Politics, Budgets, the Disinfodemic, and more! Eduvation Insider May 29, 2020

The weeks in quarantine sure seem to be going faster…  

Today we can’t NOT look at some recent trends in government funding, and some more Fall announcements. Despite tight budgets and hiring freezes, we’re seeing the trend to invest in pedagogical supports continue, to help faculty prepare for a predominantly online term. 

A FEW of you may want to spend your weekend digesting 500+ ways to contain expenses, but for everyone else I’ve collected some lighter fare: a sampler of “remote hands-on learning” from McGill, media literacy infographics, Stingers facemasks, and a lovely tribute video from Humber music students. 

Budgets

COVID19 threatens many institutions with enrolment declines, revenue hits and unexpected new expenses – and governments are clawing back grants to reallocate them to political priorities.

Closing “Low Productivity” Programs

Public universities across the US have been eliminating majors or degrees with weak enrolments or employment prospects, including Anthropology, Philosophy, Languages, Art, Theatre, Music, Women’s and African American studies. Right-wing politicians have been singling out programs created by what they call the “educational elite.” Faced with massive state funding cuts, and the enrolment and budget impacts of COVID19, institutions are carefully examining program net revenues.  Hechinger

“Negative Grants” in the UK?

The former chair of England’s PSE review has suggested that universities might be required to pay the government back for providing “over-supplied, low-cost courses,” in what he is calling “negative grants.” Philip Augar suggests the government could then redirect the funds towards high-cost, priority subjects, because “there is a misalignment between the state subsidy and the economy’s needs.”  The government is expected to unveil funding reforms this Fall, to address the issue of “low-quality courses.” THE

Manitoba Redirects 5% of Funding

uManitoba president David Barnard wrote yesterday that the province has confirmed a 5% cut to its operating grant, potentially offset by a one-time competitive Transitional Support Fund. The province will consider proposals “orienting programs towards labour-market demands,” enhancing online materials and tools, or addressing COVID19 challenges – but UofM will likely need to make budget reductions because of revenue losses and increased costs. uManitoba

500 Ways to Balance Your Budget

So what’s a campus administrator to do? EAB summarizes 500+ approaches to cost containment, from administrative efficiencies, centralized cross-silo staffing, realigned faculty workloads and gainsharing initiatives, to academic reorganization, program prioritization, shared services, workflow improvements, procurement strategies, IT prioritization, space utilization, energy reduction, outsourcing, public-private partnerships, and much more. EAB

Back to School

The inevitable slide of institutions from F2F and blended plans to blended and online plans continues today. Holland explicitly hopes the Winter term will be back on campus, while Red River and Conestoga are planning to bring select students back to campus as early as this summer.

Bishop’s announced last night that it will prepare for either a hybrid or online Fall semester, and will make a definitive announcement by mid-July. Rather than a “primarily online” approach like so many other PSEs have planned, “we will prepare to deliver our courses remotely for those of you who may not be able or who may not wish to travel here… At the same time, we are working hard to prepare to welcome as many of you as possible on campus in September.” 

Carleton confirmed yesterday that “all scheduled courses will be online in the fall,” for grad and undergrad students, although they are also “actively preparing to partially reopen our physical spaces and resume some on-campus activities.” Carleton

Conestoga announced yesterday that Winter and Spring students who need to complete in-person work may be returning to campus as early as mid-July. For Fall, “it is our intent to start a gradual return to campus for select programs.” Physical distancing and staggered schedules will apply. Conestoga

Holland has released its academic delivery plan for 2020-21, at an individual program level. Most appear to be blended or distance delivered for the Fall semester, and F2F for the Winter semester – although the plan is subject to revision and the PHO guidelines.  Holland

Laurentian announced yesterday afternoon that the interim Provost and faculty association have agreed on “a mix of in-person courses and online courses this fall.” The plan will next go to a special meeting of Senate on Jun 1 for approval, and then a senate committee will evaluate individual programs and courses. Laurentian

Red River’s interim CEO, Christine Watson, explains that Manitoba’s Phase 2 (effective June 1) means limited access to campus for hands-on learning, in classes of no more than 25. RRC plans to prioritize those students who are close to graduation, or need experiential opportunities to catch up in their programs. The measured approach will take time and patience. RRC

Pedagogy

Remote Hands-On Learning

McGill published a 6-min video yesterday that concisely demonstrates a range of remote learning experiences, such as band performances via Zoom, step-by-step lab videos with embedded quizzes, lab and anatomy simulations, apps to share local biodiversity around the world, wildlife trail cams, and more. One challenge is providing dynamic content that can cope with poor internet bandwidth. Many of these tools will continue to be useful once students return to campus.  YouTube

75 Students to Support T&L at Guelph

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that uCalgary is hiring 10 grad students as Learning Technology Coaches, and Western 11 PhDs and 250 summer student interns to assist with preparation for online delivery. Now UoGuelph has announced it is hiring 75 summer co-op students to help migrate courses online for Fall. In addition to earning $5,000-$7,000 for their subject-specific work, the students will earn a certificate in course redesign and remote pedagogy through a series of workshops, and can convert their experience into credit through a Fall elective.  Global

Getting Graphic

Countering the “Disinfodemic”

UNESCO has released a series of multilingual Media and Information Literacy infographics, “MILclicks,” on Twitter and Facebook under a creative commons license. They emphasize the importance of quality journalism, fact-checking, and parenting for MIL, and address the danger of information overload (“infobesity” and “infoxication”) and conspiracy theories. For parents, they recommend teaching kids about fiction, and signing a social media behavioural contract. MIL MOOCs are also offered, in partnership with Athabasca U and others.  UNESCO

McMaster is making social distancing, directional, and informational floor and wall signage available in a consistent format campus-wide. Signs urge people to keep 6ft apart, keep to the right, wash hands often, and limit themselves to 1-3 passengers per elevator car.  McMaster

Concordia Stingers are polling fans on Twitter and Facebook to choose between 2 options for branded face masks. (So far, the left option is outpolling the right one, 2 to 1, on both platforms.)  Twitter

TGIF!

A Musical Tribute from Humber

In honour of Paramedic Services Week, Humber College’s entire Bachelor of Music class and 4 film students released a slick music video compilation this week, featuring 18 performers singing “O Canada” as a tribute to frontline healthcare workers. The project also allowed students to gain work placement hours, and honoraria. It’s well done and worth a listen!  Humber

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Ken Steele is Canada's leading higher ed futurist and strategic consultant, through his company Eduvation. He delivers virtual presentations and facilitates virtual retreats or workshops centred on emerging trends, enrolment management, pedagogical innovation, and strategic planning. 

Ken has developed 9 new topics specifically to help institutions cope with the post-COVID19 “new normal.”

For more information, please reach out to [email protected]