Please talk to our Student Financial Support team as soon as possible. They will be able to provide advice and guidance about what temporary or permanent help might be available in your particular circumstances.

If you are struggling to pay rent due to the COVID-19 outbreak, please visit the team’s webpage where you can find specific information and advice about how they may be able to help. The Vice-Chancellor has provided a letter addressed to private landlords to remind them of their obligations to support their tenants through this difficult period. You may wish to draw this to the attention of your landlord if you feel it appropriate.

You can also contact RUSU’s Advice Service for further support and independent advice.

The UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) advice published on 23 March is:

As countries respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, including travel and border restrictions, the FCO advises British nationals against all but essential international travel. Any country or area may restrict travel without notice.

No new overseas travel for University activity should be booked until further notice. 

If you have a trip booked to take place during the current academic year, this should be cancelled. Please speak to your Head of School or the relevant trip leader, as well as completing the Notice to Cancel Form available on the Insurance website as soon as possible. The Insurance team will work with you to cancel and will liaise with our travel insurance providers.

You can contact your Academic Tutor by email as usual, although there might be a delayed response. You may be able to meet your Academic Tutor "virtually" (using Blackboard Collaborate, or by being invited to attend a Microsoft Teams meeting as a guest, for example), or you could have a catch-up by phone. Please be patient as it might take a little time for us all to adjust to this new way of working.

Since we have transitioned to online teaching, we are subject to different UK Visa & Immigration office (UKVI) guidance related to COVID-19. This means that, given the exceptional circumstances, Tier 4 sponsors (including the University of Reading) do not need to report student absences relating to COVID-19 in cases where these have been authorised by the sponsor.

The UKVI have also confirmed that we would not be required to withdraw Tier 4 sponsorship for students who cannot attend for more than 60 days due to these exceptional circumstances. This means we would not withdraw your sponsorship if you leave the UK as long as you continue to engage in your studies online or have been given an authorised absence. 

We are currently putting plans in place to monitor engagement.  This may include student engagement with Blackboard and/or online submission of work and assessments. If virtual meetings are taking place, for example Skype meetings or telephone interactions with project tutors/supervisors, these could also be used.

 

If you have any queries, please contact us at immigration@reading.ac.uk.

The UK Home Office has published detailed guidance on the support available if you are facing uncertainty about the expiry date of your current visa or leave to remain in the United Kingdom. Subject to this guidance, most people in the UK whose immigration status is affected by the coronavirus outbreak can get an automatic extension of their visa until 31 May 2020. However, they must update their record by contacting the Home Office. 

Please read the guidance to find out how to contact the Home Office’s dedicated coronavirus immigration helpline and the information you need to provide to update your visa record. Current students who receive an extension in this way must then provide a copy of the visa extension confirmation to immigration@reading.ac.uk  

If you are affected by this and have any further questions or need immigration support, please contact the International Student Advisory team at immigration@reading.ac.uk

Reading Researcher Development Programme (RRDP):

• All face-to-face taught training delivered by the Graduate School will cease until the end of the summer term.  
• This includes the RRDP, Preparing to Teach (P2T), the summer term induction and our English language thesis writing programmes (further updates may be provided on online access to English language support.
• Statistical Advisory Service (SAS) appointments are unavailable for the summer term. 
• The Henley Business School / Graduate School Leadership Programme will not run in the summer term.
• The annual minimum training requirements for RRDP will be relaxed for the current academic year. You may like to keep a note of any online training that you complete and feed these into future progress reviews. 
• Please check that you have access to online courses and email your username (gradschool@reading.ac.uk) if you cannot view courses so we can enrol you. To access courses log into Blackboard and select Graduate School (courses) under the 'Organisations' header. This will give you access to the online courses including the Statistical Methods for Research Programme. 
• Many RRDP presenters have provided Powerpoint slides for training courses which can also be found in Blackboard under ‘RRDP Materials’.

Supervision meetings

Please discuss with your supervisor how supervision should be carried out for the coming weeks.

Confirmation of Registration

Decisions on confirmation of registration are made at School level. If your CoR is approaching, please discuss with your supervisor and School Director of Postgraduate Research Studies regarding alternative arrangements.

Submission of theses

With immediate effect, all PhD theses to be examined must be submitted online to the Doctoral Examinations officer address (deo@reading.ac.uk).  Theses will then to be sent to examiners electronically.  All students in year 3 and beyond will have already been notified of this decision.

Vivas

Advice on vivas taking place via Skype has been provided to supervisors and Directors of Postgraduate Research Studies. Further information about your planned vivas will be sent from your internal examiner. 

Stipends

For doctoral researchers in receipt of a stipend, please note that unless suspended, stipend payments will continue as normal. Any extensions to funding will be considered as and when required.

 

Health organisations in the UK are not currently recommending face masks for the general population to protect individuals from contracting the coronavirus. 

For most of us, the best advice is to take standard NHS-recommended precautions to prevent the spread of colds and flu:

• wash your hands often with soap;
• avoid touching your face;
• cough or sneeze into a tissue and bin the tissue as quickly as possible.

We are keeping the situation under close review and will keep you updated if the advice changes.

It is important to note that in many other parts of the world it is more common to wear face masks generally. It is a personal choice that we should all respect. Some of our community choose to wear them for a variety of reasons. This does not mean that those wearing masks are infectious or pose a risk. If you do choose to wear a mask, please ensure you dispose of it responsibly in a bin and wash your hands afterwards.

If you are subject to, or witness, harassment or discrimination you can report the incident and find information about the support available on our #NeverOK page. If you are worried, please remember our Student Welfare Team are here to offer support, including by phone and email.

 

Should I use hand sanitiser?

We are following Public Health England (PHE) advice which is that thorough hand washing is the best and preferable method.  We are currently preserving our limited stocks of hand sanitiser which will be issued in accordance with University procedures and PHE advice should the need arise.

A ‘take home exam’ is a mix between coursework and an open-book exam. Like normal coursework given throughout the year it can be done at home with access to lecture notes, internet and other resources. A key difference however is the time you are allowed to complete the ‘take home exam’. Unlike coursework for which a student can be given several weeks to complete, the ‘take-home exam’ is released at a specific time and closed a number of hours later. There is no time for research or learning new topics and students therefore are strongly advised to revise as they would do for an exam taken under standard exam conditions.

• We will be giving all students the opportunity to try out a ‘take home exam’ and details of this will follow.
• The papers will be released in accordance with an exam timetable which will be issued to you by the 3rd April.
• We are aware that some students have special arrangements and we will work with you to support these as far as possible given the current situation
• Access to Blackboard will be required (we are aware there are some groups of students for whom this is a problem due to a disability, and we will be in contact with them to discuss alternatives).
• Question papers will be downloaded from Blackboard, answers will be written in Word and submitted via Turnitin as for usual coursework submissions.   

Further details will be sent to you over the coming weeks from your Schools and Programme Teams about specific details for each module. It is very important that you regularly check your University email account.

There will be no in-person exams held on campus during the summer term. The vast majority of these exams will still take place but as ‘take home exams’ – which will be made available to you electronically and submitted online – or another form of assessment. This will allow you to receive the credit for your learning and hard work this year, from where you are. 

We already have experience of running take home exams that we are drawing on, but as we were due to hold more than 1,000 exams, we need to work through what the exact solution will be for every examination. Your School will contact you by Friday 3 April to explain in more detail what will happen for each of your modules.

A very small number of exams that are required by professional accrediting bodies (around 20 - affecting a handful of modules) will need to be delayed until it is possible to hold them in person or another solution is identified. We will contact you separately as soon as possible if this will affect you.

The University’s response to the current outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) will continue to be guided by the government position, while also responding to concerns from students and colleagues.

 

All teaching and assessment is being provided be provided online for the rest of the academic year, other than in some exceptional circumstances where this is not possible. Your School will provide specific information about these arrangements.

 

Our primary concern remains the safety and health of our community, given the uncertainties we are all having to navigate.

 

We have also undertaken a wide range of further measures, including:

• Contacting new students, staff and visitors before they arrive to ensure they are aware of any travel and health restrictions 
• Liaising with and supporting students who are currently abroad on study/work placements
• Updating students and staff about the evolving situation and providing advice about what to do in different circumstances
• Ensuring that anyone who needs to self-isolate is supported to do this, so they do not need to have contact with other staff and students
• Following up concerns raised by students and staff about whether people should be self-isolating
• Ensuring that our cleaning regimes across campus and in halls of residence are appropriate for this situation, including ensuring we have enough cleaning materials
• Preparing contingency arrangements in relation to exams, graduation and essential University services

For the safety and wellbeing of our whole community, the following services will be changing:

• The Library and Study@URS will be closed from 5pm on Friday 20 March. We will continue to provide Library resources and support online and you can find further information about how to access these services on their website.
• Apps Anywhere can now be used off-campus too. Further information is available online. 
• Careers, Support Centres, Student Financial Support, International Student Advisory and Immigration, Welfare Team, Wellbeing and Disability Advisory services are moving to providing support by telephone or online through email and video conferencing. Please see the links on the right hand side of this page for more information about how to access these services.
• A take-away food service will be available for students who have meal plans and others remaining on campus at -
• Park Eat (including Park Market) on Whiteknights campus from 8am to 8pm Monday to Sunday, including the vacation period.
• All other University restaurants, bars and cafés (including the Library café) will remain closed until government advice changes.
• The SportsPark will close from 10pm on Friday 20 March until further notice. More information will be available on their website. 

Reading Buses have advised that the Claret 21a term-time service has stopped running. The 21 service will continue and will stop on campus.

All bus services around Reading are running to Saturday services Mon-Sat (normal Sunday service on Sundays) with the evening services limited to the Mon-Thurs times. 

RUSU have also made changes to their services and facilities, with further information on their website.

We have contacted our students on overseas placements to recommend that they return home and to provide support to help them to do so. If you are currently on a placement overseas, please contact us at studyabroad@reading.ac.uk or +44 118 378 8504 for advice.

The UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) advice published on 23 March is:

As countries respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, including travel and border restrictions, the FCO advises British nationals against all but essential international travel. Any country or area may restrict travel without notice.

The Minister for Universities, Michelle Donelan, wrote to all universities on 26 March advising that, in line with the strict new government restrictions, students who have not yet returned home are advised not to travel. Whether you are living in Halls or private accommodation, the government advice is that you remain there and stay indoors while the current restrictions are in place.

For welfare and safety reasons, we need to know who is remaining in Halls. Please let us know as soon as possible by completing the staying on in Halls form.

For the protection of our whole community, on campus and beyond, it is our expectation that all our students will abide by the government guidance if you are experiencing symptoms that could indicate COVID-19. The government has also issued updated practical advice for managing self-isolation. Please use the NHS 111 online coronavirus service if you have any concerns.  

If you are remaining in Reading and need to self-isolate in Halls under government or medical advice, please complete an online self-isolation form. 

Please also read the government’s practical advice for managing self-isolation.

If you are diagnosed with COVID-19, please let us know using our online form.

We recognise that the current outbreak of COVID-19 may impact our students in a number of ways. We will do everything reasonable to mitigate negative impact on academic progression and attainment.

In these unprecedented circumstances we are replacing the normal Extenuating Circumstances process with a new more flexible process whereby any student can request an extension for coursework or defer summer examinations. We are currently building this new process and will make it available as soon as possible. In the meantime we ask for your patience and support. Information on the new process will be emailed to all students and will be published on this webpage as soon as possible.

Doctoral research students should contact your School Director of Postgraduate Research Studies, or the Graduate School for further advice if your academic performance has been impacted.

Your Library team continue to be available to support your studies. This includes:

• Our Academic Liaison Team can advise you on finding good quality literature to support your work and referencing. See their online subject guides or contact your Academic Liaison Librarian (ALL) directly for help by email or remotely by video link; or complete a general one-to-one ALL appointment request form.
• Our Study Advisers are available for one-to-one advice and support online via video, chat, or email. They also have a series of video tutorials and study guides providing essential study advice.
• Our Maths Support team is available for one-to-one advice and support online via video, chat, or email.  They also provide links and guidance, worksheets and video tutorials. To request one-to-one help, send an email to mathssupport@reading.ac.uk.
• Our Research Engagement team is available to support your research. If you require support for Open Access, research data management and other research related matters, please email centaur@reading.ac.uk.
• If you encounter a problem or need technical help and support with online resources, please complete email eresourceshelp@reading.ac.uk.

 Further information is available on the Library blog and website.

As we all adjust to studying, learning and working remotely, keep a regular eye on your University email, Me@Reading and the Essentials webpages. Please stay in touch with friends, course mates, your lecturers and your Academic Tutor. We will also be drawing together some useful guidance on how to cope in these uncertain times.

The University experience is not just about learning. It is also about friendship and support. By staying in touch with each other, through all the many digital channels at our disposal, we can both receive and provide much needed support and connection for one another.

Please use the NHS 111 online service if you have health concerns.

 

If you have any further queries that are not covered on this page, please contact us at coronavirus-students@reading.ac.uk. Our Student Welfare Team are also here to offer support, including by phone and email.

Given the current exceptional circumstances, those in University Halls accommodation, operated by our partner UPP, will not be charged for the third term if you will not be living in Halls for the rest of the academic year.

This cancelation process will take a little while to organise, and we will contact students in our Halls directly to let you know how to trigger this. We are working on this as quickly as we can. There is no need to contact the University or UPP in the first instance, and we will make contact with you as soon as we are able. In the meantime, you can assist the Accommodation Office by completing the online departure form, if you have not already done so, if you have left.

For those in Kendrick Hall, the owner Unite Students has also confirmed that it will release students from their contracts if this wish to return home or have already done so. All students in Kendrick Hall who wish to cancel the third term must inform Unite Students by the strict deadline of Friday 10 April by emailing cancellations@unitestudents.com. 

For welfare and safety reasons, we need to know who is remaining in Halls. If you are unable to return to your home and intend staying in Halls please let us know by completing the staying on in Halls form.

We have taken the very difficult decision to cancel our summer graduation ceremony. This is a celebratory event of huge important to our community, and it is a decision we make with a heavy heart. However, we feel it is better to make this decision now and provide those affected with certainty, particularly given the travel and other decisions that those attending need to make.

For those expecting to graduate in the summer, we will still provide your exam results and degree classification in a timely way, enabling you to make decisions about your future. We will offer the opportunity to attend ceremonies to celebrate in person with family and friends later in the year. The Graduation Office will be in contact with all those affected to explain the options available.

We are committed to mitigating the impact of the disruption for our students as far as we reasonably can. This is an unprecedented situation requiring a significant change to our existing processes, but are putting mechanisms in place to allow students to continue with learning, assessments and exams to enable progression to the next phase of your studies or your life beyond university

Teaching, assessments and examinations will continue as planned for the remainder of the academic year, although these will be delivered online.

All students will continue to have access to a wide range learning materials, including reference sources and journals online. In addition, we will continue to provide dedicated academic and pastoral support, through Academic Tutors, supervisors, our Study Advice team, and wider support services such as our Student Welfare Team, Counselling & Wellbeing, Student Financial Support and International Student Advisory Team.
 
We will do everything reasonable to mitigate negative impact on academic progression and attainment. We are replacing the normal Extenuating Circumstances process with a new, more flexible process, which will be made available very soon. In the meantime we ask for your patience and support. Once confirmed, information on the new process will be emailed to all students and published on this webpage. 
 
We hope these measures will limit any disruption on your learning experience as much as possible. If you feel the University has not sufficiently mitigated the impact of COVID-19 on your studies, there will be a separate complaints process for you to bring this to our attention, which will be published soon. We are not intending to offer compensation as a matter of course, as our focus is to mitigate the impact. However, in exceptional cases where our complaints process finds that there has been significant personal disruption to an individual despite our mitigation efforts, compensation may be an appropriate remedy.