Cambridge: No F2F lectures until Oct 2021

[CamDram]

A senior tutor at Cambridge has apparently leaked the university's plans to deliver all lectures online for the whole of the 2020/21 academic year.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/may/19/cambridge-university-moves-all-lectures-online-until-summer-2021

To say my DC is unhappy about this is an understatement. It also means that the drama and sports scene she loves almost certainly won't be happening at all.
She now wants to take a year out and return in 2021 when she can actually have a decent uni experience. So far, she has only had one decent term at uni as her second term was disrupted by the constant lecturers strikes.

Apparently other unis will be 'broadly in line' with this.

Will your DC who have already started still go back next year?

My friend, who is a Cambridge grad with a DD currently there, reckons the announcement about online teaching is designed to reassure international students that it is worth starting their first year/continuing with later years. Top unis are so reliant on income from overseas students they are panicking about them all deferring, or trying to take gap years mid course, if they are unable to return, or don’t want to.

But what about all the other aspects of Cambridge? Freshers' Week, Societies Fair, Formal Halls?

Are they really going to sit everyone 2m apart for Hall meals?

@Bowbridge I think Freshers week will be very different. Formal Halls will probably have to wait a while until it is safe to resume these or operate on smaller scales (I'd say smaller gatherings were allowed but not larger by then).

All these extras will have to happen at the same time as in wider society, won't they? They will have to follow the rules for pubs, clubs, restaurants, theatres, sports. If restaurants are open as usual then Halls can happen as usual. But if restaurants are still limited then unis will need to follow the same rules. I don't think they can make independent decisions as far as any of that goes.
It's really tough, so many decisions to be made when we don't have enough facts. We're having enough trouble making decisions for our small business, never mind a great big university. Nightmare. For the planners and decision makers, and for students.

*I feel for the students currently in their first year. They've had their first year wrecked by strikes and now covid, and now their second year could be an online experience only.

Maybe they'll actually get to have a nice student experience in their third year!*

At least first years have enjoyed the social aspects for a few months. I feel for those starting this year. I also wonder if more will be tempted to do masters to get an extra year.

Bloody bold fail.

We live 15 mileS from Cambridge and late-MIL was an admissions secretary at Corpus. They have a huge number of international students (not sure how they compare to other Unis but I’d imagine they have one of the highest international intakes) and my guess is that putting this news out now is an attempt to try and keep that international money coming in - particularly from the Chinese market.

A friend who works at a Russell Group uni but not in a teaching role says their uni is looking at tweaking term dates rather than going fully online. Undergrads start as usual in October. Postgrad shunted back to start in January, when the undergrads are doing exams. Then postgrads continue with classes through the summer term when undergrads are off doing exams, sitting their own exams in August/September. Sounds like a good plan to me.

I have a place on a part time Masters starting in October but it was always intended to be an online course, with the option of attending lectures on campus if you wished. I'm assuming that option may be removed, for next term at least. But numbers on postgrad courses are usually smaller, with social distancing easier.

@SockYarn I can see that causing an issue with post grads who have already acquired accommodation though. They’ll have to pay a few months more for accommodation now and if they have planned any summer work or internships then those go down the drain.

But they may prefer that to the alternative.

www.cam.ac.uk/coronavirus/news/update-from-the-senior-pro-vice-chancellor-education-regarding-the-academic-year-2020-21?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_content=1589990906

feel for those starting this year. I also wonder if more will be tempted to do masters to get an extra year.

^ that’s dd’s plan - she’s starting the BSc in September & is already talking to the uni about swapping directly to the integrated masters - they are being encouraging (I assume worry about numbers is a factor). It’s STEM, not only lab based but involves a particular type of training which is impossible with social distancing (think being on a small boat!).

It's going to be hard for the freshers I think, but dd is ok with the current proposal, and if she's ok with it, then so are we. Of course it won't be the same, but it's better than no university at all and better than the feared outcome of everything being online working from home.

To me, it seems like the most pragmatic solution, given it's not their fault we are in the middle of a serious pandemic, There is scope to move back to face to face, but in the meantime there is more clarity.
hopefully those with labs will get a better idea soon - that must be an added stress.

Thanks for that link SeasonalFinale. That makes things clearer than what the bbc and guardian chose to report.

Thanks Season - that sounds much more reassuring. Bloody newspapers...

Bolton University has announced that they will be opening in September, with extra measures to minimise infection. This is being reported as the diametric opposite of Cambridge's approach. If you read further, this is the educational provision they are planning:

Bolton:
Large lectures: online
Seminars and tutorials: face to face with social distancing
Practicals: in person, with social distancing

Cambridge:
Large lectures: online
Supervisions: face to face with social distancing
Practicals: in person, with social distancing

Anyone know what's happening in Wales...

Ironoaks - gives me such rage! Probably the ‘posh’ schools debate again.

University of London associated workplaces are planning to open their research laboratories first in the phased return to work. So there will be a clear plan to use as a basis to follow for the academic laboratories from June.

Ironoaks that's a classic example of how media reporting affects perception. I feel for Cambridge - they have been at the sharp end of a leak and the information they've now been able to send to offer holders are much more balanced and reassuring.

Part of me hopes that whoever leaked that email faces an internal disciplinary or at least a stern talking to. Cambridge would clearly have released the info shortly but would have done it in a considered way - avoiding unnecessary angst for students (and their parents) caused by sensationalistic reporting.

Oh and I blame the lazy journalists as well.

I don't think it is mere lazy journalism though - there seems to be systematic spin about universities in general and oxbridge in particular.

And they’ll all charge the 9.25k fees as the government won’t force them not to.

And they'll all charge the 9.25k fees as the cost of delivering the courses won't be reduced.

A few people could do with recognizing that (a) lectures are quite a small proportion of many/most university courses (especially at Oxford/Cambridge), (b) many students choose not to attend lectures anyway, and (c) stopping 100-300 students at a time attending lectures in person would allow the university buildings to be used safely for delivering laboratory classes, tutorials, etc., to smaller numbers of students at a time.

@SirTobyBelch completely false. I don’t know where this myth that most contact hours at Oxbridge are seminars or tutorials came from but it is completely wrong.

And I will eat my shoe if universities actually replace lecture hours with more seminars and tutorials. It just will not happen.

And I will eat my shoe if universities actually replace lecture hours with more seminars and tutorials. It just will not happen.

Iterestingly, I spent most of the afternoon in a (video) meeting planning exactly this. As we will only be able to have 1/3 of the usual number of students in a laboratory at once we shall have to run every practical class three times as often. So, yes, it will happen. I hope your shoe tastes nice.