So the government dropped their advice for higher education reopenings (at 1:00 am last night, mere weeks before classes are set to begin). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses

I had a read through and here are some of my unfiltered initial reactions

Right off the bat, the government is encouraging use of campus bars. My own uni are also sending out “don’t worry, the bars are open” signals and I think (looking at the US) right now, we all know what this is going to lead to.

“Enhanced cleaning measure” take no account of WHO is doing the cleaning and how they will be protected, ignoring that cleaning staff in HE are disproportionately BAME, precarious, and outsourced. Passive voice galore. If there’s more cleaning, there’s a PERSON doing the cleaning

Okay, so we’re teaching in freezing cold classrooms this winter. In a country well known for it’s beautiful weather

All this ignores years of precarious employment practices and unmanageable workloads. That many of our unis have just reduced staff numbers through hiring freezes and voluntary redundancies. That “additional numbers” aren’t unevenly distributed after the lift of the number cap.

I’m exhausted even thinking of how to manage this on the massive course I teach on. Also, there’s an assumption here that students don’t mix outside of class?

I don’t feel like any of this recognizes how higher education programmes work. How do you just quarantine a single class without considering all the other classes students are enrolled in?

“Utilising outdoor space” in Manchester

Also that throwaway line that additional costs be funded through existing budgets is definitely going to be used as an excuse for austerity measures by SLT for the next 10 years.

How is this possibly happening for students off campus

This feels like a pretty bold statement and assumes a wide range of services that unis have typically relied on from the private or public sector.

Also, does this same welcome not extend to home students?

This definitely ignores that so many university staff commute, sometimes across the country, for work (another symptom of precarity)

The thing every staff member is thinking about right now is WTF do we do with non-compliant students. I personally feel ill-equipped and anxious about my potential new role in this.

If there’s an outbreak associated with the library, that’s a huge chunk of the student population and surely that means campus needs to shut down. Libraries are things most students actually need?

How do we do this? What do we do if they aren’t safe or well-looked after? What services are available?

Okay, but Manchester has been under locally imposed extended lockdown rules for a month and we’re still full steam ahead

I can’t escape the irony that Tier 1 is our default position AT THE SAME TIME as announcing stricter limits on social gatherings.

This completely ignores that existing mental health provisions were at their limit BEFORE the pandemic

So altogether, a big document with procedural outlines about the physical spaces on campus without clarity on HOW this is all accomplished. And not a single reflection on pedagogy and learning, the entire reasons our universities exist in the first place.