St Andrews University lectures to stay online for rest of academic year

Move will provide certainty for students, vice chancellor says

St Andrews is Scotland's first university and the third oldest in the English-speaking world. Getty

St Andrews University has announced teaching for students will remain online until the autumn.

The Scottish university said it had moved early to provide certainty to students as the UK continues to grapple with a high rate of coronavirus infections.

"It is prudent to anticipate that significant restrictions on travel and other aspects of public life will remain in place in Scotland through the spring," vice chancellor Sally Mapstone said in a letter to students.

“Even if some of those are eased as Covid infections fall, we do not believe it will be to a degree sufficient to allow us to bring large numbers of students back to St Andrews and provide comprehensive in-person education.”

She said that the university would "continue to provide our hallmark high quality learning, contact, and support online".

“As difficult and disrupted as this academic year has been and will continue to be, we are not too far from the turn of the home straight.”

Edinburgh University and London School of Economics have already said they will be conducting their lectures online for the remainder of this term.

Student bodies have called on universities to reduce fees for students, which amount to £9,000 ($12,449) per year on average. In addition, some students have refused to pay for accommodation they have not been able to use.

So far, universities have not dropped their fee levels, with the government declining to intervene.

The government previously said that it hoped universities would begin welcoming students back from March 8. However, it will review this guidance on February 15, with a decision expected on February 22.