Our advice for prospective students in 2020/21

Last updated: 12th June 2020

We are working hard on developing the delivery of teaching and support for students in the academic year 2020/21 in what is likely to be quite a different environment from normal, given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Whatever restrictions are in place, at any time during the year, the department is equipped and prepared to deliver our high-quality undergraduate (MORSE, Maths&Stats, Data Science) and postgraduate (MSc Statistics, MSc Mathematical Finance) programmes. We firmly believe that your learning experience at Warwick in 2020-21 will not be diminished. In fact we believe that in many ways it will be enhanced.

For our current students, we are utilising collaborative online technologies such as Echo360, Universal Personal Capture, Moodle, Microsoft Teams (and Office 365) and Blackboard Collaborate. These technologies are now well tested and maintaining our current programme provision.

Potential programme delivery methods in 2020/21

In all cases, the programmes will not change, only the delivery. However we do recognise that our incoming first year undergraduates in 2020 will have had a very different experience at the end of their School studies from previous cohorts and this is informing our planning for our first year teaching in 2020-21.

• Business as usual. If there are no restrictions, then the delivery of our programme will be as usual. It is extremely unlikely that this will be the case at the start of the year, but our plans will allow us to transition back to this mode of delivery as and when restrictions are lifted.
• Mixed online and face-to-face delivery. This is what we are expecting to be in place at the start of the academic year.
  • Lectures and large group teaching will be delivered through our online systems with (largely) recorded online lectures (for example, via Echo 360, Microsoft Teams, or Blackboard Collaborate.) There may be some live online lectures but we are planning to deliver much of our module content in a larger number of shorter segments, more suitable for remote learning and available to watch repeatedly.
  • Small group teaching will take place as live interactive sessions, both face-to-face and/or online. (For example, via Microsoft Teams or Moodle. Safety of students and staff is our primary concern and so, to meet social distancing requirements face-to-face groups will need to be smaller than in previous years with the advantage that more personal feedback will be possible. For students who cannot attend face-to-face sessions, alternative online sessions will be provided, with the same opportunities for interaction.

  • All module lecturers will host an online discussion forum.

  • Personal tutors and course lecturers will maintain online office hours and will be available for online support, via e.g. Microsoft Teams. These office hours will be online interactive sessions, where students with any kind of question about the subject can drop in, which we hope will increase their accessibility to all students.
  • Course resources (such as online lecture notes) will be available, as normal, through our virtual learning environments, e.g. Moodle. In many cases these are being enhanced for 2020-21.
• Exclusive online delivery. This is what we will revert to immediately if stricter restrictions are re-imposed during the year.
  • Lectures and large group teaching will be delivered through our online systems with (largely) recorded online lectures (for example, via Echo 360, Microsoft Teams, or Blackboard Collaborate.) There may be some live online lectures but we are planning to deliver much of our module content in a larger number of shorter segments, more suitable for remote learning and available to watch repeatedly.
  • Small group teaching will take place as live interactive sessions, entirely online. (for example, via Microsoft Teams or Moodle).

  • All module lecturers will host an online discussion forum.

  • Personal tutors and course lecturers will maintain online office hours and will be available for online support, via e.g. Microsoft Teams. These office hours will be online interactive sessions, where students with any kind of question about the subject can drop in, which we hope will increase their accessibility to all students.
  • Course resources (such as online lecture notes) will be available, as normal, through our virtual learning environments, e.g. Moodle. In many cases these are being enhanced for 2020-21.