Some UK Unis Are Switching To A 3-Day Week So That Students Can Work Part-time
To help students who work part time some UK unis are now trialling a 3-day week.
For many students, working part-time while at uni is not optional and is something that’s necessary to supplement student loans to cover the essential costs of rent and bills. As the cost of living crisis continues, more and more students have had to take up more hours at their part-time jobs to try and make up the extra money they need.
Of course, when in university as a full-time student, this leaves little time for students to take up work which will need to fit in around a uni schedule. Many jobs in supermarkets, for example, require specific set shifts for part-time employees to work which can clash with university timetables, with managers often unwilling to be flexible. As well as this, uni timetables normally change each semester and allocating time to studying or group work can be tricky to fit in around shifts at a job, leaving many students no choice but to skip lectures to go to work instead.
To help with this, some UK universities have decided to try out a 3-day week and reduce the number of days that students are required to be on campus.
How will a 3-day uni week work?
Currently, many students have their contact hours spread out throughout the week, often having large gaps between lectures during the day, which is great for studying but not so great if you need to find space to pick up a shift at work.
The idea will be to switch to a more compact uni schedule, with lectures and seminars scheduled over 2 or 3 full days, rather than throughout the week. For example, if you have 12 contact hours a week, instead of going in for two to three hours a day Monday to Friday, you may have five of these hours on Monday, five on Tuesday and two on Wednesday.
This would give students a couple of completely free days a week, meaning they’ll have more options when it comes to working part-time.
This can also benefit students who commute to uni, as they will only need to pay for travel costs for a few days a week, rather than every day.
Which universities are offering a 3-day week?
The following universities have either tested a compact timetable or are planning on testing one going forward.
- De Montfort University
- The University of Sunderland
- Anglia Ruskin University
- The University of Law
- Coventry University’s Dagenham and Greenwich campuses
Hopefully, this move is something that more and more universities adapt going forward to help out their students during the cost of living crisis. We asked some of you what you thought of this idea and if you’ve ever had to skip uni to go to work instead and here’s what you said.
