Spring Return Information

Health & Safety on Campus and Lateral Flow Testing

If you are required to return to campus for in-person learning during March, the Department for Education have provided guidelines, which include:

• Students are expected to test before they travel back to university, where community testing facilities are available to them.
• Students, when they arrive back on-campus are also encouraged to undertake:
  • two lateral flow tests before restarting in person sessions;
  • twice weekly testing.
• Once students have returned to their term-time accommodation they must remain living there unless an exemption to the national restrictions on leaving home and gatherings applies. They must only travel home where they have a legally permitted reason to do so.
• International students (including Erasmus+ or other exchange students) who are not already on campus should follow the guidance on new and returning students from overseas section of this guidance. BGU’s International Office can provide guidance and support.

BGU will be offering twice weekly testing to all students and staff on campus. This will be taking place in the SU building in room 3DY and can be booked by clicking here. Testing is expected I would strongly encourage any on campus to make use of it to help maintain the safety of our community.

Safety measures across campus, including one-way systems, sanitiser dispensers and distanced classrooms will remain in effect. For full details on these see the video on our Working Together webpage.

Ongoing Academic Support

• The BGU Learning Fund can provide discretionary financial assistance to students experiencing hardship or for digital IT support arising from the COVID-19 situation .
• The University’s normal Codes of Practice can be used for students finding it difficult to complete their studies because of their individual circumstances:
  • Initially, if there is a short-term impact on studies, extensions to assessment deadlines can be submitted – the Extension Request form is available on the student portal.
  • If you are within 24 hours of an assessment submission you can complete and submit an extenuating circumstances form (see the Code of Practice for Extenuating Circumstances).
  • Longer term impacts on you as an individual should be discussed with your Programme Leader in the first instance in respect of a possible Support to Study Plan.
• Extension requests made in response to the impact of COVID on studies can be self-certificated.
• For modules not passed on the first attempt (the assessment has to be attempted) the failed grade will be set-a-side and the assessment reattempted as for the first time providing the opportunity for the full range of grades to be achieved. Normally, a successful extenuating circumstance claim would have to have been submitted to allow resubmission of an assessment as a first attempt and not have the grade capped at a pass. This will not be required this semester.
• Students who pass a module but consider their performance on the assessment to have been adversely affected by extenuating circumstances may request the pass grade to be set-a-side and the assessment reattempted. However, it should be noted that the grade achieved at the second attempt may result in a lower grade than the original attempt. Requests need to be submitted using the Extenuating Circumstances form. We are aware that students may find it difficult to obtain medical evidence this year. Students are, therefore, asked to supply evidence available to them and give a detailed account of the relevant circumstances. Panels will suspend the need for the usual standards of evidence where the case presented amounts to a compelling account of impact on the student’s ability to study or take assessments.
• The normal referral fee for all referral attempts for modules not passed in 2020/21 will not be charged.
• For those degrees being completed this year and which use grades from the 2019/20 in the final degree classification, the already adjusted modules grades from 2019/20 under the ‘no detriment’ policy at the time will be included when calculating degree classifications.