Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
No student exodus at city unis
The number of students starting their degree studies at the city’s universities has not slumped as feared due to Covid-19, say campus bosses.
Instead, both the University of Kent (UKC) and Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) in are reporting strong interest in places, despite many of the lectures being delivered online.
CCCU vice-chancellor Prof Rama Thirunamachandran says he is “pleasantly surprised” by the 3,816 new undergraduates - up from 3,635 in 2019.
“We had been worried that students would defer until 2021 but actually, the numbers are very good news, both with new students and post-graduates,” he said.
“Even our international student numbers, although still relatively small, are our best ever.” Prof Thirunamachandran says he has heard some universities in London and the north had “haemorrhaged” students because of the greater impact of Covid on those communities. “I think the fact Kent has relatively low cases may have been a factor in why we have not been affected,” he said.
The vice-chancellor at UKC, Prof Karen Cox is also reporting strong numbers of students, in line with pre-covid estimates. Last year the university welcomed 4,703 undergraduates. Prof Cox said: “We are in a good place in terms of applications and new arrivals, with home undergraduate numbers on target with around 4,000 so far, so we are pleased with that. “Interest in us also remains very strong internationally, although the challenge there is travel. So we are seeing students accepting our offers and wanting to come to us, which we are keeping under review.” Both institutions are planning for the majority of teaching to be delivered online but insist students will still get a “high quality experience” and value for their £9,250-a-term fees. Prof Thirunamachandran says that far from saving money, the online lectures planned are actually costing the university more because of the new learning and teaching technology it has had to invest in.
“We are balancing the mix of face-to-face teaching for smaller groups and online lectures,” he said. “I would argue that we are spending more per student than we would do in a normal year, providing them with even more support, with measures like loaning laptops and helping them secure internet connections.
“We have also spent several hundreds of thousands of pounds to make the campus and classrooms Covid-secure.” Prof Cox also believes her students will still receive a high-quality experience.
“It will be different, but what we have learned over the last few months is how to build online communities and a sense of being at university and mixing in a virtual world,” she said. “We’ve been clear with students that large teaching sessions will be online, but there will be some physical small groups where needed. Our teaching will be high-quality, whether online or face-to-face.” Prof Cox says significant Covid-safe measures have been installed on the campus and staff given PPE. “Students in halls of residence will have to remain in their own household bubbles, but we are also blessed with a beautiful, open campus,” she said. Both universities have also agreed staff pay freezes this year, with senior management taking a 20% pay cut.
The vice-president of welfare and community at Kent Union, Aisha Dosanjh, says its aim is to give students as much support and engagement as possible to help keep them safe and happy. “Freshers isn’t just about having fun and getting drunk,” she said. “It’s really important to engage with university and make friends so that students, often living away from home for the first time, aren’t lonely. “We also understand that dropping fees is not feasible and, so far, the online lectures, for example those delivered during the strike period, went down quite well.
“It’s a lot easier to engage online now the internet is so much better and lecturers will constantly be finding ways to make it more interactive.” What do you think? Email kentishgazette@thekmgroup. co.uk.
‘Students in halls of residence will have to remain in their own household bubbles’