On 9 July 2020, TIGA, the trade association representing the video games industry, published an update on Parliamentary activity for the higher education sector. These include written questions on internet access, foreign students, and graduate employment.
The Government have also updated their guidance on what FE colleges and providers will need to do from the start of the 2020 autumn term to confirm that from 13 July, providers can welcome back priority 19+ learners.
GUIDANCE
Actions for FE colleges and providers during the coronavirus outbreak
Department for Education
8 July 2020
Guidance for further education (FE) providers on maintaining education and skills training, changes to funding arrangements, data collections and assessment.
Updated: Updated guidance on what FE colleges and providers will need to do from the start of the 2020 autumn term to confirm that from 13 July, providers can welcome back priority 19+ learners.
The guidance can be read in full here.
Written Answers
Higher Education: Internet
Department for Education
8 July 2020
Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department made of the value of online learning for university students.
Michelle Donelan: Departmental officials and I have been engaging with the sector to help to ensure that higher education providers can continue to deliver courses which are fit for purpose and which help students achieve their academic goals. The vast majority of providers are planning for a mixture of face-to-face and online teaching in the autumn term, and we have already seen some fantastic, innovative preparations for blended education for the next academic year. Delivering through a mixture of face-to-face and online provision will enable them to prioritise safety and to comply with guidance from Public Health England.
Departmental officials are also working closely with the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA), which has recently published guidance, attached [1], setting out 4 key principles to inform providers as they plan for the next academic year. The principles are that any move to on-site activity is safe and secure for staff and students, that degree-awarding bodies maintain quality and standards in the move to flexible provision, that providers engage with students and staff in planning changes to delivery and assessment of teaching and learning and that providers’ planning scenarios are flexible and responsive to students’ needs.
As providers have moved a significant proportion of their provision online for both the remainder of the 2019/20 academic year and for the next academic year, maintaining the quality and value of online teaching and learning has been at the forefront of our actions. While the methods of delivery may have changed, we are engaging with the sector and the Office for Students (OfS) to ensure that the depth and breadth of the curriculum, the quality of the teaching and the value of the degree achieved are maintained. This will help to ensure that any online learning provides the same academic value to students as campus-based learning.
Graduates: Employments
Department for Education
1 July 2020
Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support graduates looking for employment (a) during and (b) after the covid-19 outbreak.
Michelle Donelan: Our economic priority is to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on our economy as far as possible. This is an incredibly difficult period for everyone, and we understand that graduates are likely to feel concerned as they enter a far tougher job market than those before them.
Some universities are going above and beyond to support those graduating this summer, providing extensive online careers advice, including webinars offering interview and CV-writing tips and skills and follow-up one-to-one calls. However, we need all universities to step up and play a key role to help graduates take the next step, whether into work or further study.
The recently announced National Tutoring Programme creates an opportunity for graduates to apply for tutoring roles providing support for pupils and schools in the most disadvantaged areas. More details of the programme will be available shortly.
We know that post-graduates often secure employment in higher skilled and higher paid employment than graduates and non-graduates. The government can support with the financial burden of accessing a master’s degree with a loan of up to £11,222.
Where graduates are considering a career in teaching, tax-free postgraduate bursaries of up to £26,000 are available for trainee teachers starting initial teacher training in 2020/21, depending on the subject in which they train to teach.
Post graduate education: Internet
Department for Education
3 July 2020
Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) financial and (b) educational support is provided to postgraduate students whose education has moved online.
Michelle Donelan: This is a difficult and uncertain time for students, but we are working with the sector to make sure all reasonable efforts are being made to enable students to continue their studies.
Eligible students studying designated postgraduate courses online are entitled to apply for a postgraduate loan. The rate of loan is the same for all students.
Higher education providers are working to ensure that learning and teaching continues and is completed through the use of online teaching and other digital delivery. Providers will contact students to tell them how this will affect their studies.
The Office for Students, the higher education regulator in England, has produced guidance on practical ways in which students can complete their studies whilst ensuring quality and standards are upheld. This covers teaching, learning and assessment during this difficult time – further details are available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/guidance-for-providers-about-quality-and-standards-during-coronavirus-pandemic/.
The government is also working closely with the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, the professional bodies and the Office for Students to ensure students continue to leave university with qualifications that have real value, reflect their hard work and allow people to progress.
Graduates: Employments
Department for Education
1 July 2020
Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support graduates looking for employment (a) during and (b) after the covid-19 outbreak.
Michelle Donelan: Our economic priority is to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on our economy as far as possible. This is an incredibly difficult period for everyone, and we understand that graduates are likely to feel concerned as they enter a far tougher job market than those before them.
Some universities are going above and beyond to support those graduating this summer, providing extensive online careers advice, including webinars offering interview and CV-writing tips and skills and follow-up one-to-one calls. However, we need all universities to step up and play a key role to help graduates take the next step, whether into work or further study.
The recently announced National Tutoring Programme creates an opportunity for graduates to apply for tutoring roles providing support for pupils and schools in the most disadvantaged areas. More details of the programme will be available shortly.
We know that post-graduates often secure employment in higher skilled and higher paid employment than graduates and non-graduates. The government can support with the financial burden of accessing a master’s degree with a loan of up to £11,222.
Where graduates are considering a career in teaching, tax-free postgraduate bursaries of up to £26,000 are available for trainee teachers starting initial teacher training in 2020/21, depending on the subject in which they train to teach.
Foreign Students: Coronavirus
Department for Education
29 June 2020
Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to (a) support international students studying in the UK during the covid-19 pandemic and (b) make an assessment of the potential merits of (i) requesting providers to waive third-term tuition fees for those students and (ii) extending Tier 4 visas for those students.
Michelle Donelan: The department has been working closely with the higher education (HE) sector to ensure it provides essential support for international students who have decided to remain in the UK or have been unable to travel home due to COVID-19. Universities have an obligation to ensure that students have continued accommodation and access to essential services in the UK for the duration of their stay.
We are pleased to see that the sector is making every effort to enable students to continue their studies – including moving learning online either in the UK or in a student’s home country – so that their teaching and assessment can proceed, and that universities are offering a range of support to students, including support for catering and cleaning.
The government also recognises that many students are facing, or will face, additional mental health challenges caused by the global outbreak. Many HE providers are bolstering their existing mental health services and adapting delivery to means other than face-to-face. Providers have responded quickly to transform mental health and wellbeing services, showing resourcefulness, and there are many examples of good practice.
The government has worked closely with the Office for Students (OfS) to help clarify that providers in England can draw upon existing student premium funding to provide hardship funds and support disadvantaged students impacted by COVID-19 and international students qualify for this. Providers are able to use the funding – worth around £23 million per month for April, May, June and July – towards student hardship funds, including mental health support.
In addition, the OfS recently announced the Student Space platform, which seeks to bridge gaps in mental health support for students arising from this unprecedented situation. Funded with up to £3 million by the OfS and led by Student Minds, it is designed to work alongside existing mental health services.
Universities are autonomous and responsible for setting their own fees. In deciding to keep charging full fees, universities will of course want to ensure that they can continue to deliver courses which are fit for purpose and help students progress their qualifications. Whether or not an individual student is entitled to a refund of fees will depend on the specific contractual arrangements between the provider and student.
The government is applying discretion under the current circumstances to ensure international students are not negatively impacted if they find themselves in a position where they cannot comply with certain visa rules. On 16 June, the Home Office updated their visa guidance to provide greater certainty for international HE students in the UK impacted by COVID-19; this guidance includes the latest information for those who might have questions around visa expiry, switching visa category within the UK and distance learning. It also provides reassurances regarding distance learning, confirming that students will be permitted to study partially online for the 2020/21 academic year, provided they transition to face-to-face learning as soon as circumstances allow, and that that those studying by distance/blended learning will be eligible to apply for the graduate route provided they are in the UK by 6 April 2021 (and meet other requirements of the route).