UCC students win campaign for campus rent refund

STUDENTS at University College Cork (UCC) will be offered refunds if they were living on campus but have chosen to return home due to the pandemic.

Many students were informed that most of their lectures would be taking place online, as Covid restrictions continue.

Only classes of a practical nature, such as science courses which require the use of labs, are taking place on campus.

UCC Students’ Union canvassed the institution to refund those who returned home after measures were announced.

The UCC Students’ Union posted the update on social media: ‘Following our meeting with UCC Campus Accommodation, an agreement has been reached to issue a rent refund to any student that chooses to return home.’

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) confirmed that NUIG and Maynooth University have also announced they will provide such refunds. USI have predicted that other universities will soon follow suit, based on the fact that nearly all Irish universities refunded student accommodation for the last academic year.

USI President Lorna Fitzpatrick said: ‘When colleges closed last March at the start of the pandemic, the USI and local students’ unions called on individual colleges to refund students who had moved out of college-owned student accommodation. This happened at an early stage as most colleges agreed to provide refunds for vacated on-campus accommodation.

‘Unfortunately, there were some delays in colleges providing such refunds to their students for unused accommodation but they all provided refunds in the end.

‘With further restrictions expected... all colleges should again provide refunds to students who chose to, or need to, move out of on- campus accommodation without delay,’ she said.