16 July 2021
Dear Applicant
I would like to take this opportunity to update you on our plans for the next academic year. Please note that this communication is to provide information on teaching plans for September and does not confirm your place where your offer is conditional on exam results.
The news coming from Government at this moment indicates that all restrictions relating to social distancing and the use of face masks will be removed later in July. On that basis we plan to return to face to face teaching on campus for all our degree programmes for the next academic year and it is our expectation that students will attend in person for their timetabled sessions.
In practical terms that means that all 1st and 2nd year groups, plus most of our 3rd year groups will be on site for three days per week. A small number of 3rd year and MSc groups will be on site for two days per week. This is the same pattern of attendance that was in place before the pandemic.
Feedback from our current students clearly told us that full days of on-line teaching was challenging and not their preferred way of learning, so we will be limiting on-line teaching to tutorials and some 3rd year seminar-based modules that lend themselves to this style of teaching.
They also told us how beneficial the newly installed technology that enabled lectures to be recorded, was for review and revision and we will continue with lecture capture for all theory teaching, ensuring that these are available to you after the taught session.
We also plan to integrate the practical teaching throughout the year once the restrictions are lifted.
This outlines our current plans for you, we anticipate that regular self-testing will continue to be a feature going forward but we will provide more information on that in due course. I would also ask you to consider taking up the opportunity to be vaccinated against Covid to help keep our student and staff community safe in the forthcoming months.
In the event that the Government guidance changes at any point over the next academic year, we have the technology and skills in place to switch to on-line teaching should that be necessary. I would like to reassure you that we are very keen to welcome you onto campus in September and to have all our students learning together again within our great facilities.
We are really looking forward to a busy year with you.
In the meantime, I wish you a relaxing and enjoyable summer.
Kind regards,
Caroline James
Dean of Higher Education
University Centre Sparsholt