Online lectures confirmed at KCL for 2021/22, in-person teaching to resume for ‘small-group interactive’ sessions

In an email entitled “Academic Year 2021/22”, several departments at King’s College London (KCL) have outlined plans for the upcoming term, including online lectures, in-person seminars, and Covid-19 testing requirements.

Initially believed to have been limited to the English department, the email is now being slowly distributed by other branches of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. Undersigned departments stressed that it is “still too early for us to be fully certain what safe standing or other restrictions will be in place for the next academic year” and that each student’s level of on-campus teaching will vary, but that the College aims “to have as much on-campus teaching, learning and activities as circumstances allow”.

According to the statement, campus teaching spaces will be allocated primarily for small-groups’ use, including seminars, workshops, placements, laboratories, and practical/clinical sessions. Lectures – and certain modules – will reportedly be delivered entirely online. Exams will also be held online in Term 1.

KCL does not currently plan to introduce a staggered start to Term 1, but has extended the arrival window for students to October 18. Students unable to return to London by this later date “will need to study remotely until the start of Semester 2 in January 2022”.

Students and staff members will be expected to undergo Covid-19 tests twice a week when on campus or living in residences, regardless of vaccination status. Members of the KCL community who have had their first jab in other countries will be able to book their second dose in the UK.

KCL initially announced plans for online teaching in the summer of 2020. Restrictions have eased and tightened alongside shifting government guidance throughout the pandemic. Online teaching measures fuelled calls for tuition fee refunds during the 2020/21 academic year. The recent statement does not fundamentally ease restrictions beyond plans in place one year ago.