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?

[cinammonbuns]

@SirTobyBelch
Did ou read what I said? I said universities will not REPLACE lectures with extra seminars and tutorials. Splitting one tutorial into 3 tutorials because of social distancing is not extra tutorials?


That’s just having 1/3 of the people in each class. For the student they do not get any extra tutorials.

I’m frankly shocked that somebody who supposedly works in a university can’t understand this.

[cinammonbuns]

It’s seems my shoe will stay firmly on my feet....

[Emmapeeler1]

This was leaked by a student paper before the university had had chance to consult with students. When you look at the chancellor's actual statement it is not quite so sensational, it's just sensible planning that they can retract if need be.

[Emmapeeler1]

Splitting one tutorial into 3 tutorials because of social distancing is not extra tutorials?

It is actually literally extra tutorials though, particularly for the lecturer running them.

[AChickenCalledDaal]

It depends on the subject, I think. Some arts subjects let you pick and choose what lectures you go to - and some arts students choose to go to very few indeed. STEM subjects have much more structured timetables.

I'm going to do that "when I was there" thing now ... but almost the first thing my director of studies told me was that lectures were optional but supervisions (in groups of three) were absolutely compulsory ... with a strong implication that there would be hell to pay if I didn't turn up. I realise that might have changed. But Cambridge is not known as a place of rapid change!

[cinammonbuns]

@Emmapeeler1 but not for the student which is the point....

I think you need to read my comment again

[Snowdrop30]

I don't understand why so many posters here seen to think that universities are somehow being mean by cancelling lectures. They need to follow government guidelines on what is and isn't safe to do. Of course that's a bummer (for staff and students alike), but would you rather have your child put in an unsafe situation? Or would you rather your child carried the virus to vulnerable peers or members of staff ?

Sadly, viruses do not care about our personal preferences, or what experiences we value most. They just spread however they can.

[ITonyah]

I have children at private school. They are getting an excellent online education, but we get a 15% discount in fees to reflect the fact that they aren't getting all the benefits of being in school.

Perhaps this is something universities could consider.

[Ironoaks]

SirTobyBelch as the parent of an offer-holder in a science subject who is very keen to start the course this October, thank you for everything you and your colleagues are doing to enable practicals to go ahead.

[ErrolTheDragon]

And I will eat my shoe if universities actually replace lecture hours with more seminars and tutorials.

Why should they? They are going to be delivering all the lectures, just not with the students all crammed into a lecture theatre. What are they supposed to be replacing? .

Maybe some students won't like this as much but the content will be there. If they take a positive attitude they can make it work. And the staff can focus their time and the physical resources on the tuition which most needs to be f2f - supervisions, labs, probably practical art, drama, music etc.

[ErrolTheDragon]

I don't understand why so many posters here seen to think that universities are somehow being mean by cancelling lectures.

Especially as they're not cancelling lectures, just delivering them online. They're doing the work.

[titchy]

Perhaps this is something universities could consider.

As you have been told repeatedly, universities CANNOT do that. Lobby Government.

[ITonyah]

Perhaps the universities could suggest it?

[ErrolTheDragon]

The costs to universities are likely to be higher, glad they're not raising fees.

[ITonyah]

I think they'd show themselves to be very tone deaf if they raised fees.

So they could raise fees, but don't have the ability to lower them?

[Kittywampus]

Actually I think online lectures are a good idea. There isn't much difference in the experience of sitting in a lecture with 100s of other students vs watching it online. If a lecture is online then you can watch it at any time you choose, so there will be no clashes with other lectures / paid employment. And you can rewatch if you miss anything.

If lectures are online then universities can make the best use of their space for seminar groups, where small groups of students are expected to interact and discuss the material, and also practical sessions.

Universities don't make a profit. So if fees are reduced, cuts will need to be made, which will undoubtedly impact further on students. For example cuts would need to be made to library facilities, computers, books, less staff (so some modules would not run, and groups would need to be larger).

[ITonyah]

Lectures are online now at dds uni. She much prefers to go to lectures. She likes the human interaction and being able to ask questions. She's disappointed lectures will be online, but I think as long as tutorials etc go ahead it might just about be ok.

[cinammonbuns]

@ErrolTheDragon you have made your point severely times that you don’t believe anybody is allowed to be dissatisfied with this.

[Kittywampus]

Personally I think the government should offer to partially write off part of the student loan this year (and next, if social distancing continues). It looks like we will be entering a global recession, so I think its unlikely that most students will repay their entire loan. So writing off part of the loan would encourage more students into higher education, but not actually cost taxpayers much in the long term.

[cinammonbuns]

And I don’t think it’s your place to say ‘If they take a positive attitude they can make it work.’

[ITonyah]

Kittywampus i agree. I am surprised the universities haven't suggested it.

[ITonyah]

I agree with everything you've said cinnamonbuns

[AgileLass]

Maybe some students won't like this as much but the content will be there. If they take a positive attitude they can make it work.

I’m desperately hoping for a more positive attitude from students in September. Engagement/participation in online teaching dropped to about 25/30% across the board in my department, as students seemingly decided that with the safety net in place, they didn’t need to bother with the online seminars, weekly tasks, discussion boards that I and other colleagues had set up.

The more diligent students felt fed up as well, and expressed their frustration that their peers weren’t participating. It made for a deeply demotivating experience for academics, particularly as we spent so much time transitioning to online teaching under so much pressure.

Students are co-producers of their own learning; if they don’t engage, it doesn’t work.

[ErrolTheDragon]

Of course you're allowed to be dissatisfied, @cinammonbuns - you've also made your points several times. We can all say what we think here.

And I don’t think it’s your place to say ‘If they take a positive attitude they can make it work.’

Surely not trying to shut down people who disagree with your stance?

But I'm quite serious that as parents it's much better to encourage positivity (if they need it) rather than amplify dissatisfaction. It is shitty for the youngsters, the and of last term and this have been a bit of a train wreck but not the unis fault. I'm not sure what anyone was expecting re lectures.... there would have been horror if the plan was to ignore distancing and have them all in the lecture theatres wouldn't there?

[Sunndowne]

I must say, sounded like a positive plan from Cambridge. Just a while ago, we were expecting no return until January. Online lectures no problem.

Apparently it's the lack of clubbing, team sports my DD's crowd are miserable about. Worked so hard for uni experience and some of it is taken away.
Oh well, that's how it goes.