If we go back to in-person teaching in September ...

[FlockofGulls]

I must say I am somewhat concerned about teaching a new influx of Freshers in person (I teach in laboratory/studio settings so close contact sometimes needed pedagogically) without knowing their viral status.

I'm not really particularly anxious about COVID-19 while we're in lockdown - I feel safe & secure. And I'm in control of what I do, what I touch, and with whom I have contact. But I'm on the edge of a high risk group (over 55, asthmatic) and Freshers flu is bad enough. I don't want to become seriously ill by contact with youthful 'superspreaders'!

They need to roll out testing - I really will have to modify how & what I teach if they don't.

So far, my university has been superb in looking after students - and they talk the talk about staff welfare - but I'm not entirely convinced that they have a handle on staff health & well-being in the same way that they are looking after students. The general assumption that we all have study/work spaces at home, equipment& broadband connections, for example - the way they assume we'll use personal resources to keep working in this way ...

This is something I'm just starting to think through. I think as academics, we take a lot of hits to our health - teaching through flu/colds etc. But I get lung infections badly, and I'm not completely sanguine about being part of the 80% who don't suffer C-19 really badly.

What do you all think?

The general assumption that we all have study/work spaces at home, equipment& broadband connections, for example - the way they assume we'll use personal resources to keep working in this way ...

On the other hand, academics are on 100% salary at a time when many in the country have lost jobs entirely or are on furlough at 80% with the strong possibility that they will lose their jobs in a few months.

Universities have lost 10-20% of their income and expect to lose at least as much next year. If you're not prepared to take a pay cut of 10-20% personally, and you don't expect there to be large scale redundancies, then the costs of funding broadband + laptop seem a pretty minor contribution relative to what many others in the country are experiencing.

I don't think face to face teaching in universities will resume on the timescale you indicate, for exactly the reasons you identify.

Oh I understand that, @1963mes - I know how bloody lucky we are. And I'd consider furlough personally - although I have enough research to keep me going till September including resubmission of a couple of complex research grants which, if successful, will bring in about 20 times my salary till I retire. So I'd still be working until face to face teaching - or whatever else we do - resumes in September/October.

And I'd be happy to resume 'normal' teaching if there were a systematic way of my employer ensuring that I would not be exposed to C-19 risk.

Because I know I can't 100% trust undergrads - when I dash out for my shopping trip to stock up the fridge, the people I see not observing physical distancing are elderly men, and young people - who think they're invincible, I suppose.

@1963mes, I’m not sure that I understand your point. While I’m immensely lucky to be able to work from home, I am actually working. That has nothing to do with my concerns, like @FlockofGulls, that I might be pressed to return to an unsafe working environment.

Having said that, from what’s I’ve seen of current planning, it’s becoming increasingly unlikely that we’ll be face-to-face teaching this September.

The OP implied that universities were taking advantage of staff by relying on them having IT equipment, broadband etc (and not paying for these). In usual circumstances I would agree. In the current circumstances relying on staff having home broadband could be viewed as a fairly reasonable alternative to cutting academic staff salaries. (My university is covering such costs for professional staff in lower salary bands.)

Many companies that are still operating have asked staff to take salary cuts, while still doing their work - indeed often more work, if other staff have been furloughed - so in this instance universities would not really be out of line with other employers.

Of course this is a separate issue to the safety of face to face teaching, but the OP included both issues in their post.

BTW self evidently as another academic if I were asked to return to face to face teaching I would be subject to the same risks and I am in a high risk category.

My main point really wasn't the costing of using my personal resources to do my job - I do that all the time. It was an example of the way that my university - which has been exemplary in its care for students (including supplying laptops for home use & subsidising low-income students' home broadband) - has not really fully thought through the implications for teaching staff.

My use of the home broadband example was simply an analogy - they dealt with students' IT difficulties on the day after we ceased face-to-face teaching; but there has been almost no parallel communication about staff capacity or health.

I really don't want to get into a debate about comparing academics' working conditions etc with other industries. As highly-qualified & expert professionals our working conditions are in some ways comparatively good (with reasonable comparators: specialised civil servants, for example) but in other ways, they are woeful ... Swings & roundabouts.

I am interested in how and whether we'll return to our standard teaching practices.

That is, my mention of home broadband was an example of the way that my university gave massive thought & resource to students, and pretty much no thought/resource for staff ...

I'm a bit worried that this "customer" model will persist. I may have to go on furlough if they want me to be in a room of 20 undergrads with no assurance of anyone's viral status.

I remember the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s, and I remember the panic about sharing cups, or being in the same room as someone HIV+. COVID-19 reminds me of this, except that it's very easy to catch C-19, whereas it's not that easy to catch HIV.

Flock I hear you and I agree. I think pp were full of whataboutery concerning the real issues you raise.

I'm also in a high-risk category and doing everything I can to stay in the

I nearly wrote the same post @FlockofGulls. I feel my uni's response has been entirely student focussed and I am very worried about a September return plus open days etc.

I actually think it's important to talk about university attitude towards staff and their working environment. My institution is making massive assumptions about the technology staff have available to plan online materials post September. We are seemingly expected to adapt immediately to a complete change in delivery of materials using whatever devices we have at home for personal use. There is very little support and in three weeks of lockdown we've had one (90 minute) online staff meeting to tell us what's happening.

Meanwhile in my DH corporate world they have funding for laptops and chairs, internet boosters and twice weekly meetings to make sure everyone is alright. Eye opening indeed.

Ditto Saturdaynight. My place is like Make Do and Mend. Quite absurd. I am on slowdown.

I have a lot of complaints about my institution, but I have to say that they've been very good about supporting staff to work at home. We were given advance warning that we would be going to online teaching soon and to start preparing. They have delivered headsets and laptops to people. They said they'd sort out broadband for those who don't have it (but doubt there is anyone like that). There have been continually running online courses/ Q and A on how to use the technology.

I've been told that they're preparing for the possibility that the university will still be closed in September. That does worry me. It was one thing to finish off the last 2 weeks of a semester by teaching online, but it's going to be very difficult to convert an entire module to online teaching.

According to QA rules, we would have to get this change approved for every module spec.

Saturdaynight - what you are describing is not universal and is probably partly reflective of the management in your own department. For example, why couldn't your head of department schedule regular all staff meetings? Why isn't your line manager scheduling meetings with you? And why aren't the IT team and education focussed staff running training sessions on online delivery?

Some of the blame can be pushed up to senior management, but at least some of these things could be addressed by departments themselves.

I haven't been provided with any tech and as I'm sharing WFH with my DH and we have one desk, I'm knackering my back working at the dining table (currently trying to work out where to put a desk chair as there's no actual room in the dining room).
Some of my teaching is not set up well at all for online (seminars and practicals where students have to physically handle stuff/physically interact). Some could be but I'm not sure how the university will handle "I really don't want to come to campus even though we aren't in lockdown". I'm also in the flu jab group.

My department is setting up for fully online for next year, we've been asked to cost it.
We'll either be fully online or a mixed model (no idea how that will work).
I start today teaching a 60hr new module online. I was given about a month to prep this and zero training or resources, but I think it will turn out quite good so long as my internet holds out.
I'd love to go back to face to face! I realize it's not possible for certain groups within the staff and students but I really feel for students stuck alone in their bedrooms trying to access what should be a social learning experience.

@iggle are you in Humanities/Social science?

I'm not sure how the university will handle "I really don't want to come to campus even though we aren't in lockdown". I'm also in the flu jab group.

Yeah, I'm facing this too - I'm an adviser, so I meet one-on-one close to a hundred students in the first week, and nearly always come down with something that they had, despite being very fastidious with hand-washing. At least I'm hoping this time around not so many will offer a handshake! And there is plans for at least some people to not be there in person, but they are expecting a fair number of on-campus students based on current projections.

I don't know what to do if we're expected to be there - I haven't gotten any shielding or at-risk letter, despite being on the flu jab list, so I'm guessing I'll just have to go in and risk it. And we've got people who ARE shielding, with things like organ transplants, so the rest of us will have slack to pick up on top of our normal duties.

I haven't gotten any shielding or at-risk letter, despite being on the flu jab list

Ditto - I think there's a real problem with those of us who might be considered to be more vulnerable, but are not shielding. I feel a bit invisible in this respect, to be honest, and it's making me anxious if I think about it. So I"m trying not to think about it. We've been told to start to prepare for teaching online in September.

Hi @worstofbothworlds yes, I'm social sciences

@worstofbothworlds are you science?
I usually teach through small group discussions/activities and class discussion. Some of it can be replicated using shared docs and breakout groups in zoom. I don't know how science practicals will work!

Yes I'm in science.
We don't have that many wet labs, but even simulations and computer techniques are hard to teach online except if 1:1. And even then they are clunky. I can demonstrate but I can't check understanding.