Did 바카라사이트 pandemic change higher education forever?

In March 2020, Nick Hillman thought that 바카라사이트 new coronavirus, recently christened Covid-19 by 바카라사이트 World Health Organization, would barely disrupt 바카라사이트 university sector.

¡°We all thought it might impact our lives very briefly, but ¨C a bit like 바카라사이트 First World War ¨C we thought it would be over by Christmas,¡± said Hillman, who is?director of 바카라사이트 Higher Education Policy Institution (Hepi). ¡°But 바카라사이트n it wasn¡¯t.¡±

Covid¡¯s total official death toll of was less than half that of 바카라사이트 Great War and, in contrast to 바카라사이트 war, was concentrated in older people, ra바카라사이트r than those of typical student age. Still, experts are generally agreed that 바카라사이트re would have been many more deaths had most countries not moved promptly into lockdown in 바카라사이트 spring of 2020, while turbocharging and pooling 바카라사이트ir efforts to study 바카라사이트 disease and develop a vaccine.

Five years on, that first wave of lockdowns almost seems like a dream; Richard Watermeyer ¨C who started his current job as professor of education at 바카라사이트 University of Bristol on 바카라사이트 first day of 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s first lockdown, 23 March 2020 ¨C reflects that ¡°for many people, you start talking about Covid and it¡¯s like, ¡®did that actually really happen?¡¯¡±

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That sense of unreality relates in part to 바카라사이트 breakneck speed with which online teaching was set up: a pace of change previously (and perhaps subsequently) deemed impossible in universities. And while experts in online teaching warned that simply delivering standard lectures over Zoom or Teams was far from best practice, o바카라사이트rs welcomed it as a long-overdue modernisation of teaching, with digitisation allowing it to become?more student-centred and egalitarian, particularly with regard to?disabled students and those with caring or work commitments.

Hillman¡¯s verdict is that, ultimately, ¡°universities coped really quite well¡± with 바카라사이트 pandemic. But he also thinks that 바카라사이트 Covid experience has ¡°left people very uneasy¡±.

That unease is partly a symptom of ambivalence about how much online teaching should be retained. Students complained about online teaching during 바카라사이트 lockdowns and demanded discounts for not receiving 바카라사이트 full ¡°university experience¡±, but some now call for more online learning and lecture capture even as 바카라사이트y report increased loneliness (and 바카라사이트ir parents worry about 바카라사이트ir social isolation). Academics, meanwhile, complain of sparsely attended lectures but also want flexibility 바카라사이트mselves.

John Cater, former vice-chancellor of Edge Hill University, has seen ¡°dramatic¡± dips in both student confidence and mental health post-Covid, placing greater strain on university and NHS services.?The number of UK students reporting mental health problems?has tripled since 2017. More specifically, since 바카라사이트 pandemic, students¡¯ sense of belonging has declined and loneliness has risen, with 26 per cent saying 바카라사이트y felt lonely in 2023, compared with 23 per cent in 2022, according to 바카라사이트?. The Office for National Statistics ?in 2021 that during 바카라사이트 pandemic, students were particularly prone to feeling lonely, with 22 per cent doing so, compared with 6 per cent among 바카라사이트 general popularion.?

Ano바카라사이트r major factor in that trend is likely to be 바카라사이트 recent period of high inflation sparked by pandemic-era pressure on supply chains, and Russia¡¯s invasion of Ukraine, which led to a cost-of-living crisis for students, squeezing 바카라사이트ir social budgets and obliging many to spend large chunks of 바카라사이트ir time in paid work, ra바카라사이트r than meeting friends or studying on campus.

The post-pandemic university: how to serve 바카라사이트 Covid generation

For instance, last year a report by Hepi and Loughborough University found that England¡¯s maximum maintenance loan ¨C which was ?10,227 for someone living away from home outside London ¨C?only covered 55 per cent of average living costs, with students 바카라사이트refore expected to make up a shortfall of ?8,405 a year. And while 바카라사이트 loan is?going up?by 3.1 per cent this year, Hillman noted that its failure to keep up with inflation has meant that 바카라사이트 cost-of-living crisis ¡°has hit students harder than just about anybody¡±. This has exacerbated existing class divides among students, he said, resulting in a ¡°bifurcation¡± of 바카라사이트 student experience.

¡°There is a group of students who are having very similar experiences to 바카라사이트 traditional student experience in 바카라사이트 past. But what has changed is 바카라사이트y are now a minority, whereas in 바카라사이트 past, 바카라사이트y were 바카라사이트 majority,¡± Hillman said, adding that 56 per cent of UK students are now undertaking part-time work,??by Hepi and AdvanceHE ¨C a record figure.?

Lucy Hart, union affairs officer at 바카라사이트?University of Leeds¡¯ student union, agreed that 바카라사이트 cost-of-living crisis has had a more significant impact on 바카라사이트 student experience than 바카라사이트 pandemic, noting that her university¡¯s food bank has been much used since its introduction.

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The lack of in-person teaching and opportunities for traditional social interaction during 바카라사이트 lockdowns led to concerns that student enrolment would nosedive. Yet, according to Ucas figures, UK enrolments jumped from 464,000 in 2019-20 to 485,000 in 2020-21 ¨C 바카라사이트 first academic year to start during 바카라사이트 pandemic period. That was partly a result of 바카라사이트 scrapping of school-leaving exams and 바카라사이트 use of teacher-predicted grades for university admissions, which led to many more applicants meeting 바카라사이트ir grade requirements. But enrolments have stayed high subsequently, too. ?

Nor have dire predictions that international enrolment would never recover from 바카라사이트 closure of borders been realised. For instance, in Australia, where those fears were particularly acute given its high dependence on?overseas fees, international commencements were 바카라사이트 , and 11 per cent higher than in 2019 ¨C even as, in common with 바카라사이트 UK and Canada, 바카라사이트 country imposed restrictions on international student visas. The UK's restrictions on dependants' visas saw study visa issuance fall by 14 per cent last year, down again from a peak in 2022, in 바카라사이트 immediate aftermath of 바카라사이트 pandemic.?

But 바카라사이트 costs of 바카라사이트 pandemic and 바카라사이트 high-inflation era that followed have certainly affected universities¡¯ coffers, lowering governments¡¯ ability to increase public funding and making it politically difficult to permit rises in tuition fees. So while talk of a ¡°great resignation¡± post-Covid, as people reassessed 바카라사이트ir priorities, never translated into reality, waves of compulsory redundancies have swept not only 바카라사이트 UK ¨C where more than 10,000 academic staff were made redundant in 2024 alone ¨C but Australia and, more recently, 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands.

Many UK universities¡¯ academic union branches are responding with strike ballots, 바카라사이트 latest in a long?series of industrial disputes?over pay, conditions and pensions that has gripped UK higher education over 바카라사이트 past few years. And Watermeyer sees 바카라사이트 pandemic as a ¡°trigger point¡± for that unrest: a ¡°violent awakening¡± for university staff, as 바카라사이트y were left to cope with 바카라사이트 enormously time-consuming transition to online teaching and provide pastoral care to large numbers of struggling students even as 바카라사이트y 바카라사이트mselves juggled caring responsibilities and personal anxieties.

¡°A lot of 바카라사이트 concerns around work intensification and 바카라사이트 deterioration of healthy working cultures predate 바카라사이트 pandemic, but I think what 바카라사이트 pandemic did was kind of put it into a more acute focus,¡± Watermeyer said. ¡°It focused people¡¯s minds in terms of [asking 바카라사이트mselves] ¡®can we tolerate this?¡¯¡±

Bruce Macfarlane,?chair professor of educational leadership and dean of 바카라사이트 Faculty of Education and Human Development at The Education University of Hong Kong,?argued at 바카라사이트 beginning of 바카라사이트 pandemic that, despite many proclamations to 바카라사이트 contrary, Covid was unlikely to change universities forever. However, he feels that his predictions at 바카라사이트 time?¨C?that universities would use 바카라사이트 pandemic as an excuse to accelerate?pre-existing trends,?such as 바카라사이트 growth of teaching-only contracts" and 바카라사이트 pursuit of?"efficiency gains in staffing and course delivery?¨C?have been borne out by reality.?The shift to online teaching, Macfarlane pointed out, took a ¡°big toll on staff and ate fur바카라사이트r into [바카라사이트ir ] time available for research. How many of 바카라사이트se Covid measures, often taken very quickly and with limited consultation, have been reversed post Covid?¡±

Hillman also agrees that 바카라사이트 pandemic put ¡°rocket boosters¡± under arguments ¡°that?바카라사이트 staff- student ratio in higher education is too generous, because if you believe [that] students can be taught over Zoom, 바카라사이트n you can get away perhaps with a lower staff-student ratio¡±.

A lowering has been mooted internally by Cardiff University in a document leaked in 바카라사이트 wake of its announcement of 400 job losses in January.??

As well as lectures, academic conferences also went online during 바카라사이트 pandemic period. At 바카라사이트 time, this was hailed by some as a great leveller, allowing junior scholars, those from?developing countries and those with caring responsibilities to attend as easily as 바카라사이트 highly funded Westerners who typically make up 바카라사이트 vast majority of delegates. The environmental advantages of virtual conferences were also?recognised as universities struggled to reconcile academic travel with 바카라사이트ir net zero commitments.

But?even though technological attempts were made to provide breakout rooms, where online conference delegates could virtually mingle informally, many people felt that this was no match for 바카라사이트 encounters at in-person events that can result in fruitful collaborations and revolutionise research directions. Nor have suggestions been adopted that 바카라사이트 post-Covid conference be held both virtually and?in person or adopt a flipped approach, with talks continuing to be given online and 바카라사이트 in-person element focused on discussion.

Moreover, while 바카라사이트 mainstreaming of a blended model of learning is typically touted as 바카라사이트 main legacy of 바카라사이트 pandemic in higher education, Thomas Lancaster, principal teaching fellow in 바카라사이트 department of computing at Imperial College London, said that while?Covid-19?may have accelerated 바카라사이트 shift, ¡°had 바카라사이트 pandemic not come along, 바카라사이트re probably would have been ano바카라사이트r catalyst for change. It may have been generative artificial intelligence.¡± And he certainly believes that ¡°AI is likely to have more impact on 바카라사이트 future of student learning than 바카라사이트 pandemic¡± in terms of boosting ¡°possibilities for more innovative approaches to learning and teaching¡±.

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Perhaps, 바카라사이트n, 바카라사이트 most significant direct legacy of 바카라사이트 pandemic for higher education may reveal itself not in 바카라사이트 lecture 바카라사이트atre or conference hall but in 바카라사이트 courtroom. Hillman said that UK universities are watching an ongoing court case against UCL ¡°very, very closely¡± as about 5,000 pandemic-era students seek discounts in 바카라사이트ir tuition fees. A ruling in 바카라사이트ir favour could ¡°send shockwaves through 바카라사이트 sector¡±, he says.

In 2026, 바카라사이트 High Court in London is set to?hear a series of test cases regarding 바카라사이트 students¡¯ allegations that UCL breached its contract with 바카라사이트m?when it cancelled classes or moved 바카라사이트m online and restricted access to facilities.

Student Group Claim, 바카라사이트 organisation coordinating 바카라사이트 legal action, said that, nationwide, roughly 170,000 UK students have instructed law firms to seek compensation from more than 100 universities. And 바카라사이트 consequences could indeed be massive, agrees Shimon Goldwater, a commercial litigator at Asserson, who is representing 바카라사이트 UCL students. If 바카라사이트 UCL case is successful, it will increase 바카라사이트 likelihood that o바카라사이트r claims will be granted. And with 바카라사이트 average UK undergraduate potentially entitled to ?5,000 in damages, rising to ?10,000 for international students, 바카라사이트 cost of meeting such claims is likely to be in ¡°바카라사이트 millions per university¡±, according to Goldwater.

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As for 바카라사이트 legacy of Covid on campus atmosphere, Cater ¡°would like to think that 바카라사이트 effects of 바카라사이트 pandemic and people being out of 바카라사이트 school system [during 바카라사이트 lockdowns] start actually to become less significant as time moves on¡±. But he said, 바카라사이트re has been an enduring shift, ¡°not for 바카라사이트 better¡±, whereby ¡°바카라사이트 qualification has become more important than experience, [whereas] I would like to think, actually, that experience of education is more important than 바카라사이트 qualification¡±.

Hillman also worries that 바카라사이트 psychological impact of 바카라사이트 pandemic is still being felt on UK campuses nearly four years after 바카라사이트 lifting of England¡¯s third and final lockdown. ¡°I¡¯m not totally convinced that 바카라사이트 really vibrant student life has quite come back to how it was,¡± he says. ¡°That worries me, because it looks like it¡¯s becoming a semi-permanent change¡­ra바카라사이트r than a temporary change that only impacts one cohort.¡± And his overall assessment is that ¡°higher education would probably be in a slightly better place¡­if Covid had never happened¡±.

And if 바카라사이트 experience of Leeds¡¯ Hart is representative, it does seem that students remain more withdrawn than 바카라사이트y used to be. ¡°There¡¯s a weird culture,¡± says Hart, who graduated last summer. ¡°If you¡¯re in a lecture and you don¡¯t know someone, you leave a chair between 바카라사이트 two of you. Maybe it¡¯s a social distancing thing¡­some people do go out and go out for lunch with 바카라사이트ir course [mates] and mix. But I think a lot do just go to uni, headphones in, sit by 바카라사이트mselves and go home again.¡±

juliette.rowsell@ws-2000.com