All Student Vote (Autumn 2021)

Warwick Supports In-Person Teaching and Universal Lecture Capture

This motion mandates the Education Officer & President to lobby departments to provide an option for fully in-person teaching in all settings to all students from the beginning of Term 2. 

Warwick Supports In-Person Teaching and Universal Lecture Capture 

This Union Notes:

1. Since the beginning of the 21/22 academic year, the UK government has maintained no public health restrictions on large gatherings in England.
2. Furthermore, the UK government has called on universities to return to fully in-person teaching.¹
3. Thus far the University of Warwick has not provided an option for in-person lectures for modules with a cohort of over 50 students, instead opting for a blended approach.²
4. Moreover, the University of Warwick failed to inform many students directly of the planned delivery of their courses, with some students only becoming aware that much of their teaching and learning would remain online at the beginning of their academic term.
5. During the lockdown period(s) of 2020-21, over 50% of students have reported worsening mental health with students feeling lonely, depressed, isolated, and unable to sleep.³
6. A petition calling for an option of fully in-person teaching has so far collected over 2200 student signatures and this petition has been delivered to Stuart Croft directly by the Put Warwick Students First campaign.
7. The results of a Students’ Union consultation poll showed 59% are actively dissatisfied with the balance of online and in-person teaching their department has provided for them, 69% of student respondents are in favour of completely or mostly in-person teaching and learning.⁶
8. On Thursday 21^st October 2021, the University of Warwick announced to students that it intends to allow departments to choose whether all teaching will be delivered in person from the beginning of Term 2 onward.^4,5

References

¹ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-58504263

² https://warwick.ac.uk/students/news/newsevents/what_is_a/

³  https://theboar.org/2020/12/more-than-half-of-students-see-mental-health-deteriorate/

⁴https://updates.warwick.ac.uk/public/email/preview/297/4/1/1635163831/632394e07e77d6ebfc1f440e9eea98077c0c17b683e300534a5eba33dbf62cf3c955c4dbb06fea4f

⁵ https://theboar.org/2021/10/social-distancing-for-term-2/

⁶   https://www.warwicksu.com/asset/News/4000/Teaching-and-Learning-Survey-2021-Summary-Report.pdf

This Union Believes:

1. Many students learn better through an in-person delivery of lectures, seminars, labs etc. A sentiment frequently cited by academic staff pre-pandemic in response to requests for the implementation of universal lecture capture.
2. Student feedback has shown that an option for in-person teaching is a core concern for students and therefore should be a priority of the Students’ Union.
3. All students would benefit from universal lecture capture, which the university has proven can be provided throughout the pandemic period.
4. Providing students with the choice of in-person or online teaching would improve mental wellbeing in many respects.

This Union Resolves:

1. To mandate the Education Officer and the President to lobby departments to provide an option of fully in-person teaching in all settings to all students from the beginning of Term 2.
2. To mandate the Education Officer and the President to lobby departments to retain the option of online provision of teaching via universal lecture capture from the beginning of Term 2.
3. To mandate the Sabbatical Officers to lobby departments and the University of Warwick to communicate clearly with their students their plans for the provision of teaching, with an adequate period of notice.
4. To mandate the Sabbatical Officers to publish the names of departments that do not communicate with students their teaching plans regarding term 2 by the 20th December 2021.
5. If the University of Warwick reverses its current intention to allow departments to return to normal teaching delivery and once again implements an arbitrary attendance cap (currently 50 students), mandate the Education Officer and President to publicly campaign for departments to be once again permitted to provide an option for fully in-person teaching. However, if the UK government announces significant public health restrictions on Higher Education, the Education Officer and President will instead be mandated to ensure that education is as unrestricted as legally possible.
6. If mask requirements and/or vaccination passports are required by the UK government in indoor settings, the Sabbatical Officers should still lobby departments and the University of Warwick to provide an option of fully in-person teaching to masked and/or fully vaccinated individuals respectively.
7. To mandate the Education Officer and Postgraduate Officer to work with and support faculty reps, department reps, and course reps in their representation of students’ wishes regarding the delivery of teaching and learning.
8. To repeal policy 129 ‘Universal Lecture Capture’.
9. To mandate the Education Officer, Postgraduate Officer, and Welfare and Campaigns Officer to run a campaign for students informing them of the channels in which they can help the Universal Lecture Capture campaign (e.g., writing to their lecturers) and run a campaign for staff informing them of the benefits of Universal Lecture Capture & the process on how to set their lecture capture up.
10. To mandate the DDO, Education Officer and the SU President to lobby the university for further infrastructure to provide universal capabilities for Lecture Capture.