The COVID-19 crisis from a student perspective, how has it been, how was it handled and what might it mean for the future?

Bang! The door bursts open, “What’s for lunch?”, “When’s the food shopping coming?”, “I need everyone to keep out of the kitchen, I’ve got a seminar Zoom call!”. Another typical day in a household during a very non-typical period for two parents and two teenage students! During these exceptional times this is a scenario which, I am sure will resonate with thousands of families both here in the UK and indeed across the globe. Two Generation ‘Z’ teenagers, both with very different outlooks continuing to try and maintain a degree of normality as they continue their respective studies, one as a 17 year old FE college student on the first year of a BTEC programme at a local FE college, the other aged 19 and back at home (since the outbreak), after completing his first year of undergraduate study at the University of Sussex. Life has changed and we all face different challenges as we slowly emerge from the other side of this crisis. Not least with the ever-present internal battle for ‘bandwidth’ as the whole family adapts to a world of remote working and studying! But what has this period been like from a student perspective? How have they coped with the changes that have been enforced on us all and perhaps more importantly, what are the lessons we need to learn in terms of how we move forward and beyond?

There have been numerous articles, quite rightly focusing on the immediate operational demands facing the sector in the challenge to provide that critical safe and controlled environment to allow our young people to return to school, college and university. However, in a generation where we see our young people taking much more of the role of a ‘consumer’ or ‘customer’, and with a captive audience right here at home on my doorstep, I wanted to explore the impact of the crisis from their perspective and to critically evaluate the impact through their eyes and voice!

Executive Summary

This article provides a focus on the ‘journey’, from a student perspective, of the COVID-19 crisis and its impact upon the quality of delivery and overall experience, for a first year undergraduate. It will be of particular interest to those responsible for the delivery of an ever changing curriculum and quality model and seeks to draw conclusions around key aspects for future delivery models and support mechanisms, from a stance of ‘students as consumers’. The conclusions below have been based upon the results from a recorded student interview (full results detailed after this summary):

Key findings:

·        Communication with students is key. The fast-changing environment we’re currently in can lead to concerns and uncertainty, which strong and informative communication can help to reduce.

·        Delivery of online learning does work, and in many ways, can offer students an opportunity to learn at a pace which works for them. However, we do need to ensure that the delivery model is robust and supported by strong quality assurance to ensure that standards are maintained and technologies utilised to their maximum potential.

·        How can we mix it up in terms of delivering a varied curriculum? Online resources made available should be differentiated and engaging, and it becomes more and more important that we deliver a mixture of ‘live seminars, quizzes and documentaries etc’ and that we can measure the effectiveness of these from a student body perspective.

·        We must ensure that students are able to easily access regular and timetabled academic support on a 1 to 1 and group basis. This contact is critical, particularly in terms of reassuring students around direction, approach and planning for assessments.

·        Support mechanisms need to continue to be developed around maintaining good mental health with the wider student body. This needs to be a ‘joined up’ approach with clear links in place to delivery teams.

·        Target setting with learners needs to be reflective of individual circumstances and, whilst providing robust rigour and challenge, should also be realistic, informed and joined up.

·        As we move towards a ‘new normal’ we must keep our learners central to the vision of everything we do. Times are changing and the new generation of learners are demanding both a voice and value for money with their whole student experience. We therefore need to listen and react accordingly.

Conclusions:

So, as we wave ‘farewell’ to an extremely challenging 2019/20 academic year, now seems like an excellent opportunity to evaluate the lessons learned and to think about how we shape the future. I would firstly conclude that we need to celebrate what has been achieved in an incredibly short space of time to respond to a situation that could never have been anticipated. On a global level, we are now digitally equipped with the technology which has facilitated and enabled the responses that we have seen in terms of the delivery of online learning and remote working. Should the pandemic have occurred 20 years earlier, I suspect the sectors response would have been very different and our ability to switch from a traditional teaching model so quickly would have not been possible. However, although there is still much to do in terms of getting our students safely back into school, college and university, we also need to reflect upon how the future might look. This entails making sure that, whilst the concept of strategies such as remote learning has been proven, we now push on to ensure that these are effectively utilised, and that the quality of provision is delivering both excellence and value for money.

The Approach, Questions and Responses

I took the decision that the best way to undertake this piece would be to put some specific questions to an undergraduate student and to capture their responses through a recorded interview. In this first article I will look at the views of my 19 year old son, who has just completed the first year of his undergraduate degree program at a research intensive university (where prior to the outbreak he was based on campus). The questions and his responses are detailed below: -

Q1) How did you feel you were communicated with initially when your university first announced its closure following the onset of the Corona virus outbreak?

A1) There were several e-mails from the university leadership team and at School level, advising that the university would be shutting down and that teaching would stop for a week initially. The message was “not to worry and that the transition from physical learning to remote learning was going to be put in place quickly with services and platforms to be put in place to ensure that remote learning could start as quickly as possible”

Q2) So, from the initial announcement, there was an understanding that this would need to be a longer-term solution going forward and that there was an immediate response relating to the use of on-line learning and technology?

A2) Yes, there was to an extent, and the university were quick to invest time into the setup of Zoom and provide training for staff and students in the use of Canvas conferencing so that on-line learning could be supported. However, I don’t feel that these services were always utilised to their potential. The set up and training was provided but, with hindsight I feel those platforms could have been used more effectively. We had prior experience of using the Canvas platform for assignments and watching lectures but Zoom was a new introduction which I found relatively straightforward to use. The feedback I received from other learners, in my role as a Student Rep, was that they also found the introduction of Zoom simple enough to adapt to.

Q3) If you were to rate the university’s initial response to the outbreak with a score from 0 to 10 what would this be and why?

A3) I would say probably a 7 out of 10. I think expectations were fairly well managed. They explained that this would be a difficult time and would be disruptive to our learning, but it was managed well with a smooth and quick transition to restarting learning in a variety of different ways. The disappointing thing was that whilst platforms like Zoom were implemented and put in place, they were not always used as effectively or as often as perhaps they could have been. The running of ‘on-line’ lectures and seminars was hit and miss, so whilst the investment was made in putting the technology in place, in my opinion it was not utilised as often or effectively as it could have been. 

Q4) So, you’re saying that some lectures and seminars were delivered remotely, but also, you’re saying that there were times when Zoom wasn’t used. Can you explain this?

A4) From my experience, I used Canvas for smaller seminar discussions which took place with about 10 of us and a tutor. Other than that, lectures were either recorded by staff and then uploaded onto Canvas or older (from previous years) and sometimes poor-quality recordings uploaded, rather than ‘live’ lectures being delivered via Zoom. From my point of view Zoom was introduced to enable live lectures to be delivered and to provide current content, and this was not really utilised, which I think was detrimental to my overall experience.

Q5) Did you feel informed and that you were kept updated as the crisis continued? Can you tell us about how you were kept up to date as things progressed? 

A5) Well there were regular weekly updates from the Pro-Vice Chancellor which kept us informed of educational steps that were being taken as well as covering aspects such as ‘no detriment’ policies and advising on the likely impact of the crisis, going into the next academic year.

Q6) So, taking into account the exceptional circumstances that both you and the university were faced with, how would you score from 0 to 10 the way and regularity with which, you were kept informed of the universities progress?

A6) I would give that an 8 out of 10. The weekly updates were helpful and informative and provided useful detail about what the university was doing from an educational perspective as well as addressing plans for progress to lead us through the crisis. Generally, at School level I experienced good communications around aspects such as assessment, where I was kept well informed of arrangements for replacing ‘end of year’ exams.

Q7) As the ‘new normal’ started to unfold, did you feel you had adequate access to the staff that you needed to support your studies?

A7) To be honest, this was not particularly strong. I feel like there was good initial communication around changes that were taking place, however, in terms of having access to staff for academic support, I feel this could have been better. Remote access for ‘office hours’ and receiving feedback and general communications were limited and this led to me feeling isolated in comparison to the access I had pre-lockdown. This is where I feel that academic staff could have been taking full advantage of the newly introduced Zoom facility and this didn’t really happen. For me, the lack of ability to be able to benefit from remote ‘face to face’ contact has been detrimental. It is the end of the year when students need regular communication and support with workload and assessment planning and if this isn’t present it can be a big issue. Of course we all want to be back on campus and understand the challenges the current situation is presenting. From my personal perspective, I am someone that does like to use ‘office hours’ and that contact time to inform my approach to my studies and therefore I found this lacking, although I understand the challenges that this posed for the university. 

Q8) What was your understanding around the availability of staff for 1 to 1 academic advice and support?

A8) I believe that our normal timetables were meant to remain in place, with some changes dependent upon ‘lecture upload’ time frames and staff availability. However, when remote learning started it was difficult to gain access as regularly as it had been (pre-Covid) to ‘office hours’ and feedback, which took this level of support away. We did have limited opportunity for contact via Zoom, but I feel that these could have benefited from being on a more regular scheduled occurrence.

Q9) What percentage of your sessions roughly would you say were cancelled?

A9) I would suggest that around 20 to 30% of workshops and seminars were cancelled and replaced with either discussion boards or virtual videos.

Q10) How would you rate (from 0 to 10) the quality of academic support you received during the lockdown period?

A10) I'd say 7 out of 10. I experienced opportunities to meet online with staff for academic support and advice through Canvas and Zoom. On the whole, I feel the same level of support was offered; in a different way and being delivered in a different environment. Personally, I feel I would have benefited from more face to face contact and support during the lockdown period, especially around assessment planning. Yet, I do stress again that I understand this has been a difficult period for all and that support, like most things was going to be inevitably impacted on.

Q11) On a personal level how has the lockdown period been for you in respect of your studies and how do you feel you have coped with it?

A11) Well, it has been difficult and also disappointing, particularly as a first year undergraduate to miss out on ‘university life’. I’ve seen a drastic change to my everyday life which means I can’t benefit from a normal university environment such as going to lectures and seminars, meeting people and just getting the whole university experience. However, I have tried to make the best of the online services that have been made available, whether this is in the form of online lectures, discussion boards (which are acting as virtual online seminars) and live seminar chats with tutors and other students. There is an expectation at the university that students will achieve at a high level and I have done my best to use all the resources available to achieve the very best that I can. I feel I have adapted well to the use of the online resources. In terms of maintaining good mental health, I certainly don’t feel abandoned by the university on this front, as there have been strong messages and signposting for students on available support channels. However, in general, students are struggling with the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, whether it be through worries about friends and family or more personal issues and this does lead to distraction from your studies. 

Q12) How would you rate (using 0 to 10) the university’s response to helping maintain student’s good mental health through the lockdown period?

A12) I would rate this as a 7 out of 10 as they’ve worked hard on this and made the support available and accessible to students should they need it. I know from my Student Rep role, that I was part of a group that wrote to the student body offering support from a fellow student perspective, so there certainly have been a number of initiatives put in place around ensuring good mental health for students.

Q13) So overall, what would you describe as being the main challenges for you around your ability to successfully complete your university studies?

A13) For me personally, it’s not having the normal access to support networks and face to face contact time which helps my learning development, but also offers a way of helping to drive up an individual’s results and performances through the offering of support and feedback sessions. Ultimately, there is a pressure to perform and achieve and, without that level of support and contact, it firstly worries you and secondly, it does impact upon your grades. Lectures (whether live or pre-recorded) have been very much the main resource used. It would be nice to see other types of delivery to improve the learning experience, like live seminars, quizzes, documentaries that could be incorporated into the programme.

Q14) Moving on to thinking of the future now, how, and when to you think you’ll return to university and how do you think it’s going to be different to your previous experience?

A14) Other than the obvious concerns around keeping up whatever social distancing rules might be in place, I think there will be a greater blend between physical and virtual learning, which I’ve recently had confirmed in an e-mail from the university.  I don’t know when we’ll be able to return to campus and I understand that the university must be satisfied that they can deliver in a safe environment before this is possible.

Q15) Has there been any steer yet as to when you might return?

A15) I’m sure that this will be in line with the government’s advice and steer, which we’re all following with interest currently, however I’m planning my expectations around September 2020 at the earliest. The plans currently seem to be for the first semester to be delivered through a blended learning approach, but I guess the final decision will be dependent upon how things progress. However, with lectures, seminars and assessments all deliverable via remote services I think that universities might well take a more cautious approach, particularly considering the global reach of the student body.

Q16) So, what do you think are the things that can be done to improve your overall learning experience as you move into the 2020/21 academic year?

A16) For me, it’s about managing firstly people’s expectations and adapting to the situation as it changes. As well as adapting the content of the modules to ensure that the delivery and assessment is appropriate and aligned with a virtual delivery model. Maybe a stronger emphasis on managing individual student targets and the identification of areas for improvement? Targets need to be realistic and reflective of the circumstances that individual students might be facing.

Q17) Can you see any positives or things that have really added value to your experience, as a student, that can be taken out of the situation? 

A17) A positive for me has been that I now understand that online learning can work and teaching can be delivered remotely, allowing students the opportunity to pause, reflect and establish a learning routine which allows them to absorb information at their own pace. Sometimes lectures can move at a fast pace and the online approach does make it easier to make notes and reflect on important aspects which might otherwise be missed in a more traditional approach. The COVID-19 crisis does seem to have forced the arm of universities towards the use of new technologies and to be able to analyse through Canvas which learning resources have been better utilised to inform future delivery.

Q18) If you had the opportunity today to talk directly to the university Vice Chancellor, what do you think would be the key message that you’d want to give, as a student who has experienced what you have, through these unusual times and what would be your message for the future?

A18) My message for the future would be, how as an overall experience, do we get the best out of university life and experience? How do we get the best and highest quality of teaching and support, but also wanting to have knowledge and faith that the university is constantly reviewing its teaching and performance so we can make progress going forwards and understand how the investment the university makes, links to the student voice ensuring that we get the very best overall university experience?

I hope that you have found this an interesting student focused perspective on life through the crisis for an undergraduate learner, and I intend to follow this article up with a further piece, focusing on the experiences of an FE student (if I can prise him away from his skateboard for long enough!)

This article has been written by Malcolm Browning a Consultant with Drake Lane Associates, who provide market leading software to the FE Sector, including SCORE (Data and Funding Optimisation) and 4CAST (FE Curriculum & Apprenticeship Planning and Modelling). Drake Lane are also working on the release of a new product, PERFORM, which will add a new dimension to the delivery and management of the continuous quality improvement process for FE Providers.

To find out more, REGISTER HERE to be kept informed of progress.