President's weekly update
22 October 2020
Greater Manchester (GM) has moved to the Government’s higher alert level of Tier 3. This will mean more restrictions on social interactions, but schools, colleges and universities remain open. The Welsh Government noted that, ‘while incidents of COVID-19 have risen in the student population, evidence shows this is taking place outside the teaching and learning environment’. This statement is consistent with our own (self-reported) data, which show that the rise in student infections occurred before teaching started and has now declined rapidly.
We are in discussions with the regional public health experts about changes to delivery of teaching. This will be reported early next week. We have increased the level of online learning for most programmes, retaining in-person provision where this is essential, for example for practicals, practice-based delivery and for work placements. However, it is clear from many communications that our students and many of our staff value face-to-face teaching as long as it can be delivered safely; so we need to review whether there is more we can feasibly do. It is likely that such measures will continue to be considered locally by Faculty Leadership Teams, with inputs from their Schools.
We are in discussions with Government about arrangements for the end of semester. The shared aim is that students can return home safely without risking transmission of infections, hopefully with more testing available for students. We do now have a testing centre on our Fallowfield site.
At Senate we discussed current infection rates and the wider situation in our region. Senate agreed a number of changes to regulations and policies and raised the additional workload staff are feeling from online delivery of teaching; this is being built into contribution models, and probation and promotion. It was recognised that this is impinging on research and that more resource is being put in place. There is real pressure on practical and practice-based teaching. We raised the possibility of extending the teaching hours. This would, if implemented, not mean staff working longer hours, but possibly different hours. This could be helpful for some with home commitments and concerns about travel.
The USS pension scheme was the major topic of discussion at a Universities UK meeting I attended, then at a Russell Group Board that I chaired, each attended by pensions experts. There was real concern from all vice-chancellors about the very big increase in the deficit of the fund – from just under £4 billion to up to almost £18 billion. The scale of the deficit depends on ‘the strength of the covenant’, ie the ability of all universities in the scheme to pay. Unfortunately, this has been seriously damaged by the impact of COVID-19 on our universities.
All vice-chancellors recognised how important pensions are to our staff and are deeply worried about how we manage this deficit. They are also very worried about how many staff, largely younger ones, are opting out of the USS pension (~22%). This is of concern because USS provides not only a pension on retirement, but also support in the event of disability, and payment to families in the event of what is termed ‘death in service’. All agreed that we need a new and more collaborative approach to deliver a pension that is valuable and affordable to employees and employers.
I met some of our security staff to thank them for their really valuable contributions over recent months. Unlike many staff, they have been unable to work from home and have been at work on campus throughout – even during the most stringent lockdown, and they often have to deal with quite difficult situations with sensitivity. They asked me questions about student discipline and future plans to limit breaches of regulations and safe behaviour. I also saw the very impressive control room with cameras across our campus.
At the joint meeting with leaders from the GM Combined Authority and Manchester City Council, we discussed COVID-19 infection rates and the implications of moving to Local Alert Level 3 for the economy of the region. We also discussed Innovation GM, which we are closely involved in, and includes Innovation District Manchester which will be based on our North Campus, and work between GM universities and further education colleges.
I was interviewed by the Times in my capacity of chair of the Russell Group to discuss the impact of the pandemic on universities, universities’ contribution to jobs, the economy and local communities, the underfunding of research and the role of the Russell Group. I was also interviewed by Chinese television about infection rates amongst our students and how much face-to-face teaching they will receive. Some Chinese students have expressed concerns about local infection rates and about the fact that not all seem to be adhering to requirement such as wearing face coverings and social distancing.
As I was walking down Oxford Road, it was lovely to see that our Museum is open. I chatted to a member of the Museum staff who indicated how welcome this has been to local people.
Please take just a few minutes to watch this amazing film about our student volunteers in Uganda, it is really uplifting and impressive, and with masses of purple!
Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor