Online teaching was an unfortunate necessity during the Covid pandemic. Now that there are no Covid restrictions in the UK we want teaching within the University of York Economics department to return to entirely in-person methods, in line with the vast majority of the university and the course we chose and are paying for.

Many departments within the university have already returned, with online provision for those students not yet in York.

The reality of online lectures is a miserable one. They are difficult to properly engage with and require students to spend a large majority of their time in isolation watching a screen. The pandemic has already taken a large toll on people’s mental health, and many of us came back excited for a second year which we hoped would help to alleviate this; instead continued online lectures worsen the already dire situation.

As we understand it the department’s arguments for continuing with online teaching are as follows-

1.     Students aren’t required to be in York until week 7.

2.     Some students may not feel comfortable in a lecture theatre.

3.     Online lectures worked well last year.

4.     Our cohort hasn’t had the chance to become used to in-person lectures.

Our responses to these lines of argument are-

1      and 2. Lectures have always, in recent years, been recorded and posted online for students to review later. All students should not be denied in-person teaching because of the travel arrangements or concerns of a few. Students who cannot be there or feel safer away from a lecture hall can watch the lecture remotely. Many departments have returned on this basis.

3.     Is there quantifiable evidence to support this? Based on the experience much of the cohort have had online lectures are very hard to properly engage with, are incredibly isolating and although may have been an acceptable compromise mid-pandemic, are an imitation of engaging in-person teaching.

4.     We are more than capable of managing lectures, as was clearly the assumption when we were offered a place on this course.

The Vice-Chancellor wrote on 22nd September that ‘teaching will be in person, so we expect students to be present’. The Economics department seems to be taking a unique and indefensible approach, continuing to deliver pre-recorded lectures recycled from last year online. This is not the university experience we signed up to or expect from a degree at the University of York.

We ask that all teaching return to in-person methods with immediate effect.

Beatrice Podger 

Marmaduke Hall