Higher School of Economics refuses to lecture in favor of online courses
Today it became known that the Higher School of Economics is transferring its lectures to online — teachers will no longer “recite,” instead, they will write their own online courses by posting them online. The decision was made by the rector of the school, Yaroslav Kuzminov. According to him, regular lectures are a profanation, since their attendance is constantly falling, and teachers simply do not have time for research work because of the classroom burden. The rector and teaching staff of the HSE believe that the transition to digital format will increase student engagement, relieve professors and at the same time raise the quality of university education. True, HSE colleagues believe that there is no need to abandon the lecture format yet, as Kommersant writes .
The fact that the HSE refuses to give lectures does not mean that the process of failure is simultaneous - lectures will be replaced by online courses for five years. “We will cancel lectures in the classical form. I think that in five years we will definitely replace absolutely all lectures with online courses. That is, each professor of HSE will write down and will maintain an online course on his subject, ” said Kuzminov.
He also said that the idea provoked strong resistance and rejection among some teachers, and the most dissatisfied were among economists. Nevertheless, the rector is confident that the university will quietly pass through this stage of development. The problem is that now the attendance of lectures by students in Russian universities about 15-17%. The involvement of the students may be even lower.
The idea of replacing lectures with courses is not that students can listen to everything at home. In fact, the online course involves a large amount of communication with the teacher. And to pass this course without being involved in the subject is simply impossible. If desired, students will be able to meet with the teacher in the classroom - if the need arises. This may be an extended seminar that is more productive than a regular lecture.
According to Kuzminov, the accelerated introduction of the online courses system is quite capable of enhancing the overall quality of Russian higher education. The fact is that in most universities, the teacher reads two or three courses at once. Accordingly, such a teacher is unlikely to be able to study modern scientific literature in his specialty, not to mention conducting research. If all or part of the lectures are replaced by online courses of your university or other educational institutions, then the load on the teaching staff will decrease, the remaining classes will thus be conducted at a higher level. The rector of the Higher School of Economics believes that in this case universities will introduce innovations for quite a long time, so you have to think about making the transition to courses “not only voluntary”.
The Ministry of Science and Higher Education stated that the HSE has the right to fully switch to online courses: “Legislation, as a general rule, does not allow for lecture-type classes in educational programs conducted through direct interaction between a student and a teacher in the same classroom.” But this is only if the changes introduced by the university do not violate labor laws.
The Rosobrnadzor said that the agency fully supports the introduction and development of digital technologies in the field of education, but these technologies should not lower the quality of education. And the proposal made by the Rector of the Higher School of Economics requires thorough and thorough discussion.
Currently, many universities in Russia and the world practice working with students in the form of online courses. Thus, Alevtina Chernikova, the rector of NITU MISIS, said that about 70% of the courses at her university are implemented using online technologies. “We consider the development of online technologies and their introduction into the educational process primarily as an important part of blended learning, aimed at improving the quality and accessibility of education, as well as the opportunity to learn from the best,” she said.
The rector of Kazan Federal University Ilshat Gafurov said that there would be no full refusal of lectures at his university. The head of the educational institution believes that every university has the right to choose a solution for interacting with students. In classical universities, it is most convenient to use both formats, both in-person lectures and video platforms. Refuse completely from the first or second university is not going to.
Vadim Volkov, the rector of the European University at St. Petersburg, supported the idea of HSE, calling it very modern. For any university, according to Volkov, the introduction of video lectures is a great way to expand the number of lecturers, because when working with such a format, a teacher can be located anywhere in the world. Nevertheless, Volkov’s questions: “It’s one thing to be at The Rolling Stones’ concert personally and quite another to watch at home on your computer, having the opportunity to pause. ”