Cambridge Judge Will Welcome Students To Campus After All

Blame it on the BBC.

Just two days ago, the British Broadcasting Corporation, the world’s leading public service broadcaster, put out the news that Cambridge University’s lectures would be online-only until the summer of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even though the BBC noted that Cambridge also said “it may be possible to host smaller teaching groups in person,” the headlines caused many to believe that one of the world’s best-known and most prestigious universities would be closed for the start of the next academic year.

Turns out, that’s not exactly true. Cambridge Judge Business School today (May 21) says it plans to welcome students to Cambridge in the next academic year that begins with the Michaelmas Term in October.

PLANS FOR A HYBRID FORMAT WITH SMALLER CLASSES WITH PHYSICAL DISTANCING 

“We are making plans to offer smaller classes with appropriate physical distancing, blended with online learning, in order to safeguard wellbeing,” says Charles Goldsmith, a spokesperson for Judge. “This blended approach will provide the flexibility to adjust our approach as the academic year progresses and according to the evolving context of the global pandemic.”

The Business School’s plans, made clear in a new statement, are in line with an updated statement issued by the University of Cambridge, which said that the University and the Colleges will welcome as many students as possible to Cambridge for the start of the next academic year, guided always by advice from Public Health England.

The University of Cambridge statement said that “small group teaching – supervisions, seminars or individual tuition – will continue in person as much as possible; given the likely need for social distancing, mass lectures in person are suspended for the next academic year, which will free up space in lecture halls for small group teaching and other activities.”

Cambridge Judge believes the pandemic will also cause it to increase its investments in technology. “The Business School views the current situation as an opportunity to invest in order to accelerate changes to our programs, adapting elements of the current online environment to enrich the educational experience for students now and in the future,” says Goldsmith.