Introduction

Insofar as it is possible during this time of challenge, our amended provision should reflect the principles illustrated in our Education for Global Impact framework:

• No course should be run wholly online (unless conditions deteriorate so that there is no access to campus). We should plan to teach students on campus whenever we can. Departments can ask for special dispensations from this rule, which will only be granted in very exceptional circumstances and requires the approval of the Pro Directors for Education and Planning and Resources.
• Wherever possible, student representatives are consulted on and included in the planning for 2020.
• The approach to timetabling for 2020-21 is to deliver a single pivotable timezone-friendly timetable where (within a constrained environment) we can maximise on-campus and synchronous online activity, maximise the potential for teaching on campus when conditions permit, and maximise the ability to move between online and on campus (and back again if needed).  The aim here is to build resilience and flexibility into the structure of the timetable so that we can deal with the possibility of a second wave of infection and partial lockdown if necessary.
• LSE Welcome will be delivered as a blended online and on-campus series of events.
• High quality education is defined by the quality of the relationship between staff and students and their peers. It connects students with research and researchers, enables students to engage in activity with continuous assessment and dialogic feedback, focuses on community, is inclusive of all students, and embeds principles of compassion, empathy, fairness and rigour. It does not mean professionally produced content and is not dependent on highly innovative technical solutions.
• Existing institutionally supported LSE tools (Moodle, Echo360 and Zoom) will support our online offer. The quality of their functionality and design will be enhanced over time.
• All education is underpinned by common principles, but effective design and delivery of education will vary by the discipline, by the level of study and by the learning situation of the students. This guidance is designed to be adapted to local contexts and requirements.

• The School is keen to continue to support departmental flexibility in modes of teaching, learning and assessment. However, some parameters need to be agreed in order a) to address equity issues for students; b) to use the campus and online resources effectively; and c) to enable timetabling to be undertaken successfully. The parameters take into account feedback from departments, which have expressed a wide range of sometimes contradictory preferences and requirements.

• The new flexible learning approaches we develop will be an investment for the future; conceived and designed in such a way that it continues to stimulate and engage students even when we return to a fully on-campus mode.
• Departments will work in partnership with the Eden Centre, expert consultation teams and students when developing solutions.

• Departments will need to develop a flexible approach to education and student experience in the academic year 2020/21 given the likely continued uncertainty associated with COVID-19.
• Departments should plan flexibly for Welcome in 2020/21 ensuring that all provision is aligned to LSE Welcome values: inclusive, caring and supportive, engaging and enjoyable and empowering.
• In planning for a flexible start to the academic year, programme and course convenors need to ensure that their design choices will be based on enabling students to meet their programme and/or course learning outcomes. Learning outcomes - that is, what students should know and be able to do having successfully completed the programme/course – will therefore need to be discussed and may need some minor amendments.
• Colleagues should carefully consider the balance between synchronous and asynchronous teaching and learning. In view of the learning constraints our students may be facing, well-designed carefully structured asynchronous learning is likely to be more effective and inclusive.
• Lecture-based content will be delivered online but asynchronously for the duration of the online/physically distanced learning period, to maximise inclusivity for students who may be off campus and may not be able to access online content at any given moment due to personal or technical circumstances.
• It will be very difficult for departments to teach face-to-face students and students learning at a distance simultaneously, by teaching some students in a classroom with others accessing that class virtually. In such a situation, departments would need to design and deliver separate classes for face-to-face student and for students studying remotely.
• In the case of synchronous interactive classes or seminars, these should be recorded (with permission) for the benefit of students who have not been able to access them.
• In reviewing and adapting teaching, learning, assessment and approaches to community-building, departments must consider the potential equality impacts of changes to their curriculum and broader department offer for students and staff.

An overarching assumption of the Curriculum Shift 2020/21 is that, wherever possible, student representatives are consulted on and included in the planning for next academic year. As such, suggestions for working in partnership with your students are integrated across the web portal.

Each section of the web portal also contains a designated section for staff who are looking to engage with students as partners. We summarise some of the suggestions from Student Academic Representatives, student survey participants, and colleagues in the departments of Accounting, Geography and Environment, Psychological and Behavioural Science and the European Institute, in addition to ideas from across the sector. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their contributions across the Curriculum Shift portal.

Furthermore, the Eden Centre’s Quick Guide to Student Voice demonstrates how partnership principles can be applied to existing student voice work. “Students’ Voices and Partnership” are a key component of the LSE Student Experience Framework and it is vital that we engage in meaningful dialogue with students throughout their experiences of the curriculum shift. Student Academic Representatives will play a very important role in this conversation.

If you have any questions or suggestions about engaging students as partners, please contact Lydia Halls, Student Partnership Coordinator in the Eden Centre: l.halls@lse.ac.uk.