Remote Delivery of Teaching

This page provides a definition for the remote delivery of teaching (as defined by UK visas and immigration (UKVI)) and how its use is impacted by the requirements the university must adhere to as a sponsor for student visas. This content applies to all staff and students at the UK campus and to all degree‑level courses offered to student‑route visa holders and that are primarily delivered face-to-face on campus. Where UK student visa holders have outbound exchange/study abroad, the content may also be applicable to UNNC and UNM.

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1.0 Purpose

The purpose of this page is to set out the definitions, regulations, and standard operating procedures for the remote delivery of teaching at the University of Nottingham UK (UNUK). As a sponsor of international student visas, the university must comply with the requirements set out by UKVI in relation to the proportion of remote teaching used on any course for which a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued.

2.0 Key principles

The following principles guide the usage of remote delivery of teaching at UNUK.

2.1 Definitions

UKVI defines remote delivery as: ‘Timetabled delivery of learning where there is no need for the student to attend the premises of the student sponsor or partner institution which would otherwise take place live in-person at the sponsor or partner institution site’. Further information relating to the UKVI remote teaching policy and student sponsor guidance can be found in section 5 below.

Hybrid teaching, both the Hybrid Flexibility (HyFlex) format and the Hybrid Global (HyGlobal) format, is distinct from fully remote delivery of teaching, as it refers to an educational approach that combines in-person students and online students attending the same synchronous teaching sessions (further information relating to hybrid teaching can be found in the quality manual ‘Hybrid teaching’ pages and on the curriculum approvals and advisory team (CAAT) SharePoint ‘definitions of blended learning, remote delivery and distance learning’ site, via the links in section 5 below.

The term ‘mode of delivery’ is also referred to as ‘activity type’ within the university’s timetabling system.

2.2 UKVI Compliance

To meet UKVI requirements, full remote delivery or HyFlex teaching (or a combination of both) must comprise no more than 20% of a student’s timetabled hours across their degree course. For the avoidance of doubt, HyGlobal teaching is not considered for UKVI compliance as all UNUK students are required to attend a classroom in-person.

For existing courses, the proportion of remote delivery will be calculated using the most recent and complete academic year of timetabling data, together with the maximum permitted free choice within the approved course structure, to determine the highest potential proportion across the degree. It is therefore critical that the information about mode of delivery (defined in the timetabling system as ‘activity type’) is recorded in the timetable accurately and reflects the actual mode of delivery.

For new courses and new courses by change, it is not possible to calculate the proportion of remote delivery from historical timetable data. The Registry and Academic Affairs (RAA) Timetabling team will use actual timetabling data submitted for these courses to run the calculation when available (usually March/April).

It is expected that the institutional default mode of delivery for timetabled teaching will be in-person (i.e. where students physically attend campus), unless delivery in another format has been approved (in the case of HyFlex) or formally considered (in the case of remote, at school level - see 3.2 roles and responsibilities of schools).

There is an established procedure to request hybrid delivery of teaching which can be found on the ‘Hybrid Teaching’ page (linked in section 5 below), and this must be requested before submitting course timetabling information to the RAA Timetabling Team. The RAA Timetabling Team will reject requests for hybrid teaching which have not received formal approval following a request through the hybrid delivery request procedure.

Remote delivery must not be used for free choice modules that are open to students across the university due to the inability to ensure compliance with the 20% threshold.

3.0 Roles and responsibilities

Where there is an intention to incorporate remote delivery of teaching into a session, module or course, the following sections describe the responsibilities of the relevant parties.

3.1 Teaching staff

Any staff involved in teaching delivery, regardless of job family or contract type, are responsible for the following:

Providing assurances to course director(s) and school/department director of ESE regarding the pedagogical need to deliver teaching remotely.
Confirming that the required technology will be available for the proposed remote delivery.
Ensuring they are sufficiently competent at delivering remote teaching. Where necessary, they must engage with the appropriate training (e.g. delivered by the Digital Education Services/DTS).
Adopting pedagogically informed approaches to maximise student engagement, critical thinking, and collaborative learning experiences. This can be supported by the Blended Learning Code of Practice available through the ESE hub (see section 5 below)
Providing guidance to students on how to optimise their participation in remote delivery and learning experience.
Delivering teaching according to the mode of delivery published in the timetable

3.2 School or department

The course director(s) and school/department director of ESE are responsible for the overall student journey and quality assurance of the remotely delivered teaching, including:

Assessing the suitability of new requests for remote teaching and the ability to provide sufficient support and resource to meet the requirements of the Remote Delivery of Teaching regulation.
Arranging orientation sessions for students at the beginning of each semester to familiarise them with the remote delivery approach, the digital environments and digital tools used to support teaching and learning.
Monitoring the quality of student experience and educational impact of remote delivery.
Ensuring that staff involved in delivering remote teaching receive support in the relevant pedagogical skills.
Ensuring that any new remote delivery requests are provided to the RAA Timetabling Team by the first timetabling deadline (usually March) to ensure any impact on the UKVI remote teaching policy can be properly calculated (see the RAA Timetabling SharePoint linked in section 5 below).
Ensure staff involved in delivering teaching, deliver the mode of teaching published in the timetable, and are aware of the implications of ad-hoc changes away from in-person teaching (i.e. to remote or HyFlex delivery). This is to support accurate reporting to the OfS and UKVI and prevent non-compliance with the UKVI remote teaching policy.
Working jointly with Digital and Technology Services (DTS) to ensure students have access to the appropriate support, enabling them to gain full benefit from their learning experience.
Disseminating DTS guidance for students of the routes they must follow to troubleshoot any issues related to the use of digital platforms and technology utilised in remotely delivered teaching.
Determining where remote delivery is pedagogically appropriate within a course.
Ensuring any requests for increases in the number of hours for previously approved or new remote delivery of teaching are formally approved at school level before being submitted to the RAA Timetabling Team.
Annually reviewing the amount and pedagogic appropriateness of remotely delivered teaching as part of their normal curriculum review processes.

3.3 Faculty approver

The designated faculty approver, normally the Faculty PVC or their designated delegate, is responsible for the following:

Ensuring submission of evaluations of the student experience.
Setting requirements for expectations for reporting on timetabled remote delivery.

3.4 RAA Timetabling and Visa and Immigration teams

The Timetabling and Visa and Immigration Teams are responsible for:

The annual calculation of the proportion of in-person HyFlex and remote delivery for each course using an approved methodology. The methodology is designed to determine the highest potential proportion of remote timetabled teaching a student may experience across the duration of their course.
Re-calculate the percentage of remote teaching (which for UKVI purposes includes HyFlex) when current timetabling data is available to ensure any changes to mode of teaching do not breach the 20% limit for UKVI sponsorship compliance.
Sharing remote delivery percentages with Faculties, working with them to meet the 20% remote delivery of teaching threshold (in collaboration with CAAT if course structure changes are required).
Annually review the remote calculation methodology.
Populating the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) with required UKVI information to comply with remote study disclosures.

3.5 The Educator Academy (CAAT)

The Educator Academy (CAAT) are responsible for:

Providing the free choice percentage at course level for the established and new/redesigned courses to contribute to the overall calculation.
Working with the RAA Timetabling team and Faculties where remote delivery percentage exceeds 20% to offer solutions to reduce the percentage (if there is a course structure solution).

3.6 University Academic Registrar

The University Academic Registrar is responsible for:

Approving the annual institutional assessment of delivery mode proportions, including methodology, assumptions and outcomes, and will determine any required actions where courses are modelled as exceeding the permitted threshold and cannot be mitigated by RAA (in collaboration with the Educator Academy).

3.7 Digital Education Services (DES)/Digital and Technology Services (DTS)

DES and DTS staff are responsible for the following, with the division of workload according to availability and expertise:

Providing training to support teaching staff in remote delivery of teaching.
Providing guidance for students of the routes they must follow to troubleshoot any issues related to the use of digital platforms and technology utilised in remote delivery of teaching.
Working jointly with administering schools or departments to ensure students have access to the appropriate support, enabling them to gain full benefit from their learning experience

4.0 Procedural steps

Where there is an intention to incorporate remote delivery of teaching into a session, module or course, the following procedure must be followed.

4.1 Remote Delivery consideration at school level

Schools should formally consider any requests for remote teaching before they are submitted to the RAA Timetabling Team as part of the annual cycle. Responsibilities of schools in this regard are detailed in section 3.2.

Formal requests for HyFlex teaching are detailed in the hybrid policy (link in section 5).

4.2 Communication and Support for Students

Schools or departments must also clearly communicate with and support students in engaging in remote delivery of teaching.

The school or department must communicate the availability of the remotely delivered sessions, including information about frequency and the modules or sessions delivered in this format.
The school or department will arrange orientation sessions for students at the beginning of each semester to familiarise them with the remote delivery of teaching approach, the digital environments and digital tools used to support teaching and learning.
DES/DTS and the school or department will provide guidance to students for troubleshooting the digital platforms and technology used in the remote delivery of teaching and signposting them to staff (virtual or in-person) who can assist them in gaining full benefit from the remotely delivered teaching experience.
The University will maintain open communication with students and staff regarding the adoption and implementation of remotely delivered teaching.

4.3 Evaluation

As with other teaching delivery, remote delivery must be evaluated through standard School-based procedures (e.g. student evaluation of module, annual module review processes).

Governance and Assurance has the discretion to embed proportion of remote delivery into the Annual Programme Review (APR) process. Governance and Assurance also retains the discretion to increase reporting or to escalate concerns as part of the APR system.