Tertiary education is set to look different this year as institutes, staff and students navigate education during Omicron.   

While most universities have already announced vaccination requirements for campuses, only vaccinated people are allowed on campuses at the red traffic light setting.   

Both staff and student unions are calling for more planning.   

Tertiary Education Union National Secretary Sandra Grey believes there needs to be the right balance between teaching face-to-face and doing the right thing as a sector when it comes to Omicron.   

Staff should be working from home where they can and going onto campus for things that cannot be done from home, she said.   

Some institutes are encouraging that, while others have said people should be coming back to campus, Grey said.   

“We don’t think that’s what the Government’s advising, we all need to do our bit to slow Omicron.”  

Grey believes there also needs to be more planning for large numbers of staff self-isolating and some unable to teach online.   

“You can’t just hope that you’ll have enough standing at the end of this to carry on, we need those contingencies.”  

The New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations wants clarity from education providers around self-isolation plans in student accommodation.   

“We know that student accommodation is quite a high-risk area for transmission, there’s a lot of people living in very confined quarters.   

“We know institutions have managed it in the past, but Omicron is a very different beast,” President Andrew Lessells said.   

In previous lockdowns student accommodation was run similarly to MIQ with each flood, or sections of floors, acting as bubbles, he said.   

They would like universities to be up front about Omicron plans, what self-isolation requirements in student accommodation will be and that switching to online learning is a real possibility.   

Universities also need to be flexible so students can delay moving into halls or starting studies and get refunds if they change their mind due to Omicron, Lessells said.   

The University of Auckland is opting for most teaching to be done online until the mid-semester break.   

"As we have seen before, a degree of certainty in advance is far preferable to the disruption that would be caused by having to change our learning and teaching settings at short notice," the university said. 

Halls of residence will be open, but students can delay moving in until after the break and will not be charged for the period they are not in residence.   

The University of Otago has also decided to move all lectures online for at least the first part of the semester.   

Where possible, tutorials, labs and other smaller groups will be held in person.  

At red, My Vaccine Passes are required to be on campus and universities are asking students to register their passes online.   

Massey, Lincoln, Auckland, Victoria, Otago, Waikato and Canterbury Universities have implemented campus vaccination requirements.   

AUT anticipates at the orange and green traffic light settings campuses will be open regardless of vaccination status with health protection measures in place.   

Universities are encouraging unvaccinated students to engage with student services to discuss their options which could include distance or online learning.