“Provision of good quality education to our students remains our absolute priority. I am pleased to say that we have met the challenge of having all our lecturers trained and that we launched our on-line teaching, including language courses. This means more than 500 classes for our Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes and about 200 postgraduate classes” said the Rector of Collegium Civitas, Professor Stanisław Mocek. Collegium Civitas and our on-line teaching was presented in the academic newsletter of the Polish magazine “Perspektywy”. We invite you to read about actions taken at our university in light of the coronavirus outbreak.
Collegium Civitas: all classes are on-line
Collegium Civitas started working on possible solutions right after the first information about the epidemic had emerged. The institution suspended classes between the 11th – 26th of March. In this period, the institution implemented a previously developed plan, which consisted in providing all students and lecturers with an access to the on-line teaching process and in ensuring smooth functioning of the university administration in remote-work mode.
From March 26th, the classes have been delivered via e-learning. Since mid-March, administration departments have been working remotely, and administrative staff and all the lecturers have been trained in how to perform their duties on-line, with lecturers also being advised on how to work with students via on-line tools.
“Provision of good quality education to our students remains our absolute priority. I am pleased to say that we have met the challenge of having all our lecturers trained and that we launched our on-line teaching, including language courses. This means more than 500 classes for our Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes and about 200 postgraduate classes” said the Rector of Collegium Civitas, Professor Stanisław Mocek. “We have been receiving positive feedback from students and lecturers, and what is more, the IT equipment and infrastructure has proved to be up to the task.”
Collegium Civitas uses more than one educational platform – the lecturers deliver classes in both synchronous and asynchronous modes, adapting their chosen tools to the requirements of specific subjects and to students’ needs.
Students are in touch with their lecturers on an ongoing basis, and e-learning is not limited to self-study materials posted on the web. Apart from videoconferences, the tutors use presentations, films, tests, quizzes and other forms of remote teaching.
Foreign students, i.e. approximately 30% of Collegium Civitas students, who come from more than 50 countries around the world, have been provided with all the necessary information (including situation updates in English and quick answers to students’ inquiries via e-mail, telephone, social media and other communicators; both administration staff and managers have been involved in these activities). Members of staff assist and advise foreign students on a case by case basis.
Collegium Civitas is in constant communication with partner universities around the world, which is particularly important for international exchange students. Students who have decided to return to their countries continue their education online. This poses challenges, for example due to different time zones, but Collegium Civitas approaches each case individually and the lecturers offer special assistance to students from abroad.
The Collegium Civitas team, in close collaboration with the Student Council, ensure efficient flow of information – not only about the institution and teaching-related matters, but also updates on the public health situation in Poland. The updates are prepared in Polish and English, and a special section devoted to the epidemic has been launched on the institution’s website.
On the 15th of April, Collegium Civitas begins admission procedure for the academic year 2020/2021 for candidates from Poland and abroad. The institution is prepared to face various scenarios, also those involving the prolongation of the online teaching situation, including remote completion of the whole graduation procedure (and both Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree examinations).
The text in Polish is available at the Perspektywy portal.