Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) President Eoin Hand has welcomed the government’s guidelines for higher education institutions that were announced yesterday.
In an interview with The University Times, Hand said that “these guidelines are very solid, very thorough – they really are in the best interests of the student health for domestic, international, for those immunocompromised and for those who are in the full of their health”.
“Colleges have been doing a lot of planning in the background but with a lot of ambiguity”, Hand said. “It brings a lot of relief from the uncertainty that there was around going forward because now people know what to expect.”
Yesterday, the government announced that universities and colleges will be permitted to relax the two-metre social distancing rule to one metre when in lectures or classes. Staff are advised to wear face shields, visors or other protective equipment – provided by the universities – if the social distancing rule is relaxed.
Hand described the guidelines as “all-encompassing” in managing to make in-person teaching feasible while also making sure immunocompromised staff and students and those who feel anxious about returning “will all be individually assessed”.
In the guidelines published yesterday, the government recommended “the use of cloth face coverings in indoor settings where adequate physical distance cannot be maintained”.
Hand said that it’s important “to look at the environmental impact of the face masks”, as well as the financial burden the requirement may place on students.
“If there are any students who do have financial difficulty around buying face masks – preferably cloth face masks as well just because there is a whole reusable aspect to those – the Senior Tutor’s office has the financial fund”, he said.
The SU shop, he added, is looking to sell reusable face masks next year as well as surgical face masks for students requiring a mask for class who have forgotten their own. Hand said that these masks will be sold at cost price and will not be used for profit.
With regard to on-campus accommodation, the guidelines say that “students should not visit buildings other than the one where they live and should not invite guests to the residences”, adding that “students who are not residents in HEI accommodation should not access the buildings”.
Hand expects that this “will be really unpopular”, but said that “it is one of those necessities going forward where we just need to be able to move as one unit because the sooner and harder we all work together, the people who are at most risk will be less likely to be at risk.”
The relaxation of the social distancing rule will allow universities and colleges to maximise opportunities for in-person teaching. In an email to Trinity students last month, Vice-Provost Jürgen Barkhoff wrote that “our aim is that all students will have as much face-to-face teaching, including labs, field trips and clinical placements as possible under social distancing protocols in place in September, as well as online lectures for larger groups.”
Hand said that it’s “it’s very important that the college look at hybrid learning over blended learning”. While blended learning is a mix of online and in-person teaching, hybrid learning ensures that all teaching materials are streamed online.
“College needs to focus on the positives of hybrid learning so that students who feel anxious going to class, lecturers who can’t go into class, and anyone in between, can still avail of the education that they’re paying for”, Hand added.
Hand said that guidelines will give students “certainty that there will be something to look forward to in college – and I think that’s the main thing”.
“With less ambiguity will come less anxiety around the situation. Most of the anxiety that I’ve heard from reports out there is coming because people don’t know – if you don’t know, you can’t plan. And if you can’t plan, then you’re anxious.”
