Monday 19-10-2020 - 14:21

The Covid-19 situation between the start of term and now has changed dramatically. While Durham is still operating with a blended teaching approach (both face-to-face and online delivery), nationally we’ve seen universities move teaching entirely online as a result. As your academic officers, we wanted to outline our stance on how we think the University should respond if Durham’s teaching moves completely online. And we are clear that throughout potential changes to the teaching and learning environment, the quality of education must be prioritised. We know, however, that there are large variations in student opinion on online teaching, which means there may not be a consensus  – the University also has to be aware of this. Our concern and main priority is the safety and wellbeing of our students and members of staff. 

In light of this, we believe the University should commit to: 
 
Quality of teaching 

Due to the fundamental changes in the delivery of teaching, created by the necessity to teach online, it is essential that the University clearly and proactively outlines its standards on the quality of teaching that students should expect. This includes high-quality lectures, seminars, practicals and office hours. We believe it is imperative that education at Durham is able to adapt to the changing teaching environment caused by Covid-19, and that solutions are sought to ensure teaching quality across all departments and courses. 

Assessment

We know that the pandemic has continued to disrupt students’ ability to access resources and to undertake their studies. We believe that no student should have their grade impacted unfairly due to the disruption caused by moving teaching online. We will therefore ensure the University continues to uphold a similar standard to the ‘No Detriment’ policy that was lobbied for by our predecessors for the summer 2020 exam period. This means departments take the policy into account when marking assessed work for the entirety of teaching impacted by Covid-19. 

Guidance and communication

As we get deeper into the term, it is clear that there have been considerable amounts of confusion due to unclear communication from the University before and during term. The process of planning needs to be as transparent as possible and consistently communicated with departments and faculties, as well as students. We believe it is imperative that the University has clear guidance on how it will teach online this term so that, if the decision is made, staff and students are prepared to go completely online when needed. 

We believe there also needs to be more clarity from the University regarding at what point teaching should be delivered entirely online, and the logistics of how teaching will be delivered online. This includes postgraduate students who are teaching, who also need to be made aware in advance to reduce the likelihood of last-minute workload increases and drastic changes to their teaching methods. 

Access to IT equipment

There are many students who lack access to IT equipment and are therefore placed at an obvious disadvantage under an online teaching model. We believe the University should therefore invest in IT provisions, including suitable WiFi connections, which are then clearly communicated with students so they are able to easily access said equipment. 

Community

We also see that it is necessary that the University encourages and facilitates more informal modes in which course mates can interact online to allow open discussions outside of the classroom. In the context of social distancing and self-isolation it is imperative that students feel part of the Durham community, even if it is online. We believe the University should support academic staff with the resources needed to provide alternative methods for students to interact outside of formal teaching spaces, and we will work with our academic student groups to do the same. 

 

We will continue to raise these important issues in meetings with University staff and provide updates to you, but if you have any other concerns or issues please feel free to message either of the academic officers! We are more than happy to have a chat with you at some point over messenger, email or a video chat.

 

Reach Nailah Haque, your Undergraduate Academic Officer, on Facebook, Twitter or by email: su.ugacademic@durham.ac.uk

Reach Sarah McAllister, your Postgraduate Academic Officer, on Facebook, Twitter or by email. su.pgacademic@durham.ac.uk