Posted: May 15, 2020
Right at the start of the lockdown hundreds of staff members at North Lindsey College and Doncaster College and University Centre, along with the UCNL, all part of DN Colleges Group, participated in the organisation’s #HereForYou initiative.
The campaign targeting new and current students aimed to reassure students and colleagues that the Colleges and HE provision were still in operation, despite the lockdown. This included messages that teaching and support staff were available to help and were still working to support students looking to apply for September. This community engagement approach resonated with both those sending their messages of support and the external audience seeing the campaign online.
Molly Fox (18) Level 3 Business student said, “Digital learning has been very helpful to have while studying at home as it allows me to carry on my studies and receive course input. It has been easy to navigate and I enjoy using it. The main thing I miss about college is my business group and tutors.”
The Group has adapted a pro-active approach to adjust with current times; including changes to the learning model with a strong focus on more online learning which has seen transformational digital progress in a short space of time. The Digital team have managed to get staff and students working remotely from home and are now also working to create a brand new online library system for all students to access, supporting them with their studies. The University Campus North Lincolnshire also held their very first virtual webinar, a first for the DN Colleges group.
At a recent staff webinar the College Principal and Deputy CEO for DN Colleges Group, Mick Lochran, said: “I am overwhelmed by the incredible engagement that has been embraced over the past few weeks. We are working hard to ensure there is little disruption to our current students and to those who are due to start with us this year, but we are also creating new opportunities and even better ways of learning which will impact the Group long term for the better.”
Sarah Crossland (Head of Academic Services) reported that staff at North Lindsey College alone have sent 122,248 messages, spent 4994 hours in video calls and participated in 4934 meetings from 30th March – 28th April. Sarah commented on behalf of the Academic Services, “The team have been blown away by the commitment to students and to one another from DNCG staff. That commitment has driven the challenge of remote teaching and remote working, finding new and innovative ways of engaging with students and colleagues. We realise that everyone was at a different stage in their digital journey, which makes the achievements both humbling and inspiring in equal measure and will prove to be a catalyst which will transform working practices going forward.