The Covid-induced lurch into online learning has been hard for many students but beneficial for some, an Australian forum has heard.

Victoria University vice-chancellor Adam Shoemaker said some students had long struggled to access campus because of physical or mental disabilities. ¡°For many of them, this version of learning is way better than anything that existed before,¡± he told the ?conference.

Professor Shoemaker said that a standout student at his former institution, Southern Cross University, had lived, worked and studied in distant Perth and ¡°couldn¡¯t have done it any other way¡±.

¡°People want their lives to match their study. They want to know [it] can be done at the right time, in the right way and in the right place,¡± he said.

ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

Sadie Heckenberg, vice-president of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Consortium, said that Covid had been an ¡°equaliser¡± for indigenous students and people in remote Australia where campuses were far away and internet connectivity was patchy.

Students ¡°in the middle of nowhere¡± had to ¡°jump up and down¡± in elevated places to find strong enough signals to submit their assignments, Dr Heckenberg said, and the pandemic had highlighted awareness of such problems. ¡°We¡¯re not where we should be, but we¡¯re a heck of a lot further than we were before,¡± she said.

ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

Jaden Dzubiel, an Aboriginal representative on the vice-chancellor¡¯s advisory forum at Edith Cowan University, said that he was ¡°looking forward to what the future holds¡±.

¡°Our online progressions¡­have evolved [from] what we deemed to be online before, in terms of studies,¡± said Mr Dzubiel, a management and computer science student who works as a programmer. ¡°It¡¯s only going to get better in that respect.¡±

But the conference heard that Covid¡¯s negatives outweighed the positives, particularly for postgraduates who had experienced undergraduate study in a ¡°completely different¡± era. ¡°Universities are¡­saying you need to finish now; your scholarship money is going to run out,¡± said Christopher Hall, education officer with the National Union of Students.

¡°PhD students are having to really fight for grants to extend the time for their research. It¡¯s created a competitiveness within institutions. Postgraduate students¡­have to fight with their own peers.¡±

ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

Catherine Allingham, women¡¯s officer with the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations, said that the pandemic had disrupted student placements in areas such as nursing, medicine, physiotherapy and teaching. ¡°As a doctor, I think that was understandable. We needed to be safe. But it was also very difficult. It is possible to learn a lot without being on placement, but placements are really valuable.¡±

Belle Lim, national president of the Council of International Students Australia, said a March survey of foreign students stranded offshore had found that more than 60 per cent were dissatisfied with their online experiences. Grievances included technical difficulties and time zone differences. ¡°These students have to get up at unreasonable times to study,¡± Ms Lim said.

The survey also revealed equity issues, she said. ¡°Not everyone has stable internet infrastructure [or] the environment and the luxury to be able to learn effectively.

¡°Universities and education providers did a great job to transition so rapidly to¡­the online learning tools that we have now. However, there¡¯s a gap between where we are now and where we want to be.¡±

ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com