Incoming university students must be given ‘absolute clarity’ of how their courses will be taught before they are to accept their places for autumn.
Nicola Dandridge, of the Office of Students, has warned UK universities currently dealing with the crisis to not be misleading about the ‘campus experience.’ Campuses have been closed since March and university teaching has moved online, with many universities choosing to continue this into 2020, as the University of Cambridge revealed last week.
Dandridge told MPs on the education select committee, that:
The important thing here is absolute clarity to students, so they know what they’re getting in advance of accepting offers.
The Office For Students have said this clarity should be provided for students before they make a firm choice in June and “certainly before” the clearing process that follows students getting their A-level grades in August. For many students, clearing can help them find places at universities they had not previously considered, which could prove more popular if there is more evidence that some universities will resume normal teaching by January.
Dandridge suggested there could be ‘much greater and more sophisticated use of blended learning so that’s face-to-face plus online,’ and that it must not only be ‘bunging lectures online.’
A spokesperson for Universities UK said universities were ‘already preparing for a range of scenarios – including periods of online study in the academic year 2020-21,’ and that:
Institutions will be communicating their plans to prospective and current students in the weeks ahead.
