Now that this term is finished, we would like to tell you about what to expect next academic year so that you can start making plans and get excited about coming back to university in September.
Teaching on AND off campus
- Your safety continues to be our priority and we are preparing our campuses so that it is safe for you to return. We are also preparing advice for students and staff on face coverings.
- We will be using a blended teaching model next term. This means that we are combining face to face sessions on campus with online lectures. Your course will have the usual amount of teaching time and include lectures, seminars/discussions and practical work (where this is part of your course) and will be a mixture of on and off campus classes, depending on your individual course (and your ability to attend due to your personal circumstances).
- If you cannot come onto campus because you are shielding, self-isolating, ill, or quarantining, or have not been able to return to the UK yet, then all your lectures and course materials will be available online and you will be able to talk to your personal tutor and to join online group discussions.
- During your course we will be releasing videos and interactive learning materials online at a timetabled point in the week. You will be able to watch your main lectures via Moodle at this time and/or at any time later when it suits you and your personal circumstances.
- Seminars and classes will be held on campus with your tutor (following social distancing guidelines) where possible and also online. Regardless of whether these are on campus or online, seminars and classes will include discussions, debates and interactive sessions that will support and extend what you have learned from your lectures that you will have viewed online.
- How often you will attend on campus will depend on your course, but we intend to timetable as many sessions on campus as we can, aiming for all students to come to campus at least once per week where possible. Your faculty team will send you more detailed information by end of July 2020 and if anything changes, we will be in touch.
Other activities and campus services
We want to welcome everyone back to campus as soon as possible and we're organising a whole range of activities for you at the start of term; some will be online and some on campus. Our aim is to make sure that you continue to enjoy your student experience beyond the classroom, while also making sure that everyone is safe.
Halls of residence, libraries and social spaces will reopen but you can expect to see some additional health and safety measures, for instance; fewer people being allowed in smaller spaces at the same time, hand sanitiser points and one-way systems inside our buildings to help you to follow the government's advice about social distancing. We will be sending more information about this to you over the summer.
We hope that this information will help you to make decisions about living arrangements and your student loan application and we'll keep updating you, and our FAQs, with more information over the coming weeks.
If you have any concerns or worries, please access the university's support services. The details of the Student Wellbeing Service and the Students' Union Advice Service can be found on our website. The Big White Wall is also available for you to use, providing confidential support and advice whenever you need it. You just need your university email address to register, and then choose an anonymous username.
