The university initially asked for volunteers to move, but has since warned that students will be selected at random if there are not enough volunteers.
The announcement has raised questions among students about why they have only just been informed of the oversubscription, and whether individual circumstances have been considered. For matters such as tenancies, travel arrangements, finances, jobs and other personal commitments, the prospect of a sudden relocation could have significant consequences.
Akash Vaid is a fourth-year medical student and the British Medical Association (BMA) representative for Newcastle. He told us that one of the chief demands of an open letter signed by students has been a meeting with representatives including himself and two students democratically elected to represent the Northumbria and Carlisle cohorts.
"The open letter continues to be ignored, and the university is clearly pursuing a strategy of sidestepping that process that has been asked for," he said. "We had over 40 signatures on that letter."
What you have is something like 65 students who are all waiting on the edges of their seats...
Asked how the issue should have been resolved, he said: "Transparency is a huge problem. I mean, it's four students in total. But what you have is something like 65 students who are all waiting on the edges of their seats, wondering if they're going to be randomly selected and sent across the width of the country to Carlisle."
Despite the disruption, Vaid said he was proud of how students had come together. "The students have been absolutely inspiring and incredible in the way that they've come together on this. We're talking about students who are on holiday. Some of them are travelling in Europe and Asia. People were working, people were moving house, and they were still finding time to come together and organise on this."
Asked what the students felt the university had failed to consider in giving them five weeks' notice to move, he said there was a long list. "Oh, so many things, so many things...one of the main things the students are talking about is the lack of any exemptions being considered."
One of the fourth-year students at risk of being randomly selected is Kerem Toprack, who directly addressed the personal circumstances that would make a move to Carlisle difficult for him.
...I bought an apartment in Newcastle based on the fact that I'd be staying in Newcastle...
"When I got my LEPs assigned, I bought an apartment in Newcastle based on the fact that I'd be staying in Newcastle to save on rent. So, I have a mortgage… a huge financial commitment. So I wouldn't be able to move to Carlisle."
Toprack is also funded by the Royal Navy, which pays his salary and requires him to remain attached to a unit on Newcastle's Quayside - meaning a move to Carlisle would mean he'd "have to travel back from Carlisle to Newcastle, and that would be midweek as well."
He said he had emailed the university to explain his situation, but felt unheard. "They didn't seem bothered by anything I had to say. They kind of dismissed anything I'd said on the email, and then just wanted to meet up one-on-one, but I don't really have anything to say to them one-on-one without the reps. I've already said all my circumstances on the email."
...It was an absolute, absolute bombshell...
Another fourth-year student at risk of relocation, who wished to remain anonymous, described the sudden nature of the announcement. "Yeah, no, it was an absolute, absolute bombshell dropped on that afternoon."
Asked what process the university should have followed, they said: "It is crazy. I spent all day yesterday moving into a house that I may not be living in come two weeks' time, which is wild to think. I think they could have handled it with a lot more transparency." They pointed to the timescale as the main source of anger among students, arguing that communication should have started as soon as the university spotted the risk of over-allocating places.
The same student also questioned the university's funding offer for those relocated. "They're only paying for accommodation Monday to Friday. What about the weekends when you're tired, when you're revising? You'd still be missing out on the key social moments with your friends, just random spontaneous trips going to the pub, Wednesday socials, Wednesday sports games. I just think the offer is a bit of a mockery for how uprooted your life would become."
Another medical student, Jack Brewington, already knows his placement year will be in Carlisle. While the situation does not directly affect him, he sympathised with those who may be randomly selected and raised some of the wider difficulties already being experienced by students placed in Carlisle.
...asking people to move cities with such short notice is ridiculous.
Asked how a move from Northumbria to Carlisle would affect students' expectations of their placement year, he acknowledged that Carlisle placements come with being in a smaller group with fewer social opportunities. He fears "people may be lonelier, which might make their general mental health worse… and makes the whole year less enjoyable as a whole."
Whilst Brewington has come to terms with the fact that he will be spending his year in a more isolated area, he advocates that "asking people to move cities with such short notice is ridiculous."
Asked how he thought the university should respond, he emphasised that it should "make what is a pretty terrible situation as good as it can be." He said he wished the university had spoken to the BMA or year-group reps about the issue to get "some student perspective on it."
Accommodation in Carlisle is already sparse. Brewington had only secured accommodation for the coming year a few weeks ago, after months of looking. He questioned how the four randomly selected students would find housing in time for the beginning of placement, calling it ultimately a case of "the lack of planning" from the university.
He also criticised the university's offer to provide accommodation for the newly relocated students, saying that Carlisle-based students had been requesting help with accommodation over the past year and "had nothing."
We realise any changes are inconvenient...
A spokesperson for Newcastle University said: "We have organised 360 clinical placements across the North East and Cumbria for this year group - out of these, four will have to be changed. This is to ensure our students get the training they need while maintaining the level of patient care.
"We realise any changes are inconvenient and are arranging to meet with the four affected and supporting them by offering free accommodation, travel and extra financial support where necessary."
As it stands, the affected students still do not know whether they will be among the four required to relocate. The university, for its part, says the changes affect a small proportion of a much larger placement programme, and that it is offering practical support to those relocated. Whether that is enough to address students' concerns about process and consultation remains, for now, an open question.