Dear student,

This email contains important updates on Covid-19. Please take the time to read it carefully.

Latest decisions and updates from Durham University

· Assessment policies – update · Easter Bank Holiday weekend arrangements · Easter Bank Holiday weekend – Government restrictions · Support from our Chaplains

Further details:

Assessment policies – update

As you will recall, the policies announced last week are designed to uphold your educational interests in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. The most important of these is a “no detriment” policy, ensuring that all assessed work undertaken during the pandemic – from examinations to summatives and dissertations – can only raise and will never lower your degree classification.

Today five documents providing additional details on each of these policies have been posted online:

· 2020 Online examinations: Information for candidates( https://www.dur.ac.uk/student.registry/assessment/covid19/exam.instructions/ ) · Covid19 ‘no detriment’ policy for degree classification;( https://www.dur.ac.uk/student.registry/assessment/covid19/classification ) · Covid19 Progression Policy for Students at Level 1( https://www.dur.ac.uk/student.registry/assessment/covid19/level-1/ ) · Covid19 Progression Policy for Students at Level 2( https://www.dur.ac.uk/student.registry/assessment/covid19/level-2/ ) · Serious Adverse Circumstances (SACs) and COVID-19( https://www.dur.ac.uk/student.registry/assessment/covid19/sacs/ )

Please do read each of these documents which can also be found on the Examinations section of the Student Registry website and are also linked to from durham.ac.uk/coronavirus.

As we move closer to the assessment period, further updates are planned. By 27 April we will publish:

· more detail on the submission and consideration of adverse circumstances · full details on the ‘no detriment policy’ in the classification of degrees · guidance and exam rules for students undertaking the online assessments which have replaced exams · timetables for the take-home examination period, including time concessions · a webform to submit requests for deferral where a student is unable to complete an assessment for Covid-19 circumstances

By 1 May you will be able to download and submit a mock assessment, so that you can develop confidence navigating the system before assessments begin on 11 May.

The marking of the online assessments and the processing of results will take longer than usual because staff are working remotely. Unfortunately, this will mean a later publication of results, but we will do all we can to return your results in a timely manner.

The timetable for summer resits will be published on 10 August, and the online resits will take place between the 17 August and the 7 September 2020.

Please read all of the information available to you online in the first instance and if you do have any further questions email coronavirus.information@durham.ac.uk

Easter Bank Holiday weekend arrangements

As a way of expressing our gratitude for the inspiring efforts of staff since the Covid-19 outbreak began, we have granted two additional days of paid leave over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend: on Thursday 9 April and Tuesday 14 April.

Please be assured that staff will still be on hand to support you and maintain services over the Bank Holiday weekend.

If you require support during this period, you can visit our dedicated web pages( https://www.dur.ac.uk/coronavirus/ ) or contact coronavirus.information@durham.ac.uk. You can also contact your College Student Support Office by email or phone.

The University’s Covid-19 Planning Group will continue to meet over the extended weekend break and, although the daily updates will pause until next Wednesday, if there is anything of significance to report an update will be posted on our website.

Easter Bank Holiday weekend – Government restrictions

We hope that you have an enjoyable Easter weekend and take the time to relax and rest.

In doing so, please continue to follow the Government’s restrictions on unnecessary journeys, public gatherings and social distancing. Further details of these restrictions are available from Public Health England( https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public).

Information about precautions you can take to prevent the spread of coronavirus is also available from the NHS( https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ ).

Support from our Chaplains

During office hours, the Listening Service operates through the University’s multi-faith Chaplaincy Network for students who want to touch base on any concerns or anxieties. You of course don’t have to be religious to talk to a chaplain. To make an appointment to meet online with one of the chaplains, email chaplaincy@durham.ac.uk

In emergency and out of office hours, chaplaincy support is delivered by an Emergency Chaplain On-call Rota. The On-Call Chaplain can be accessed via the University’s Incident Control Centre, which is operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to respond to any incidents, on 0191 334 0000.

Conclusion

Thank you for your patience as we deal with this exceptional situation. We hope that the details above provide you with reassurance and confidence as we head towards the forthcoming assessments.

Please take this weekend to take care of yourself and your loved ones in line with the Government restrictions on preventing the spread of Covid-19.

Have a good weekend and a pleasant Easter.

Best wishes,  

Claire O’Malley    Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global)