Our Commitment to New Students
Updated: 29th January 2020
With the government announced changes for education in line with the national lockdown, we will be moving to online delivery.
For this period, your delivery will be mainly synchronistic (following your normal timetabled pattern) and recorded where possible.
Our continued focus is to offer great teaching and learning, ensure that you are able to engage in learning, and can proceed with assessments to achieve the best possible outcomes. To support this:
- You can continue to access any support that you might require remotely (via phone, email and MS Teams), including Disability, Wellbeing, Study Skills and Employability. The Library’s Click and Collect service will be running as usual.
- A number of college buildings (including the University Centre and Hi-Tech Centre) are open for students to access for private study, if you do not have appropriate study spaces at home. In the first instance, please liaise directly with your Personal Tutor or a member of the Student Support Hub who will be able to provide more details and support regarding access.
- We have implemented additional measures to the 20/21 Safety Net, to try to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on your studies.
June/July 2020
We are delighted that you are interested in studying at the University Centre South Devon. We all know that preparing to go to university is an exciting time, but it can also be slightly daunting. You will have great hopes but also many questions.
I want to address particularly any concerns about what university will be like while the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting the UK. Importantly, I want to reassure you that the University Centre South Devon is committed to starting the 2020/2021 academic year for all students in September 2020.
Of course, it will be wonderful if we are able to start the new year as we would normally. If we can, we absolutely will. But the first important element of our plan relates to your safety and that of our whole community.
We will follow government advice on social distancing and personal safety to ensure a ‘Covid secure’ working and learning environment. Our facilities will be operational, and you will be able to study and engage in person regularly with other students and staff. After all, this is what university is all about.
So, this means you will be able to participate in lectures, face-face tutorials, and seminars. You will be able to access laboratory and studio experiences, the library, and all student support and welfare services. If they are needed, either to enable social distancing or to support your individual circumstances, options for remote access or online and blended learning will be available alongside the face-to-face experience. We know that we all may need to adapt if Covid conditions change.
Our priority is to offer great teaching, learning and a positive experience for all our students. We look forward to being able to welcome you to the University Centre South Devon.
Many of you may not have been able to attend our applicant events due to the pandemic, and we have been working to develop materials including a programme introduction online. We are now in the final stages of making these resources live.
The video below has also been produced to give new and returning students an idea of what to expect when starting or returning to UCSD in September 2020.