We want you to get the best possible experience during your time at Reading and we do this by constantly working in partnership with you and your Students’ Union to enhance your student experience. We will be making some changes over the coming years, mostly for implementation from the 2024/25 academic year onwards, in response to feedback we have had from our students.
Enhancing your learning experience
The Academic Year
Following an extensive engagement process with key stakeholders (including RUSU Officers / Student Reps and an appointed Diversity and Inclusion panel), a new Academic Year model will be implemented from September 2024, changing from three 10-week terms to two 15-week semesters. This will improve how courses are organised and assessed, as well as improving opportunities to study abroad or go on international placements. See the latest academic term dates.
Modules and assessment
We’re making some changes to our modules and programmes to make sure that expectations are consistent, and that you have the right amount of choice and a well-designed timetable. Aligned with these changes, we also want to ensure that you have the right amount of assessment, spread out appropriately, and that your assessments allow you to demonstrate your knowledge in a way that is valuable for real life and professional contexts.
From spring 2022, Schools will be reflecting on changes they might make to modules and programmes. As part of their reviews, your School may seek feedback from you about your course.
Technology-Enhanced Learning
We’ve learned a lot from your feedback and our experiences of digital learning, before and during the pandemic and we will continue to promote and support the effective and creative use of technology to enhance teaching and learning. Your teaching will primarily be in person and you will have a range of engaging, interactive sessions depending on your discipline. In reflection of our aspirations of being inclusive, respecting diversity, enabling participation, and removing barriers, this will be provided alongside well-designed and purposeful digital activities and resources that can allow you to study more flexibly and bring variety and interest to your studies.
Contractual changes
For some of you these changes may amount to a change to your student contract from September 2024, in particular:
- the move to a semester system; and
- changes to the dates on which payments are due and when you become liable for Tuition Fees should you suspend or withdraw from your studies, as set out in the Fees Policy which will apply from September 2024. The fees policy you received as part of your offer letter, applicable for the year you enrol, will apply until then.
The programme changes outlined above may also amount to contract changes, and we will share updated Programme Specifications with you in July 2023.
If any of these changes are applicable to you and your programme of study, then we will be contacting you directly.
More information
We are taking the time to make sure this complex piece of work is done right and will keep you updated as progress is made, via these webpages. If you would like to know more about the changes we are making, please contact your School.