Our plans for teaching and learning in Semester 2

10 Nov 2020

An overview of our aims for delivery of teaching and learning in Semester 2.

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement of an England-wide lockdown from 5 November until 2 December, we have communicated our decision to continue operating with the current mix of online and in-person teaching until the review of the current national restrictions on 2 December. Government guidance has made it clear that universities should remain open and continue to provide teaching and support for our students.

The recent Government announcements remind us that we have to be prepared to respond and adapt to changing situations which none of us can predict, to ensure the safety of all. Whilst we cannot control the external environment or make any firm promises, I am aware that many colleagues and our students are also eager to understand our aims for teaching in Semester 2.

As part of our commitment to an on-campus experience for students, and following feedback from both staff and students, we are keen to offer as many teaching activities on campus as we can safely and practically deliver. On-campus interactions are important for mental health and wellbeing; support academic communities; and create a sense of belonging.

On this basis and provided that external factors are favourable, our plan is to deliver a blend of on-line and in-person teaching and learning in line with Department for Education (DfE) Tier 2 status in Semester 2.

Although this is our aspiration, we also need to be prepared to operate in different ways should this be required.

We hope that setting out our aspiration now will allow colleagues to plan their course content, delivery and assessments. We can also go ahead and timetable teaching spaces for Semester 2 based on this blended, flexible model.

Our planning assumptions for Semester 2 are therefore that:

• all lectures will be delivered online, with other teaching involving an in-person on campus component, where it is safe and feasible to do so. We plan to deliver laboratory, clinical and practice-based teaching on campus for all students on relevant programmes;
  
• we plan as a minimum to deliver an average of two hours’ in-person teaching per week (which may include laboratories and practical activities) for every student present in Manchester where it is safe and feasible to do so, with every programme including an in-person, on-campus teaching component;
  
• academic advising and project and dissertation supervision activities will take place online as the default, with an on-campus option by student request, or where in-person supervision is essential (for example, for some laboratory-based projects).

It is important that decisions on the exact mix of in-person, on-campus teaching and online delivery are made locally by Faculty Leadership Teams, who will take local factors into account.

Colleagues should therefore prepare to deliver lectures online for the whole of Semester 2. Other teaching activities should be prepared for delivery both in-person, and online, so we are able to be flexible in our approach. We absolutely acknowledge that due to this uncertainty, developing plans for both online and in-person teaching is a huge task for all colleagues involved in the delivery of teaching and the student experience, and we are extremely grateful.

Our Library and on-campus study spaces will also aim to further extend their opening hours into the evenings and weekends, and PC Clusters will be accessible in-person, in addition to via remote log in.

Whilst our core teaching is designed to be delivered via a blended, flexible model; as you will be aware, some of our students chose to study wholly remotely for Semester 1, where this was feasible within the requirements of their programme. The Teaching and Learning Group Executive (TLG Exec) which includes the Faculty Vice-Deans for Teaching, Learning and Student Experience, are now working with programme teams to review the Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) for each year of our programmes, to ascertain which of these may be suitable for remote study next semester. If Faculties decide that all ILOs can be delivered and assessed online for particular programme year cohorts, we will offer students the choice of either on-campus or remote study for the remainder of the academic year.

This review will be completed by 11 November and we will communicate these details to staff and students shortly thereafter. We are also awaiting Government guidance on movement of students over the Christmas break, and will provide an update as soon as we can.

I want to once again thank all of our staff and students for their patience and continued understanding, as we all continue to adapt to the changing situation.

Professor April McMahon
Vice-President for Teaching, Learning and Students