Frustration after students discouraged from moving out on final Saturdays of term

Warwick Accommodation has sparked frustration over a short-notice email discouraging moving out on the Saturdays of Weeks 8 and 9.

As many prepare to leave for summer, an email sent on 8 June by the Warwick Accommodation Team has advised students not to move out of their accommodation on Saturday the 20^th and 27^th due to upcoming Open Days.

With this coming at a time when many students had already made plans for their departure, students have told The Boar that this information was given to them at short notice and has forced a number of them to change their moving-out plans.

An email sent by the Warwick Accommodation Team to all students living on campus informed students that there would be “likely disruption on upcoming Open Days”. The central message told students that they “may wish to consider arranging the collection of [their] belongings or travel plans outside of Open Days, or after 5:00pm on these dates”.

The email sent last Monday also emphasised that parking nearby to accommodation will be restricted resulting in longer walks, and that journey times around campus will also be longer due to the “several thousand visitors” expected to be be looking at on-campus accommodation.

This information has caused frustration amongst a number of students living on campus, with many being unaware of such Open Days beforehand and are now having to change their plans for moving out.

It doesn’t take into account that some families can only pick up their child on a Saturday, and the short notice doesn’t allow for much time to work around this

Anonymous first year

As several accommodation contracts will be coming to an end in these weeks, many were viewing these last two Saturdays of term as the “most obvious time to move out of our accommodations before contracts end” as a first-year History and Politics student told The Boar.

This might be seen with many of those coming to collect students having to work on Fridays and Mondays, making Saturday one of the only viable days to arrive on the weekend and get back home before the late evening.

Within this, the student went on to say that “it doesn’t take into account that some families can only pick up their child on a Saturday, and the short notice doesn’t allow for much time to work around this”. She made clear her concerns that “this has the potential to impact wellbeing negatively and add extra stress to students”.

With several students now having to change their moving-out plans, many are wondering of this is another lack of communication and planning issue by the accommodation team

When speaking with The Boar, students brought up the issue of the availability of those coming to help move out, such as parents.

“My dad is now having to take the Friday off work because of this” said a second-year History student, with her going on to say that the advice to move out after 5pm on these Open Days “fails to consider that many students would have far to travel that evening”.

One first-year told The Boar that “it’s strange that [the university] are prioritising prospective students, over current students attending Warwick”.

However, not all students who spoke with The Boar said they were affected by the issue. “My contract continues for a number of weeks, and I was planning to move out after the end of term” said a fourth-year student. Many others living in 42-week contracts also have the opportunity to stay or leave their belongings for longer beyond Week 10.

The Warwick Accommodation Team said in the email that this will help “keep the campus safe, welcoming, and running smoothly during these busy events”. But with several students now having to change their moving-out plans, many are wondering of this is another lack of communication and planning issue by the accommodation team at Warwick.

This does come at the end of the year where a number of first-year students were placed off campus, and the Warwick Accommodation Team faced accusations of having a lack of empathy when dealing with this issue in September.

The University has been contacted for a comment.