Universities can use this Covid-19 moment to reinvent the way they teach

Higher education is under unprecedented pressure. Not only is the academic teaching project being overhauled and moved online in the face of the Covid-19 outbreak, the financial model supporting public universities has never been more threatened.

In the immediate future we will see funds channelled towards the health sector and to support those hit by reduced income during the lockdown; in the long term, financial aid will be needed for an already ailing economy that will be playing catch-up long after the lockdown and the pandemic itself have ended.

In addition, higher education institutions will most likely face pushback from students and parents heavily burdened by tuition fees and general living costs. Questions will be asked as to what they are getting for their hardearned cash as teaching is conducted online and students no longer have the same access to lecturing staff and campus facilities and services.

Universities have for some time come under pressure from newer, cheaper online institutions offering qualifications of varying quality, with varying degrees of oversight exercised by the government and professional bodies. To counter this competition universities have emphasised the campus experience, longstanding academic traditions and access to wellknown and respected academics and researchers who enhance the learning experience for students.

Universities are ranked on the quality and scope of their educational offerings and research output. And graduates with degrees from wellknown universities supposedly have an easier route into industry. In short, universities live on their reputations.

Overall, knowledge is becoming ever-more difficult to package as a saleable commodity as more and more information, and even whole course and degree packages, become available online.

The Covid-19 outbreak has put increased focus on online and socalled blended learning opportunities — tuition and lectures conducted both online and through face-to-face lectures and tutoring sessions on campus. These blended learning options are neither new nor ad hoc, and are already in place and have been tested by most institutions.

What is new is the scale of these programmes. Overnight, universities around the world have had to adapt all course content to the online environment and get all lecturers up to speed on new teaching technologies and methodologies and how best to adapt content to online platforms. More than anything, assessments and exams are in question, and universities have to think through how these can be conducted in ways that ensure ethics and adherence to assessment rules and regulations.

By moving some teaching online, universities can provide more cost-efficient education. The change poses questions around whether on-campus teaching is more costly than other forms, and if cost overheads can be reduced and campus facilities repurposed. A reduced student population on campus will provide universities with opportunities to rethink how they use their facilities and to prioritise the practical and laboratory work that is more difficult to move online.

The idea of more flexible structuring of time and options for onand off-campus learning might also make better sense for students who cannot afford a daily commute to campus.

The opportunity exists to provide more flexible learning paths for students and an augmented learning experience by accessing several modes of teaching, whether online or offline, at their own pace and in their own time. If degrees can be obtained online for free, universities must make sure that what they offer is access to the best teachers and researchers and that such individuals are equipped to engage with students through the blended learning opportunities created.

Blended learning requires that teams of lecturers, content developers and people with technical expertise be formed around degrees and within disciplines to take the project forward. This as the model in which a single lecturer stands in front of a class becomes less common. This way, knowledge-sharing can take place throughout the university and between disciplines, contributing to interdisciplinarity and fostering collaborative skills.

This provides for a new way of looking at degrees and of enhancing learning for students. The university experience is one of feeling connected to a world of ideas, excellence and expertise. This is where traditional universities have a competitive advantage. The opportunity is here to not only recreate this experience online but to augment it, and to do so in ways that are truly accessible.