We hope you are keeping safe and well.
In these difficult and uncertain times we want to start by assuring you that we will be open in September, so you can begin your journey with us in Canterbury and Medway on our beautiful open campuses and in our fantastic classrooms and other facilities; in a safe way. We will be combining seminars, meetings with academics and other social events, with online lecturing, seminars, and forums. We want you to enjoy a student experience that is more than virtual.
Of course, our commitment to the health, safety and wellbeing of our students and staff remains our top priority, as well as ensuring your teaching, learning and wider student experience is still the best it can be.
We intend to provide a blended learning experience which incorporates live, interactive, and online learning, alongside in-person education on campus for certain modules. In the SSPSSR, we are embracing the new opportunities (and new methods) that such a blended learning experience can deliver to enhance you participation and engagement with course material and interaction with both teaching staff and your fellow students. Our approach to blended learning this autumn can be summarised as follows:
- In common with the sector (and to reduce health risks), we will be replacing lectures in a crowded lecture theatre with online lectures, delivered in an engaging and exciting way
- Our lectures will be supplemented with live small group seminar sessions, so that you are provided the opportunity to interact and test your knowledge and understanding with your teachers and fellow students. These will be delivered both online and offline (in person) where possible, so that you are provided the opportunity to meet your teachers and fellow students face-to-face if you choose
- Lectures and seminars will be further supported by a variety of online activities, such as learning forums, office hours, online quizzes, directed learning activities, meetings with your academic advisers, and drop in sessions with your director of studies and your module convenors
- We are building into your timetable a series of engagement events where we will help you become part of an SSPSSR community. These will start before you join us as part of an extended induction process to get you ready for university life
- Students who are unable to come to campus will be able to study the first term (Autumn 2020) entirely virtually – we will be providing online alternatives for in-person teaching, and will do our very best to foster community spirit for students in the online environment as well as on campus
- Welcome Week activities (within the SSPSSR) will be delivered predominantly online with optional on-campus elements – we look forward to sharing the exciting programme of activities you can look forward to taking part in
- Subject to confirmation by the University’s timetabling office (who ensure that teaching delivery safely follows government guidance for social distancing) we expect to offer some in-person seminars or other events for those able to attend for the following Stage 1 modules within our school:
Canterbury
- SO305: Introduction to Criminology
- SO337: Fundamentals of Sociology
- SO334: Modern Culture
- SA300: Social Policy and Social Control
Medway
- SA313: Foundations of Social and Criminological Research 1
- SO343: Understanding Contemporary Britain
- SO310: Social Policy and Social Problems
We are committed to giving you the best experience possible, and ensure you feel part of our community – even in the face of Covid-19. Therefore, we will keep you updated over the coming weeks about these plans, as well as sending you further resources and activities to engage with but in the meantime do let us know if you have any questions, here’s how you can reach us:
Email to SSPSSRAdmissions@kent.ac.uk or engage with us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
You can also check out our 2020 Applicant pages or the University Getting Started pages for general information, advice and what you need to do.