The Education Directors approved the recommendation/approach to education at the ‘One and a Half Metres’ University on 15 June 2020. The EUR has chosen for a hybrid model based on online education with campus-based education where possible.
One of the subsequent steps is identifying the action points regarding support and facilities that follow from this decision. The following ten action points, coordinated by the project team scheduling and the CLI, are being developed:
Ten-Point Plan
At a time when variable corona-related restrictions are in force, EUR chooses to make maximum use of the campus. The faculties have been asked to submit information on their spatial requirements as far as programmes and exams are concerned.
This information will be used to determine where more space is needed (in the form of e.g. campus-based tents, extending the opening hours and renting on-campus and off-campus accommodation).
The scheduling process, which is already based on the full-campus scenario, will then be continued/revised. The aim is to give faculties as much campus-based space as possible, taking account of the priorities.
Smaller tutorial groups will be based on the hybrid educational model. This means that lecturers will ask their students to alternate between campus-based and online education.
The 75 PBL rooms will be provided with adequate audiovisual facilities before 1 August. The (36) rooms for 17-25 people and (40) rooms for 26-50 people will also be provided with these facilities.
If students are to alternate between campus-based (in small and large rooms) and online education, a reservation system will be necessary. The programmes have their own systems that support ‘group management’.
This action point will be discussed at the meeting of the E&S Department in order to determine whether this applies to all faculties. If so, this will not have to be coordinated ‘centrally’.
Lecturers can use ZOOM for educational purposes until 1 March 2021. To guarantee the continuity of the programmes, the licence has been renewed until September 2021. The idea is to provide clarity as soon as possible regarding the preferred option, which needs to be implemented before 1 September 2021.
Assessments will also be based on the hybrid model. Students must indicate in advance whether they wish to take a campus-based or online exam (how this is to be implemented exactly will be decided in consultation with the faculties).
If they have a cold or are unable for other reasons to take an exam, students can switch at the last minute from a campus-based to an online exam. This option/registration procedure needs to be supported digitally. Whether the current reservation system can be scaled up is currently being assessed.
It’s important to inform lecturers promptly and properly regarding the requirements and expectations within the context of the ‘One and a Half Metres’ University. A campaign can be carried out to focus attention on the available didactic and organisational support.
The combined services of the LI Teams, CLI, the Risbo and the studio can be highlighted during this campaign. Information, recommendations and instruction materials for lecturers and students will also be posted on MyEUR and the CLI website. Useful tools, such as design-your-teaching sessions and automated feedback on writing, will also be made available.
The corona crisis creates a window of opportunity to upgrade and improve programmes. Now that we know that the transition to online education will not be temporary, this is both advisable and necessary. The CLI wishes to support this development at the faculties didactically together with the LI Teams.
This can be done through (1) tailor-made support, (2) assistance in redesigning educational modules and (3) by providing instruction materials, webinars and microlabs. What a particular faculty needs and requires is being looked at with the LI Managers. The LI Teams and the CLI will also be deployed to advise and assist lecturers in implementing the assessments.
As from the next academic year, large-scale lectures will be given online. Lecturers can record their lectures at home (with Panopto) or in a campus-based lecture room. They can also use a DIY booth in the studio.
Studio recordings must satisfy certain educational requirements. (Re)designing, scripting, recording and post-editing are intensive processes that create added value but take time and cost money. Applications for these projects are submitted through the CLI.
In addition to other forms of assessment (the preferred scenario), regular forms of assessment will be supported and facilitated. The Examining Boards have stipulated that assessments must be similar, i.e. campus-based and digital assessments must be as similar as possible in terms of access, procedure and susceptibility to fraud.
Within the context of the current corona crisis, this means that campus-based exams must also be available online so that all students can take part, even if they are abroad or unable to take a campus-based exam because they have a cold or for other reasons. This basically comes down to a preference for digital assessment, since this is not possible in cases of paper-based assessment.
It will therefore be necessary to devise a robust and lasting solution for digital assessment and online proctoring. This is currently being organised and developed further by the Digital Assessment Project and the E&S Department.
To relieve them of their consistently high workload, a helpdesk will be set up to assist lecturers in the use of digital educational tools such as Canvas, Panopto, Remindo/Ans, Online Proctoring and Mentimeter.
The helpdesk can also provide assistance with editing visual materials. The helpdesk can be manned by digitally savvy students who have experience with digital educational tools and can - alongside the LI Consultants - provide assistance and give advice in the evenings and weekends via Microsoft Teams.