Do you think uni will be open again by september?

Getting worried now that I may have to defer a year as i dont want to be taught online and do you reckon unis will also perhaps postpone some courses?

Reply 1

Sophhhowa

I both hope and think it’ll be back to in person by then but only if people follow the rules atm. It might not be quite what it normally is but hopefully it won’t be online

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

No one knows for sure

Reply 3

PhoenixFortune

Original post by Gillzy

Getting worried now that I may have to defer a year as i dont want to be taught online and do you reckon unis will also perhaps postpone some courses?

I doubt they will postpone teaching, unless the course requires a practical element from the start. Most universities are preparing to continue as planned in September, but whether that's in-person or online remains to be seen.

Remember though, universities don't have to let you defer until 2021, so make sure you keep that in mind when making decisions.

Reply 4

Anonymous #2

I hope they will be! It just depends on how much this calms down within the next 3-4 months.

Although if there is no vaccine and social distancing measures are still heavily in place in September, I don't think universities will reopen (having 200+ students in a lecture theatre isn't exactly adhering to social distancing guidelines, as well as students travelling from other cities to stay in accommodation).

I doubt they'd postpone teaching too since for current students they literally acted as if nothing happened and moved teaching online (which most students will tell you was a disaster).

Don't worry about it too much though, there's lots of people like you in the same boat. But I do see where you're coming from since if you wanted online learning, you'd just sign up for the Open university instead.

Reply 5

Mustafa0605

If a vaccine is found or if there is significant population immunity developed or if testing becomes much increased then it’s possible

Reply 6

Rawkuss

Original post by Mustafa0605

If a vaccine is found or if there is significant population immunity developed or if testing becomes much increased then it’s possible

Too early for a vaccine and people infected still test positive and can be re-infected.

Reply 7

Rawkuss

My Uni is already making preparations in case it is still going or rises again. Let's face it, the government are dragging their heels with issuing PPE and tests. The Unis are already set to suffer heavy loses through a lack of foreign students and with people deferring and no bailout package from the government, there's a chance - however slim - that your Uni might not be about by the time this dies down.

Reply 8

username4867806

Original post by Rawkuss

Too early for a vaccine and people infected still test positive and can be re-infected.

We don't know if people can be re-infected. People have tested positive after initially recovering but they don't know the reason vfor this e.g faulty test or reinfected etc.

Reply 9

Gillzy

Ive just seen on BBC news that Belgium are planning to end lockdown by mid-may so I wonder if the UK will follow suit. I think we just need to accept that this is never going to go away fully and a vaccine will never be found.Therefore we must stop lockdown as its not going to make much difference if we are all going to get it at some point.

Reply 10

PhoenixFortune

Original post by Gillzy

Belgium might have completely different numbers of infected/deaths than the UK does though. If they can tell that they have passed the peak, then they might feel comfortable ending the lock down, but I don't think we've passed it yet.

A vaccine will be found eventually, but it will probably not be issued to everyone until they've done thorough testing, which could take 18+ months.

Reply 11

Desideri

Original post by PhoenixFortune

We have probably already passed the peak according to a lot of scientists (e.g. www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/health-52361519). But we need to get far enough away from the peak to avoid just getting a second, possibly worse, peak straight away.

Personally, I think that universities will reopen in September, with some things like lectures (e.g. 50+ or 100+ people) still online, but things like labs and probably seminars in person. If we start heading towards a second peak, things might suddenly go online again though.

No one knows.

To be honest, I don't think there is any chance at all that unis will be back as normal in September. A crowded lecture hall of 300 people from all over the world is a risk waiting to happen. That's before you even get to the accommodation where you have people sharing unclean bathrooms and kitchens etc.

I don't see any way unis can operate as normal until there is a vaccine. Even then, I think some of the online teaching and assessment is here to stay.

Reply 14

Ghostlady

I think Uni's will be open to start with, but possibility of first term to be taught on line. If the vaccine proves successful (and ive read somewhere that the trails will continue until August), by the time they are in production it will be around christmas time roughly, and even then make the best part of 66 million just for the uk. Southampton uni are also testing on an nasal spray to help reduce the symptoms should you get it.

To keep the economy going and everything else, you need businesses running, and schools and uni's and health centres and dentists etc open.

But in order to do that, in the short term there is going to be some social disruption. Whether that's actually wearing a mask (after all the government are now changing their tune on this one and its effectiveness), still social distance, have a mixture of lectures/on line lectures so students get to go but be socially distanced apart. Allow so many in the library. Staggered times for labs. People having more on line meetings instead of face to face tutorials/seminars. Workers having to work a certain distance apart, staggered hours etc etc, the list goes on.

Something will need to be done before the economy crashes and the world needs to keep turning, so I do think they will be open, but possibility of first term on line. I also think as well, people are not daft either. Even with lowdown lifted slightly, people will be cautious and still social distance in a way until the vaccine is established.