Victoria defends class decision
Victoria University is defending its decision to suspend all classes until April 28 because of the Covid-19 lockdown.
It is the only university in New Zealand to announce a full suspension, with others opting to move classes online as soon as possible.
In a live Q & A over Facebook, Victoria University Provost Wendy Larner said many staff were not yet trained or ready to run classes online. ‘‘Doing the shift that we’re all doing now, to being online . . . we knew that was going to take a bit of time,’’ she said.
Teaching was officially suspended at the university on March 24, a day before the lockdown began.
Massey University and Auckland University moved all classes online on March 20.
In an email to students, Victoria University vice-chancellor Professor Grant Guilford said the key reason for the suspension of classes was so staff and students could focus on ‘‘personal priorities’’.
‘‘Many of us are coping with new circumstances, such as returning to live and work and study at home, being confined to smaller spaces, having much of our social interaction online and dealing with feelings of anxiety,’’ he said. ‘‘It will take us all a bit of time to find a new rhythm and establish new routines.’’
The university said it would offer free study from the start of the second semester to new domestic students who had been affected by coronavirus. That included people who had lost their jobs, been forced home from overseas or were in changed circumstances such as being at home with dependents. However, the offer was not available to current students of the university affected by the pandemic. Victoria University Students Association president Geo Robrigado said students were ‘‘appalled’’ the university was ‘‘prioritising new students rather than supporting current students’’.