(Published Thursday 18th June)

As many of you are finishing your exams and getting ready for a summer break ahead of the new semester, I wanted to give a quick update on the shift to online learning survey as well as to get your thoughts on some work ahead of the next semester. This semester we implemented an online examination period, where many of you were able to complete your assessments in a 7-day window. It would be great to get your thoughts on how you found this and any issues you had. We’ll use this feedback to shape the work and the plans we put in place for the Semester 1 exams, although semester 1 seems far away it would be great to get your input! 

When we launched the Shift to Online learning survey, we really wanted to capture your views on a variety of topics from accessing help to engaging with online resources. We had loads of responses - thanks so much to everyone who replied -  and I wanted to tell you the main comments that came out of this and, most importantly, the steps we are taking to improve the blended learning experience ahead of the next semester. 

The responses we got highlighted a clear number of areas to work on, from the visibility of support services to how students can access online material, especially for courses that use physical resources that were not previously online. At the beginning of lockdown, many support services moved to work remotely through telephone/email/zoom access. In particular, we have been working with the University to establish the popular helpmegetonline service and we are working to move this into the wider support available from IT services. The crucial driver for this service has been to create a platform to raise any issues such as needing IT equipment or Internet access. Because of the high demand, we are looking to make this service available for all students in the next semester. 

As we moved to online, our Library services team quickly began to review and introduce further online resources, we have been working with the My Learning Essentials team to highlight and promote their resources. We are now looking at how we can continue and streamline this, for the next semester. 

For further plans, I am working with the Teaching and Learning Executive Group to begin to make plans for the next semester in regards to timetabling, how we will deliver labs, practicals, seminars etc for students both on and off-campus, as well as looking at how we can critically evaluate the steps and decisions taken this semester, in which the results from this survey will play a massive part in. 

I will update in the next few weeks on a more detailed plan of all of this. It was great to see such a high response for the shift to online learning survey and your feedback will truly go to shaping what the next semester looks like. And as always if you have any questions please email me at: edofficer.su@manchester.ac.uk 

Hope you are all well and keeping safe, and enjoy your Summer break!