Looking back: reviewing the challenges of policy development during the Covid-19 pandemic for a TNE partnership in Higher Education

Bremner, D. J. , Ansari, I. S. , Macdougall, J., Hussain, S. , Ma, M., Ponciano, J., Liu, X., Gamage, K. A.A. , Abbas, H. and Imran, M. A. (2021) Looking back: reviewing the challenges of policy development during the Covid-19 pandemic for a TNE partnership in Higher Education. Frontiers in Education, 6, 643323. (doi: 10.3389/feduc.2021.643323)

Abstract

This paper takes a retrospective view of the year 2020, with a focus on how Higher Education policy development was undertaken on a Transnational Education (TNE) program between the University of Glasgow (UofG) and the University of Electronics, Science and Technology in Chengdu (UESTC), China in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores the approach to policy development under normal circumstances, contrasting this with the approach taken during the emergence of the epidemic and how the unfolding situation impacted on those policies. It demonstrates how the application of management tools for scenario planning and crisis management can be used effectively to develop a clear and prescriptive policy for staff. It also demonstrates how the use of such tools, combined with careful analysis and planning, can minimize disruption to student learning, teaching, and assessment. The paper then goes on to explain the creation and implementation of policies addressing three main areas: learning and teaching, Final Year Projects, and assessment. Finally, it reflects on the student and staff perspectives on the policies, considering how this information might be used to enhance the policy development process in future.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Ansari, Dr Imran and Ponciano, Professor Joao and Abbas, Dr Hasan and Bremner, Dr Duncan and Macdougall, Ms Jennifer and Imran, Professor Muhammad and Gamage, Professor Kelum and Hussain, Dr Sajjad
• Authors: Bremner, D. J., Ansari, I. S., Macdougall, J., Hussain, S., Ma, M., Ponciano, J., Liu, X., Gamage, K. A.A., Abbas, H., and Imran, M. A.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering; College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy
• Journal Name: Frontiers in Education
• Publisher: Frontiers Media
• ISSN: 2504-284X
• ISSN (Online): 2504-284X
• Published Online: 05 July 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 Bremner, Ansari, MacDougall, Hussain, Ma, Ponciano, Liu, Gamage, Abbas and Imran
• First Published: First published in Frontiers in Education 6: 643323
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence