For those of you continuing your studies next year, we are making extensive and detailed plans for autumn 2020 and look forward to welcoming you all back on to campus ready for the first day of term. Working together with Kent Union and GK Unions, we are committed to ensuring that you continue to benefit from all that Kent has to offer, despite the impact of COVID-19.
In making these plans, we pledge to you that:
- The health, safety and wellbeing of our students and staff remains our top priority
- We will not compromise the quality of teaching, learning and experiences of our students.
- We will keep you updated over the summer to support your return to the University in the autumn.
I know that you will have lots of questions, and I cannot pretend to have all of the answers at this stage. However, I wanted to set out for you the approach that we will be taking so that you can begin to understand what September and the Autumn Term will look like for you.
Our approach, for the first term of the 2020/21 academic year at least, will be as follows:
- The majority of our teaching and services will be delivered in a blended way – both online and in person. What parts of your studies will be online and what will be in-person on campus will vary according to the course you are on, government requirements and our health and safety assessments. We are planning the details of this now and will be able to update you in the coming weeks.
- Online lectures will be complemented with face-to-face and/or online interactive sessions
- Lecture theatres will be used for smaller face-to-face group-based activities
- Lab classes, and other activities where you physically need to be there, will take place in strict compliance with health and safety requirements
- Some modules, or parts of modules, may need to be rescheduled to later in the academic year when social distancing restrictions are eased
I will be holding regular webchats and videoconference sessions that are open to all students between now and the start of the new academic year. Please look out for more details of these events in due course.
With my very best wishes,
Richard
Professor Richard Reece | Deputy-Vice-Chancellor Education and Student Experience