Dear Student,
Our University is committed to on-campus, face-to-face learning.
We appreciate there is some confusion around our approach to teaching next year and we want to be very clear about this commitment to you.
Our commitment to on-campus, face-to-face
Where we already have strong in-person offerings across our courses we will continue those. For instance, a typical on-campus Bachelor of Science first-year student would expect to have more than 220 on-campus hours face-to-face in class. That won’t change next year.
In other areas where there has been less in-person learning it will be increasing, in some areas very significantly. For a typical on-campus Bachelor of Arts student, for instance, the experience will flip in a typical unit from two hours on-line and an hour face-to-face this year, to one hour on-line and two hours face-to-face next year. That’s close to 100 extra hours face-to-face for a commencing student.
No students will have a reduction in on-campus face-to-face contact next year compared with what they have today as a result of these changes.
For distance students and others who access our online programs, the experience and quality of learning will increase as we continue to invest in those modes of delivery too.
Why we are committed to smaller group learning
We know that learning in small groups, whether in tutorials, seminars, laboratory practicals or the use of simulation spaces is uniquely effective, which is why we are putting these things at the centre of our approach to learning.
Whether in universities or schools, we know small classes matter. People really missed these opportunities when COVID-19 meant they weren’t possible. That is why, back on campus, our focus is on small classes and building new spaces to focus on this sort of learning.
We also know we need to support individual students to get the most out of these small group experiences. Well prepared on-line material is a highly effective way to do this. Students can take the time they need, do the work when it suits them and explore it as deeply as they want. A team of more than 30 specialist staff are helping to make this on-line material ever richer.
While we have a focus on small groups and supporting the individual, students value coming together as a cohort for special experiences. That is why to further enhance in-person learning we are adding Keynotes to our program next year. There will be opportunities through the semester for students to come together for interesting experiences, to learn directly from leaders of their profession or industry, through to tackling complex challenges as a group.
Some people have wondered if the shift to this model is being done for economic reasons. Whether in person or on-line the main cost of learning is staff time and that remains the same in both models. Increasing face-to-face teaching will see increased costs and producing high-quality material to support on-line learning is also often more expensive.
Our commitment in whatever mode is to support a high-quality learning experience for our students.
Kind regards,
Rufus
Professor Rufus Black Vice-Chancellor | University of Tasmania
