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Impact on Universities

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Snow1964

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I think some (and I’m deliberatly selective here) University’s have considered their worldwide reputation well above the welfare of those on Campus. The higher their ranking, the worse deal the students have got.

Going to use this example (only because my daughter is there), Sheffield publishes figures, there was a peak of about 90-100 new cases a day 6-7 weeks ago, but now only about 3 new cases per day


Not really sure that low rate justifies the online lectures, and if they can test everyone beginning of December, could repeat the exercise at start of term in January, isolate those affected, and then have a Covid free campus.
 
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Scotrail12

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Not sure where to put this but I've been given an assignment for uni on how the country should be managing the COVID-19 crisis. I wonder what they'll make of my opinions...
 

_toommm_

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I think that this semester is one to file away and move on from, it’s becoming nigh on impossible to get work done now and that’s problematic as it’s the busiest time of the semester. My passion for my subjects is also gone.

Troubling thing is that next semester also appears to be online. Will we ever get priority to be back in?

Hopefully by the academic year 2021-2022 we'll be back in more, what with the vaccine hopefully being rolled out from January.
 

david1212

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A work colleague said yesterday that his daughter has had her Covid test and got a negative result so is cleared to travel home for Christmas. However this is pencilled in for 12th December. Hence over two weeks in between when she could become infected.
More of a ' box ticking ' exercise than implementing best practice ?
 

BJames

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A work colleague said yesterday that his daughter has had her Covid test and got a negative result so is cleared to travel home for Christmas. However this is pencilled in for 12th December. Hence over two weeks in between when she could become infected.
More of a ' box ticking ' exercise than implementing best practice ?
As usual, a waste of time. It's good that tests are being supplied but I believe it's being said that you're supposed to get a test and then go home straight away to "minimise any risk" (I don't understand really why a negative test here is good enough but a negative test in a self-isolation period isn't good enough but that is certainly a matter for elsewhere...)

My "in person teaching" officially ends in our department tomorrow, after which it all "moves online". Which is news to me considering I've had a full two workshops and one meeting in person since September...
 

hst43102

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A work colleague said yesterday that his daughter has had her Covid test and got a negative result so is cleared to travel home for Christmas. However this is pencilled in for 12th December. Hence over two weeks in between when she could become infected.
More of a ' box ticking ' exercise than implementing best practice ?
I was told I should have a covid test before returning home from uni, but they keep saying they'll get back to me and never do and rail ticket prices were increasing so now I've just booked my ticket, test or no test. I haven't been in contact with many people and I won't be visiting many people back home so everything should be fine. The "evacuation" is an absolute farce and, yes, it's just box ticking.
 

gnolife

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As usual, a waste of time. It's good that tests are being supplied but I believe it's being said that you're supposed to get a test and then go home straight away to "minimise any risk" (I don't understand really why a negative test here is good enough but a negative test in a self-isolation period isn't good enough but that is certainly a matter for elsewhere...)

My "in person teaching" officially ends in our department tomorrow, after which it all "moves online". Which is news to me considering I've had a full two workshops and one meeting in person since September...
That's two workshops and one meeting more than I've had. The only times I've gone onto campus this academic year have been to use one of their PCs (I don't have the required program on my laptop) and to get a book out of the library.
 

Scotrail12

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Nearly finished with this semester (thank goodness) - hope it's gone well for any other students on here.

Got an email yesterday regarding on campus teaching next semester.

We have 4 weeks online next semester and on campus teaching is hoped to begin on February 8th. However, they state that if we're in tiers 3 or 4, it will all be online. Even if we're in tiers 0, 1 or 2, the majority will still be online due to the need for 2m social distancing.

So it's mostly online even if if we're at level 0 FFS!!! <(

I can probably throw this entire year in the bin with regards to in person learning or even more than that depending on how long they keep the tier system. All over a virus that will not kill people our age. Online learning - exactly what I signed up for when I applied 2 years ago, merci beaucoup.
 

hst43102

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Nearly finished with this semester (thank goodness) - hope it's gone well for any other students on here.

Got an email yesterday regarding on campus teaching next semester.

We have 4 weeks online next semester and on campus teaching is hoped to begin on February 8th. However, they state that if we're in tiers 3 or 4, it will all be online. Even if we're in tiers 0, 1 or 2, the majority will still be online due to the need for 2m social distancing.

So it's mostly online even if if we're at level 0 FFS!!! <(

I can probably throw this entire year in the bin with regards to in person learning or even more than that depending on how long they keep the tier system. All over a virus that will not kill people our age. Online learning - exactly what I signed up for when I applied 2 years ago, merci beaucoup.
That's exactly the same situation for me. The craziest thing is that the vast majority of students on my course have already had the virus so should be immune for a few months at least.
 

Adam Williams

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We have 4 weeks online next semester and on campus teaching is hoped to begin on February 8th. However, they state that if we're in tiers 3 or 4, it will all be online
These will be DfE HE tiers - not "normal UK regional Covid-19 tiers" (noting that most universities have been in DfE HE Tier 1 throughout almost the entirety of the first term despite fluctuations in local tiers/restrictions).
 

ABB125

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I don't think we've been told yet hear in Birmingham. Having said that, I still don't know what (if any) exams I'll be having after Christmas, but I do know they'll be online-based!
 

gnolife

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I've just sat my first exam for this semester, which was done as an open book consisting of a multiple choice quiz done online, and a written paper, which we were told had to be typed in LaTeX and emailed in. We were given 3x the normal time to complete the exam and submit it. While we knew all along that the exam was going to be online, we weren't told until Friday morning exactly what format it was going to take.

I'm going to have 'fun' on Monday when I have a 4hr 30min exam at 0915, followed by another one at 1400.
 

hst43102

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I've just sat my first exam for this semester, which was done as an open book consisting of a multiple choice quiz done online, and a written paper, which we were told had to be typed in LaTeX and emailed in. We were given 3x the normal time to complete the exam and submit it. While we knew all along that the exam was going to be online, we weren't told until Friday morning exactly what format it was going to take.

I'm going to have 'fun' on Monday when I have a 4hr 30min exam at 0915, followed by another one at 1400.
Wow. What course are you taking? My course has no exams until February.
 

RomeoCharlie71

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I too have just started my first ever set of Uni exams, all of which are online and open-book. My "school" has, however, cancelled all exams for modules which don't receive professional accreditation - all of mine do.
 

NorthOxonian

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I've just sat my first exam for this semester, which was done as an open book consisting of a multiple choice quiz done online, and a written paper, which we were told had to be typed in LaTeX and emailed in. We were given 3x the normal time to complete the exam and submit it. While we knew all along that the exam was going to be online, we weren't told until Friday morning exactly what format it was going to take.

I'm going to have 'fun' on Monday when I have a 4hr 30min exam at 0915, followed by another one at 1400.
Hopefully there's no more LaTeX in your Monday exams - having to use that for my assignments this term has been an utter nightmare!
 

gnolife

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Wow. What course are you taking? My course has no exams until February.
I'm in my second year of Maths and Statistics
Hopefully there's no more LaTeX in your Monday exams - having to use that for my assignments this term has been an utter nightmare!
I know that my afternoon one will definitely be LaTeX, but the morning one can be whatever means we choose.
 

HSTEd

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Hopefully there's no more LaTeX in your Monday exams - having to use that for my assignments this term has been an utter nightmare!

I actually love LaTeX.... once you get used to it makes writing reports and such far easier.
 

Domh245

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What is LaTex??
My uni "exams" in summer were done on word...

It's a maths/science specialised word processor. It's very handy, but does have a near vertical learning curve - I managed to get by just using word and the default equation editor during my time at uni
 

gnolife

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I did mine (several years ago mind) using pen and paper. ;)
Having to type it up was a huge time sink - I'd done my rough version of it using pen an paper in about an hour, and then spent the next 3 hours typing it up. I suppose it does have the bonus of the examiner not having to decipher my handwriting.
 

trebor79

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It's a maths/science specialised word processor. It's very handy, but does have a near vertical learning curve - I managed to get by just using word and the default equation editor during my time at uni
I wish I'd know about LaTeX when I was at university. I found the equation editor in Word terribly slow and difficult to use, very unsatisfactory. To the extent that I actually bought a second hand Acorn RiscPC (this was a few years after Acorn committed commercial Hari Kari) so that I could use TechWriter, which allows equation to be typed directly into the document and neatly formats them just like LaTeX does. Alas, TechWriter was never made available for Windows, it really is/was superb.
 

Scotrail12

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Anyone else who was in online uni this semester felt kinda lonely? It dawned on me today that I haven't actually seen anyone other than my family since March and it's now December. Missing the social interaction badly.
 

SouthEastBuses

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Anyone else who was in online uni this semester felt kinda lonely? It dawned on me today that I haven't actually seen anyone other than my family since March and it's now December. Missing the social interaction badly.

I kinda felt lonely too. I miss seeing my new friends I met at my uni
 
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Anyone else who was in online uni this semester felt kinda lonely? It dawned on me today that I haven't actually seen anyone other than my family since March and it's now December. Missing the social interaction badly.
Yes.
Until recently there was at least the hope that I could travel at the weekend to see friends, but that's gone now that they've made traveling between local authorities illegal. :frown:
 

HSTEd

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Most of my social interactions were with people in my office.

I've seen them once in person since march, and at a handful of zoom meetings where mostly discussed business.
 

PTR 444

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Does anyone know the official situation regarding universities reopening? I know the roadmap for England stated that tomorrow would be the earliest day earmarked for a return of students to campus, but there has been no official update since then. With no update, I guess the government advice for students will be to remain studying from home for the remainder of the academic year.

Not that it matters to me anyway. I have remained in halls since Christmas and my university has kept its library and study spaces open since March 8th. Also most students I know returned to their uni accommodation well within a week before lockdown easing began. As for students still at home right now, I doubt many will go back since most courses are nearly at the end of the academic year anyway.
 
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