On December 18th , 2020, an online meeting of Lviv University students with the Rector, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Professor Volodymyr Melnyk took place. With the help of the center for team work “Microsoft Teams” the University administration representatives and the student government had the opportunity to answer all the questions that concern the youth.

First of all, the students were interested in issues connected with studying during the COVID-19 pandemic and the procedure for online academic backlog settlement. Volodymyr Petrovych explained that the further working arrangements of the University hinges on the situation in Ukraine.

« We are interested in returning to the usual way of implementing scientific and educational processes, but this will be due to external quarantine restrictions. If possible, we will introduce a mixed form of education: partly online, partly offline. But, this is possible providing the recession in the spreading of the disease, because the safety of our students and teachers is our number one concern», – Volodymyr Melnyk stressed, adding that both exams and relevant training in quarantine mostly take place online.

Vitaliy Kukharskyi, Vice-Rector of Lviv University for Research and Training and IT – Development, also spoke about improving the organization of distance learning. «We have received about 400 applications for teacher training courses. Now more than 250 of our employees are undergoing training, which will help them to make the process of distance work better and more coordinated “, – said Vitaliy Mikhailovych and urged students  “to leave feedback on any difficulties that arise in the process of distance learning, because constructive suggestions will help find problems and solve them quickly. “

There were a lot of questions concerning the rules and norms of living in dormitories, in particular, the possibility of a refund or partial compensation for those residents who returned home during the pandemic. The relevant procedure was explained by the head of the planning and finance department Svitlana Sas: “Full refund is possible only if the student refuses to stay in the dormitory and informs about that in the relevant application. If a student leaves the dormitory temporarily, a certain amount of money may be refunded. To do this, you must also write an application.».

Answering the questions of the youth, the first vice-rector Andriy Gukalyuk explained how the procedure of transferring students from one faculty to another takes place. “If you are currently a state –fund student , then, in case you want to be transferred to another faculty, you can only apply for a study- for-fee form of education. After all, a certain state-fund place is attached to a specific specialty, “-Andriy Fedorovych added.

As part of the answer to the question, the Rector explained the students in detail  what the formation of the tuition fee depends on and told about the construction of a new dormitory. Volodymyr Petrovych also concentrated on discussion concerning the work schedule of the deans’ offices, “because during distance learning established communication is essential for high-quality work of the University.”

Later, other representatives of the University administration and members of the student government took the floor and answered questions within their remit. Thus, the head of the Education Quality Assurance Center  of Lviv University Iryna Ivanochko explained how her structural unit works on improving the teaching and learning process conditions. “We hold students opinion polls, which allow us to understand all the problems, both local and universitywide, related to the teaching methods,” – said Irina Ivanochko.She also stressed on the opportunities provided to students by the center for teamwork  “Microsoft Teams “, the system” Dekanat “and other projects designed for high-quality distance learning.

At the end of the meeting, the Rector appealed to students asking them not to wait for official meetings, but to address their questions, comments and ideas immediately after their occurrence. “We need to treat each other with understanding and respect, work together to further improve the teaching and learning  process. If there is a problem, it needs to be voiced and the University administration will find way to solve the sore issues, “said the Rector and thanked everyone for their activity and useful conversation.