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<p>Departmental officials and I have been engaging with the sector to help to ensure
that higher education providers can continue to deliver courses which are fit for
purpose and which help students achieve their academic goals. The vast majority of
providers are planning for a mixture of face-to-face and online teaching in the autumn
term, and we have already seen some fantastic, innovative preparations for blended
education for the next academic year. Delivering through a mixture of face-to-face
and online provision will enable them to prioritise safety and to comply with guidance
from Public Health England.</p><p>Departmental officials are also working closely
with the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA), which has recently published
guidance, attached [1], setting out 4 key principles to inform providers as they plan
for the next academic year. The principles are that any move to on-site activity is
safe and secure for staff and students, that degree-awarding bodies maintain quality
and standards in the move to flexible provision, that providers engage with students
and staff in planning changes to delivery and assessment of teaching and learning
and that providers' planning scenarios are flexible and responsive to students' needs.</p><p>As
providers have moved a significant proportion of their provision online for both the
remainder of the 2019/20 academic year and for the next academic year, maintaining
the quality and value of online teaching and learning has been at the forefront of
our actions. While the methods of delivery may have changed, we are engaging with
the sector and the Office for Students (OfS) to ensure that the depth and breadth
of the curriculum, the quality of the teaching and the value of the degree achieved
are maintained. This will help to ensure that any online learning provides the same
academic value to students as campus-based learning. <br> <br> The OfS and the Office
for the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education have both also recently issued
guidance on student and consumer protection issues during the COVID-19 outbreak. The
OfS and I have been clear that providers should give students clear and transparent
information on what they can expect from their course in the next academic year and
the extent to which initial teaching will be online, how this will happen and what
support there will be for online learning.</p><p>[1] <a href="https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/guidance/preserving-quality-and-standards-through-a-time-of-rapid-change.pdf"
target="_blank">https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/guidance/preserving-quality-and-standards-through-a-time-of-rapid-change.pdf</a></p><p>
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