During the period of class suspension due to the novel coronavirus, the higher education institutions have given their full support to carry out the instructions of the Higher Education Bureau. To minimise the impact on the studies of tertiary students, local institutions have actively adopted online and distance teaching and learning tools. The efforts are made to achieve the goal of suspending classes without suspending learning.
On 30 January, the Higher Education Bureau issued instructions to higher education institutions and the entities operating non-local higher education programmes in Macao. These instructions aim to facilitate the institutions to carry out teaching activities online or in distance mode. It is understood that the institutions started to adopt online teaching in early February, for instance, by launching online platforms to provide students materials and homework assignments; or tutoring students through different channels. As for the courses that cannot be offered online, such as experiments, the institutions will make up the classes as soon as classes resume or make appropriate adjustment accordingly. In addition, some institutions have already formulated contingency plans in case that the outbreak worsens. These may include using specialised software to conduct real-time and interactive teaching online; and studying the alternatives of student assessment.
To minimise the impact on learning and the duration of programmes
The institutions endeavour to ensure that the graduation of final-year students will not be delayed because of the coronavirus outbreak. After class resumption, the institutions will prioritise the education activities related to the final-year students, such as courses related to internship. To ensure the safety of the students, the location and hours of internship may also be subject to change.
The Higher Education Bureau will keep closely in touch with the institutions. It will also coordinate with the institutions to implement the measures to address the outbreak, so as to minimise the impact on student learning and the duration of programmes. In addition, tertiary students are expected to continue their studies at home during the period of class suspension, and closely follow the updates from the SAR government and their institutions.