I cannot be on the team.”

Josh Hale from the People and Planet society and the Discovery charity: “It will ruin participation in volunteering, sports and societies. It is unfair to both staff and students and will completely reduce student satisfaction.”
With the Students’ Union nursery closing at 5pm, student parents may be forced to abandon their lectures.

Beth Flynn, an English and Medieval Studies student, who is also a parent, said: “Lectures until 7pm are bad enough and deserve to be reconsidered in themselves. My husband and I are both full-time students and shared a compulsory 6-7pm lecture last year, so within one week of living in a new town, we had to find a babysitter for our four-year-old son. It was terrifying and not an experience I would want to re-live.
“Part of the reason we actually chose to study at Swansea University due to the fact that we were assured that only rarely would lectures fall outside school hours, and barely ever past 5pm. Needless to say, the 6-7pm lecture during our first term was a shock! As a student parent, it is difficult enough to schedule life at home with life at university.”

Zahid Raja, Swansea Students’ Union Education Officer, has launched a campaign called ‘Free After Five’ and has vowed to protect students from the problems evening lectures can cause.
He said: “Let me be absolutely clear when I say that we will not accept the university passing on the buck of mismanagement on timetabling and spacing onto students. The consequences of this on students with caring responsibilities and those who rely on part-time jobs to get through university are dire.

It has been estimated that around 400 people are affected by these lecture changes in the Colleges of Business, Law and Engineering, but these numbers will be confirmed by the Academic Registry through a request by the Students’ Union.

A university spokesperson said: “This is primarily due to very late fluctuations in student numbers and the unavailability of large lecture theatres during the day. We recognise that this may cause concern for certain students, and we will work with the Students’ Union to mitigate these where possible.”

Zahid Raja said he would continue to fight for a shorter working day: “The Vice Chancellor has on more than one occasion described the activities outside of the classroom to be just as important as the activities inside. Societies and sports create friendships and communities; at a time when the University is focusing on keeping students in university, I would argue that a clampdown on such activities is completely counterproductive.”

The education officer also questioned the £2.75m cost of refurbishing the Faraday Building.
He said: “The university is currently at capacity in terms of teaching space. I believe that this money should have been spent on more teaching space.”