University update

By Kelly Young University update

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to unfold, one by one elements of our lives are having to change. These have become challenging times for everyone, particularly students. The University is working with Bucks Students’ Union to make sure that during this constantly changing situation we serve our students the best we can. The Prime Minister told the University, and other institutions and businesses, to close its buildings last week. Since then we have been so proud of the whole University community, especially students, who have shifted their learning and teaching online. We have been receiving valuable feedback about how it’s going, some highlighting things we could do better, and some uplifting positive feedback. The University has been listening and actions so far have included: • launching a Bucks Emergency Allowance (BEA). This fund is in addition the existing Hardship Fund and offers up to £250 to those in need. You will be receiving an email about this today (Wednesday 1 April); • creating discounts and ‘contract release’ options for those students living in University-owned halls of residence; • regularly updating a FAQ section on the University website based on your questions; • working on alternative assessments to make sure this situation will not prevent you from graduating or progressing in your studies; and • putting in place ‘emergency regulations’ which allow us to apply mitigating circumstances to all referred work, meaning that there is no need for you to submit mitigating circumstances this semester. Professor Gavin Brookes, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, said: “The University is committed to protecting your student learning experience. We’re listening to all your concerns and are doing everything that we can to ease your worries during what we know is a very unsettling time.” “The Covid-19 situation is unpredictable, and the Government’s advice has already changed dramatically in the last couple of weeks. Based on the scientific evidence, we anticipate that social distancing will remain in place for some time yet, and we will continue to provide you with remote learning into next term. Should that situation change, we will of course keep you updated. But protecting your student experience and keeping you and our University community safe remain our key priorities. Look after yourselves and let us know if you have any questions or concerns.” Making your voice heard: feedback doesn’t stop… You will receive an email link to a short survey soon so you can tell us how things have been going with your online learning. We want to make sure that we’re making the right changes in response to your feedback so please fill it in. Thank you to all those who have already got in touch to share your experiences – please remember to feed back to your course teams at any time. We’re listening and will keep you informed about how we can act on what you tell us. You can keep up-to-date with all the changes, and what they mean for you, on the FAQs area on the University website which is being updated regularly to provide answers to your questions. If your answer isn’t there, please drop an email to student.centre@bucks.ac.uk and we will answer as soon as we can. Please take care of yourselves and each other. The Bucks Student lite edition 2