Universities

[Jourdain11]

Pure curiosity; I'm wondering what people suspect will be the situation with universities in January?

I’m pretty sure they will go back.

We're planning to go back fully f2f, unless the government says we can't (seems unlikely in England).

However the last couple of weeks of term 1 my department ended up going partly online as several colleagues had covid or had to look after DC who had covid. We also had some seminars moved online where over half the students in the group were self-isolating. I imagine these adhoc online moves will be happening again in January.

I am doing a masters. It was originally supposed to be 2 days per week on campus but because the numbers are capped it turned into 2 longer days with separate groups attending one of them. Now they have one session online and one on campus. You can choose. Only everyone has chosen online I'm sure it will change when the weather changes. The majority of my cohort has come from India and its fair to say the British weather had come as a shock . I think we will be fully online this term.

Planning to return f2f and no noises about otherwise. How it will go if the projections of 25% off sick at any given time are right, I don't know - we're not allowed to put anything online if isolating, so it has to be covered by someone else (obviously increasingly difficult as more and more people isolate or are ill), or rescheduled (so out of sync with the course schedule and more work when you come back from being ill). Genuinely not sure how it's all going to work out, but definitely no talk of modifying anything at all at the moment.

It's no longer really about causing illness or death or waves, but about the actual logistics when people are isolating, and I don't think that's enough to make anyone change direction at this point.

If nightclubs stay open and lectures are online I shall be put with my own picket board! Especially as I’ll be expected in the classroom with 30 kids and no Perspex or mask! For some reason primary teachers are disposable.

My ds is going back on Tuesday (4th) unless there's a big announcement tomorrow.

He got a walk in jab just before Christmas so is triple jabbed and I suspect a lot of students will have done the same, or will be booked in for when they get back to their university cities.

As long as a few housemates are around to socialise with I think he'll be happier there than here even if it was all online learning again.

@TheMerrickBoy

Planning to return f2f and no noises about otherwise. How it will go if the projections of 25% off sick at any given time are right, I don't know - we're not allowed to put anything online if isolating, so it has to be covered by someone else (obviously increasingly difficult as more and more people isolate or are ill), or rescheduled (so out of sync with the course schedule and more work when you come back from being ill). Genuinely not sure how it's all going to work out, but definitely no talk of modifying anything at all at the moment.

It's no longer really about causing illness or death or waves, but about the actual logistics when people are isolating, and I don't think that's enough to make anyone change direction at this point.

Interesting - at my uni, we've been encouraged to work when isolating and not take it as sick leave. From one perspective, it does make a lot of sense because mostly people haven't actually been sick. However, on two points I don't like it: (1) it encourages some people to think they can do all their work from home, so they "stay home to protect others" who then have to pick up the 25% of their responsibilities which can't be fulfilled from home; (2) I think it encourages a bit of a "do what you can from home rather than taking the sick day mentality. A colleague had a day off with a migraine in November and some people were a bit, "X and XX are working from home with Covid, can't you work from home today as well?"

We haven't had any word about next term, but I wasn't expecting anything before Tuesday. I think this coming week most unis will be making decisions. I anticipate that there'll be no significant change.

P.S. @TheMerrickBoy do you have yellow eyes?

I've had a msg to say that facemasks will be worn in all buildings at all time but still f2f.

I'm doing a part time masters, having to go in after doing 18 months remotely is a pita. I would much rather attend by teams but that isn't an option.

Msg today that should have said.

DS is a first year science student at a University in Scotland and was in 3 times between October and Christmas.

Hoping for substantially more next term.

I feel so sorry for first Year students having so little normal uni life. DD is a 3rd year and had normal life until March 2020 so had made her friends etc. She had 2 weeks of strikes just before lockdown. Then home April to September. She went back to her house for second year even though online Sept to Jan. luckily most of the next term felt like a bonus even under some restrictions. It’s all so unfair as the £9k price tag and private rent is unchanged.

@TheMerrickBoy why can't you post or teach online if you're isolating but not ill?

DS is going back tomorrow, f2f lectures starting on Tuesday.

Benji - yes so do I. I have both nieces and nephews who have had awful first and second years.

Online is OK for people like me, been there, done that, but not the youngsters.

I’m a lecturer in Scotland and we are doing pretty much all remote (except practical courses which must be on campus) for the first fortnight. Wait and see after that.

We have had masks in classes - staff and students - throughout the first semester.

Scotland and Wales seem much more organised than English universities.

Quite a few of DD’s friends have gone back to their respective universities already.

@Jourdain11

P.S. *@TheMerrickBoy* do you have yellow eyes?

How do you mean?

[quote dreamingbohemian]@TheMerrickBoy why can't you post or teach online if you're isolating but not ill?[/quote]
not allowed!

We're all back as usual tomorrow. For my uni it would take the entire staff to be off sick/isolating to move back online. Our VC has been absolutely determined to keep everything f2f from the start of this academic year.

Our issue has been keeping things going with high levels of staff illness. This may in part be because the vast majority of students weren't wearing face masks last term although that should now change!

@TheMerrickBoy I thought your name was an Antonia Forest reference - and the Merrick boy has yellow eyes!

@Jourdain11 Ah yes - it is, and I'd forgotten that he does!

@TheMerrickBoy Yes but why aren't you allowed? Not allowed by the department, the university, the union? What is the reason?

Where I am, if we have to isolate but are not actually ill, we just switch to online teaching.

@dreamingbohemian - The university. Students have been promised face to face and that is what they must have, with no online by the back door.