Urgent and significant action is required before it is too late to stop online lectures becoming normal in many universities, marking a significant devaluation of the UK’s centuries-long higher education experience and international reputation for quality teaching. Universities should return to their pre-Covid level of face-to-face teaching provision, with online materials as an adjunct, to supplement and not reduce hours of face-to-face teaching. New students, many of them leaving home for the first time, as well as existing students, who have suffered extensive educational and social disruption, should be able to count on their universities to provide a normal, full and supportive learning experience.