Massey University students want return to in-person teaching at alert level 1

Thursday, 16 September 2021

Third year Massey visual communication design student Phoebe Bertelsen said in-person teaching is crucial for a creative degree.

Massey University students want a return to more in-person classes if the country moves to alert level 1, saying face-to-face learning is “crucial”.

And a national student association is calling on the university to offer fee rebates for students, following its decision to mostly move to online learning for semester two.

“Students didn’t pay to have their papers taught entirely by distance. If they signed up as internal students, they signed up so they could be on a campus and learning on a campus,” said New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations national president Andrew Lessells.

But deputy vice-chancellor of students and global engagement Tere McGonagle-Daly said the potential of moving between different alert levels meant students wanted certainty as to how classes would be delivered for the rest of the semester.

Massey University’s Hokowhitu campus in Palmerston North, and its campus in Wellington has reopened, but teaching has “mostly” shifted online for the rest of the semester.

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Under the Government’s Covid-19 alert level 2 rules, the number of people allowed in gatherings is limited, ruling out large lectures.

Third year Massey University visual communication design student Phoebe Bertelsen: “As a designer you design for other people, so other people’s reactions are really crucial for that.”

Palmerston North and Wellington campuses are open, and courses which require specific equipment and facilities have returned to face-to-face learning: 153 courses at Wellington and Manawatū have resumed in person.

But many other workshops and tutorials have moved online and the university has signalled this could continue under alert level 1, Lessells said.

Agribusiness student Aidan Bright working from home. Bright has a horticultural lab class which cannot be transferred online, so the teaching hours are lost.

While it was important public health measures were followed, a blanket approach to online learning was difficult for many students, he said.

Wellington visual communication design student Phoebe Bertelsen said moving entirely to online learning was particularly challenging for a creative degree.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield announce there are 13 new cases of Covid-19.

“As a designer you design for other people, so other people’s reactions are really crucial for that, and that’s really difficult to read over a digital environment, especially with lags.

“If it’s a physical object, picking it up and having an emotional connection or emotional response for that piece of design is really crucial,” Bertelsen said, who is also the Massey Wellington student association’s academic officer.

Bertelsen’s core class, which consisted of a large lecture, splitting off into smaller face-to-face workshops, had shifted online.

“It would be amazing for all our workshops and one-on-one critiques to come back without any restrictions in alert level one, but we just don’t know.”

From a student perspective, a fee rebate would be “amazing”, but Bertelsen said she could understand why the university hadn’t given one, because it could introduce disparities between internal students and distance students.

Palmerston North Agribusiness student Aidan Bright said he wanted more labs to be taught in-person.

He did not think it was acceptable many classes could be kept online in alert level 1, because that damaged the quality of education students were receiving, he said.

Bright had a horticulture lab class which could not be moved online, meaning the teaching hours were “completely lost”.

Massey University did not say whether it would give fee rebates for students whose work has now shifted online.

But McGonagle-Daly said the university would not be refunding non-tuition fees for students.

Non-tuition fees cover subsidised health care, free counselling, career and personal development and student representation and advocacy services – the amount varies between internal and distance students.

“Because these services have continued to be available to all students, this is not something the university would refund,”McGonagle-Daly said.

In regards to whether more courses could come back in-person under alert level 1, McGonagle-Daly said: “we are guided by the Government guidelines and the Tertiary Education Commission, and will continue to be going forward as levels change.”

The university would be considering whether more courses could come back in-person under alert level 1, according to Government advice, a spokesperson said.

In a statement, McGonagle-Daly said online learning may not be what all students were expecting, but the decision was made to keep student wellbeing in mind.

“We wanted to provide certainty as well as keep all of our students and staff safe.”

Any students who had concerns about their learning should discuss this with their course co-ordinators, he said.

“We are here to help support students and there are a range of measures in place.”

This included financial and technology support measures, and those applying for emergency grants.