‘The Level of Collectivism and the Potential for Mutual Assistance in the University Community Are Very High’
HSE University has found it easier than other universities to adapt to the current situation under the pandemic and transition to online education. On March 25, at a press conference at TASS, Russia’s largest news agency, HSE Rector Yaroslav Kuzminov spoke about the transition and shared his predictions about what the near future holds for education development.
B+
The task of organizing a fast and massive transition to online learning for all university and primary school students is unprecedented for Russia, but not unique, noted the HSE Rector. This transition is happening all over the world, and the number of students affected by it is approaching one billion. This presents a significant challenge to the education system. Schools and universities in many countries are closing, distance learning is being implemented for the very first time, and the period for which we must continue our studies online, according to the forecasts of colleagues from other countries, will last up to one and a half months.
The Russian education system has adequately met this challenge: I would give Russian universities a B or even a B+
Only China and several other countries of Southeast Asia have acted faster and more effectively than Russia in this regard. Only 14% of Russian universities are experiencing serious difficulties, including the problem of accommodating the massive increase in communication with students in their online systems. On the whole, the start of the process has been better for some than others.
Previous Experience
HSE University was able to recognize the new reality more easily than many other universities. Rector Kuzminov noted that, on campus, the number of calls to the HSE ‘red button’ — a university service that records problems reported by students and employees — did not increase, which was to the administration. This is largely due to the fact that many campus members already have experience with online work.
Back in October 2018, it was decided to fully transition traditional lectures to an online format, and listening to these lectures became a requirement for students in order to get in touch with their instructors. This requirement served to ensure that students would better learn course content.
In February of this year, HSE launched an English-taught online Master of Data Science master’s programme which has attracted students from all over the world and is the first master’s programme in Russia to be conducted completely online. More than 2 million people have signed up for the HSE courses on the Coursera platform, and more than half of them take courses offered by the Faculty of Computer Science.
Despite this, transitioning courses at HSE to an online format presented a serious challenge to the University. The decision was made on March 16 and changes to all student curricula began to made immediately.
The Learning Process and Exams
Students and their classmates are continuing their studies by using chat rooms, MS Teams, Zoom, as well as similar Russian online communication tools. The online educational formats serve as full-fledged replications of the usual face-to-fact formats, which according to Yaroslav Kuzminov, is most valuable. Students and teachers communicate in a synchronous mode and interact using face-to-face online communication—and this is important for students’ self-discipline. All synchronized classes are conducted in accordance with the semester schedule (and only 20% of online courses are conducted asynchronically).
Academic programme heads have decided that 14% of their programme courses will be replaced by mass online courses available on Coursera and the Russian online open education platform, Openedu.ru, which was initiated in part by HSE University. Curricula at HSE University include about 500 online courses, and, due to the current situation, this number will only increase.
HSE uses not only its own courses, but also the developments of other Russian universities, as well as about 300 English-language courses at leading British and American universities
Approximately 1% of courses have been postponed until the next academic year. Yaroslav Kuzminov explained that such postponements have mainly affected physics, chemistry, and biology courses that involve lab work and therefore cannot be conducted remotely. Hands-on project-based work at the HSE Art and Design School has also been postponed.
Approximately 1% of courses have been postponed until the next academic year. Yaroslav Kuzminov explained that such postponements have mainly affected physics, chemistry, and biology courses that involve lab work and therefore cannot be conducted remotely. Hands-on project-based work at the HSE Art and Design School has also been postponed.
In HSE’s quarterly module system, there are four exam sessions a year. The upcoming exam period that was set to begin on March 23 (for the third module) has been postponed until the summer. By that time, it will be possible to conduct exams remotely. Regulatory decisions are now being worked out with the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia. In addition, the University needs to significantly expand its agreements with service providers, such as those that provide online proctoring capabilities. Remote exams cannot be carried out without strict identity authentication and honesty. Now this technology, which is already used in the online courses at HSE, will be used widely.
To Leave or Stay?
HSE is providing financial assistance to students who elect to return home, and HSE is not requiring students to move out of the dormitories if they wish to stay.
‘I specifically addressed our students and invited them to consider, if they choose to return home, whether they would be living with elderly relatives or family members with underlying medical conditions. What’s important now is to preserve the lives and health of our colleagues, relatives, and senior citizens. Responsible behavior, probably, consists of precisely this [effort],’ Rector Kuzminov said.
The percentage of HSE students who have elected to move out of campus housing is similar to the national average — 47%. More Russian students than international students make up this share (largely in part to the halting of international air travel). ‘It was often said that students will just start drinking and partying and that we should place restrictions on them,’ said the HSE Rector. ‘But we don’t see students doing this. To contrary, after we announced that we would be transitioning to an online format, the number of students volunteering to help has risen sharply.’
Digital volunteers (students of the Faculty of Computer Science, MIEM, other faculties) help those 20% of teachers who have no previous experience with using online teaching tools. Social volunteers help residents of Moscow who need help and additional social protection — they deliver food and medicine and help get them set up with online communication apps.
Volunteer programmes have become popular in other universities. ‘This shows that our students are good people,’ concluded Yaroslav Kuzminov. ‘The level of collectivism and the potential for mutual assistance in the university community are very high.’
Obligations Remain
Universities continue to provide the full range of educational services that were planned earlier, and this, says the HSE Rector, is ‘fair from the perspective of law, economics, and common sense.’
As for tuition fees, no additions or deductions should be implemented, said Rector Kuzminov. As the results of financial monitoring of universities show, when switching to a remote format, costs increase by about 8-15%. At the same time, previous obligations are not reduced, no one is transferred to a shorter working day, and the university has no legal grounds for terminating relations, for example, with an electricity provider, even if the classrooms are empty.
On the contrary, universities raise the question of increasing the remuneration of colleagues who remain in the workplace, being exposed to additional risk.
How Will Education Change?
According to Yaroslav Kuzminov, the key result of the work that universities are organizing now will be eliminating the skepticism that surrounds online learning. Most people who are against online education do not have the experience studying or teaching online, and now almost all students and teachers will gain this experience.
A national proctoring system will be created, which will online exams to be reliable and easily implemented.
Obviously, in a year, educational materials and tasks will largely rely on artificial intelligence. These include everyday tasks such as distributing and grading homework, and creating quizzes, which, for example, takes up about 35% of instructors’ work time and taints their creative work with a sense of obligation and gloom. ‘University instructors have less routine tasks, but their solutions should be delegated to robots,’ concluded the HSE Rector.