Universities deciding whether to continue online this year (updates?)

[dreamingbohemian]

I've been on a few threads this year about whether universities will fully return to face to face learning this year or stay partly online.

My university told staff today that actually all teaching will be back to normal this year. Previously we had thought to keep large lectures online but now they have ditched that to go fully back to normal.

(Apologies for not outing myself by saying which university but it's a large London uni)

Just thought it might be helpful for people/parents to know that these decisions are getting firmed up now, so contact your university if you haven't heard anything yet -- and also just some optimism that maybe universities will be more f2f than expected this year.

We have been told (large London university) that lectures for over 60 would be online only. Rest in person. (Law so most lectures would be over 60). All recorded anyway.

But also they'd accommodate overseas students and vulnerable so I assume each module will have at least online tutorials group you can get allocated to if requested.

Yes, that's where my university was originally -- really surprising they have changed it to everything f2f again.

My department has loads of international students so not sure yet how that will work at the beginning of the year especially.

Also I think some staff will refuse to teach f2f in large lectures with no restrictions, so I wonder if our teaching plan is about to get shredded.

At my uni we had been told to expect lectures online, seminars and practicals f2f.
There seems to be a bit of a shift now to all f2f, with accommodation being made for those who don't want to / can't attend f2f (so basically doing it both ways), although nothing has been said officially one way or the other.

DDs insurance uni ( York) have told her lectures will be hybrid ( can attend but also recorded/ streamed). Not sure she's heard from her first choice what they are doing.

DS has received this info from Cambridge:

"We expect to offer as normal the small-group teaching that is at the heart of the Cambridge experience: supervisions, practicals and seminars. We are planning to deliver this teaching, and as many lectures as possible, in-person. However, where there is a strong reason (for example, it improves the educational experience, or where we are assessing the safe use of lecture theatres for large cohorts of students during the first term, or where members of staff are unable to teach in person) we will use online delivery."

If he gets all his lab practicals and some supervisions face to face, he'll be happy. He doesn't mind if lectures are online.

Sounds like sanity is returning to the Unis, thankfully.

Last time I spoke to my tutor they'd been told basically that things that had worked well online could stay online, but much more stuff would be face-to-face.

Of course formally we've had fuck all information from the university at all.

That's really unfortunate @CoffeeWithCheese I hope you hear something soon.

Not that long ago it seemed most universities were on the same page, now it looks like there will be a range of approaches. I think it will be tougher for universities not to offer all f2f if others are doing so?

Communication on an organisation level has never been my university's strong point. Great on the glossy marketing to get bums in on seats (or bums on chairs in your bedroom last year) - shite on communicating to current students.
My department are fab, disability support are fab - but the central uni organisation is shite.

Just seen on the news that 20 of the 24 Russell group Unis are continuing mainly online. Against government advice and guidelines. I really hope the students mutiny as it's a disgrace with no logic. Can go to a nightclub, pub, cinema, theatre but not a lecture.

Some of the unis are extremely risk averse, and clearly fear lecture theatre outbreak and HSE implications. Fresher's flu is a thing after all.
If there was a clear steer from govt they would follow it. But as it stands even within institutions the are variations in departmental interpretation of policy. Suspect that massive lecture theatre events will not be permitted within September/Oct risk assessments for this semester. Seminars and practicals were running last year (in some places at least) so can likely continue. But many unis are teetering on the brink of financial nightmare after all this so are very wary of making costly mistakes.
Pubs and nightclubs can't function at all online. Lectures can, parental misgivings notwithstanding.

Sorry but this information has come out after the meeting with the Universities minister, who gave them a very clear steer to get back to f2f teaching. How long are they going to continue being 'risk adverse' ? Forever ? On line is not good for younger students, or any students if wifi doesn't work (which a lot of it didn't last year as so many on line at once in halls). What reasons can Unis have for not letting students back onto campus except cost saving ? Wear masks, get vaccinated and then carry on like the rest of society in getting back to normal.

And never heard of a lecture being cancelled due to freshers flu. Or mumps, even when there was a large outbreak a few years ago.

I’m pretty sure my DD was told ages ago that it will be online this coming year.

At my uni, all first and second years can expect 10 hours of f2f teaching a week. Less for third years because of their dissertations, still a majority online, but there will still be a mixture of online and f2f. Post 1992 uni.

Fresher's flu will have cancelled lectures when staff got sick (which they often did, but mostly had to soldier on, making others ill too). Agreed it's crap but don't blame teaching staff, it's the institutions that tell them how they are supposed to do their jobs. Frontline staff just get all the flak - most of them don't want to continue online forever either.

(not do staff wish to endlessly do the same planning pieces again and again to flip between onsite and online delivery, it's a total waste of resources)

According to the Sunday Times 20 of the 24 RG unis have said they will continue at lest some online learning, the other 4 haven’t responded!

I truly hope that lecturers, parents, students and the government unite in opposing this, and that universities offer the full f2f teaching that students have a right to expect.

@comeundone not blaming the poor staff, who I can imagine hate on line teaching as much as I do (teacher here). I blame the 'leaders' as they seem to want to save money at everyone's expense. Poor students look like having another year of recorded lectures and therefore lack of socialisation. I hope they rebel and get angry

Does the Times say what 'at least some online learning' means?

My university is apparently going back to normal BUT we will have online tutorials for international students who can't start on time because of visa/quarantine issues.

@dreamingbohemian someone who works in Admin in HE told me yesterday that the Home Office have told universities that F2F in person will be a condition of them granting student visas so if you are in a university dependent on lots of overseas students that could well be the answer .

Maybe @GlencoraP but all the Russell unis have loads of international students so not sure that alone is it?

My uni are saying if you can't offer the large lecture f2f you have to offer equivalent f2f small group classes (in addition to f2f seminars). I think perhaps they are most worried about legal issues, they are always scrutinising module delivery in normal times as well.

[quote mumsneedwine]@comeundone not blaming the poor staff, who I can imagine hate on line teaching as much as I do (teacher here). I blame the 'leaders' as they seem to want to save money at everyone's expense. Poor students look like having another year of recorded lectures and therefore lack of socialisation. I hope they rebel and get angry [/quote]
I agree, probably not the teaching staff themselves generally, but their union is heavily politicised and have been making very strong comments against face to face teaching.

Add into the mix, the Uni management who basically just want the money they make from having students on site, so, last year, lied about face to face teaching, to get students to commit but then pulled the rug from under them by not providing the face to face teaching they were promised.

The Govt are right to give clear direction that Unis need to be as normal as possible at the start of time. Everything else is back to normal (nearly) now, so there's no excuse for Unis to be online.

Glasgow's first semester will be hybrid.
All teaching back to normal by November apparently although my contract ends mid Nov.

In the uni I'm involved with, staff and students (most of them Chinese) on the pre-sessional English courses were told that teaching would be f2f. This was a few months ago, when social distancing and other restrictions were still in place. Then, a few weeks ago, they were told that lessons would be 'delivered' online, despite the fact that nearly all restrictions have been lifted.

It's hard not to be a bit cynical and wonder if the intention had always been to have most classes online. I could understand if restrictions had been increased, but when the opposite is true, it does seem like they promised f2f to get students to travel over, and now they're here they're happy to continue in the way that's most convenient for uni management.