An invitation from Professor Karen Cox, Vice-Chancellor and President:

As we approach the end of term, I’d like to thank you all again for your hard work and commitment this term, which has been very much appreciated.

I am delighted to announce that we will be holding a staff Virtual Christmas Quiz on Wednesday 16 December at 14.00. If your diary allows, it would be great to welcome as many colleagues as possible to join us ahead of the forthcoming Christmas festivities. I’m looking forward to hosting the first round of questions!

In order to join us, please sign up here and you will be sent the link, via Teams, in advance of the event.

We very much look forward to seeing you and your Christmas jumpers, if you can make it!

In addition to the Quiz, please take a look at our Online Advent Calendar with video messages from across our community, sharing advice and guidance with our students over the Christmas period.

Best wishes for the festive season,

Karen

Professor Karen Cox
Vice-Chancellor and President

Written by Sarah Fisher, User Experience and Digital Content Office: 

Microsoft Yammer is coming soon 

Yammer, a Microsoft 365 communications tool, is being piloted at the University, ahead of its full launch in spring 2021. If you’ve had emails about Yammer but aren’t part of the pilot group, please ignore them: you don’t need to take any action. 

About Yammer 

Yammer is a workplace based social network, similar to Facebook, where friends are colleagues. You’ll see workplace reminders instead of advertisements, and updates are linked to University news, events, and questions or thoughts shared by colleagues.  

It will offer us an informal open staff communications channel, where you’ll be able to: 

• Interact with University news by liking and commenting on posts 
• Follow other members of staff 
• Create or join community groups: these can anything from sports and leisure interest groups such as ‘walking group’ or ‘book-club community’, to groups based on work-related topics and themes. Groups can be open for anyone to join, or private, where requests to join need to be approved 

Yammer is part of Microsoft 365. Where Microsoft Teams lets us set up formal collaborative online workspaces with access restricted to members only, Yammer will be open to everyone, and is envisaged to be a more informal communications tool. 

More about the pilot 

A community of early adopters are piloting Yammer to help us discover its benefits and limitations. Staff from across the University who are participating in the pilot:  

• Researchers working towards our Signature Research Themes 
• Staff in Divisions 
• The central communications team 

• E–learning staff 
• Information Services staff 
• Staff from professional services departments 

We are encouraging each of the divisions and professional service departments in the pilot to consider creating their own groups. 

What’s next 

Following the pilot, we plan to make Yammer available to all University staff; this will be early in 2021. If you want to find out more about Yammer please take a look at Microsoft Yammer for staff. 

If you’re still getting emails from Yammer, you can unsubscribe, or ignore them until the new year when you will have access to the platform.  

If you have any questions, please get in touch. 

Best wishes, 

Information Services 
University of Kent 
helpdesk@kent.ac.uk
01227 82 4888 

The Council is the governing body of the University. Chaired by Dame Ursula Brennan DBC, its remit is decreed by the University Charter. The Council holds at least five meetings per year and its 22 members include 12 lay members, as well as staff and student representatives. Its principal committees include the Finance and Resources Committee, Audit Committee, Ethics Committee, Lay Nominations Committee and the Remuneration Committee.

The Council is keen to engage more fully with with University staff and, as a first step, has introduced a ‘Chair’s Update’ as an informal record of the most recent Council meeting held on 27 November 2020:

The autumn meetings are always busy because this is when Council reviews and confirms its terms of reference and Committee structure and, usually, signs off the annual report and accounts. This year, the Office for Students has extended the deadline for submitting accounts because of the disruptions of Covid-19 and the plan is to sign off our accounts in the New Year. With such a long agenda, this note picks up on just a few of the topics discussed at the meeting.

Covid-19

On Covid-19, Council had an update on the numbers of cases and heard about the implementation of arrangements for asymptomatic testing to support the Government’s plans for the early return home of students for the end of term. The Government left it to universities to organise this testing and Council were impressed by the work which had been done by staff at Kent to get the project up and running from scratch at such speed.

Student recruitment

A key issue for University performance is student recruitment and Council regularly gets an update on student numbers. This time, Council was able to note the good outcome for 2019/20 and had an update on the actions being taken to improve on the less positive early indications for 2020/21. Members heard about some innovative digital marketing efforts to follow up expressions of interest, and about work with Divisions to understand why some subject areas had low applications. Council will keep a close eye on this subject over the coming months.

Degree outcomes

Governing bodies have been asked to increase their focus on academic assurance and this month Council reviewed the information on degree outcomes for last year. While it was good to see that standards had been maintained, action is needed to address the attainment gap for BAME students and those from socially deprived areas. Council wanted to understand more about what drives these differences in outcome, and about what the University is doing, through the Student Success Project to help close the gap. Council will return to the topic later in the year.

The statement on degree outcomes was one of the first products of the new-look Senate; another was the simplification of procedures for student appeals and complaints. The Office of the Independent Adjudicator had recommended that we simplify our process and the new regime will have only two stages, with more emphasis on early informal dialogue with the complainant. The outcome should be swifter for both staff and students.

Financial challenges

Council had updates on wide range of other topics including Brexit, the Prevent strategy, the work of the Ethics Committee, the Audit Committee and the Safety, Health and Environment Executive Committee, but the main business of the day was the University’s finances. The budgets set at the start of 2019/20 had been thrown off course by the pandemic, but the draft accounts showed that the success of efforts, such as increased student recruitment, and a rigorous approach to cost reduction through the Financial Improvement Plan had mitigated much of the lost income. Council were grateful for the hard work which had gone into delivering these results and recognised the increased pressures on staff.

Looking ahead, Council discussed the financial challenges that the University has faced in the current year, with the continuing impact of Covid-19, Brexit, the unknown impact of changes to A level teaching and the increasingly competitive market in higher education. Members were impressed by the professionalism and skill which had gone into analysing all the potential risks ahead and in identifying mitigation and contingency plans to address any reduction in income.

Dame Ursula Brennan DBC
Chair of Council 

 Hot on the heels of the release of their debut EP over the weekend, be sure to listen to a live webchat with student altrock band HollowHead.  The group includes two students from the School of Arts and you can enjoy listening to an online chat with all members this coming Thursday 9 December at 14.00.

Hosted by Dan Harding, Head of Music Performance, they will be discussing anything from the challenge of releasing an EP in the COVID era, their inspiration and influences, and what we can expect next from this unique trio.

Join live on the Music Department Facebook Page on Thursday afternoon and mark your diaries for this hour-long chat!

From Dr Lucy Foley | Director of Student Services
University of Kent Public Health Liaison Lead

As you will recall, we have been working with the Director of Public Health at Medway Council to arrange for asymptomatic testing to be available for staff on the Medway campus as those working in universities are classified as essential workers.

We have now been informed that testing will start from this Saturday 5 December and that you can now book a test.

How to book

You must book a test in advance. This can only be booked online.

If you don’t book you will not be permitted to take a test.

Testing Centre

Testing is taking place at three centres across Medway, including the Deep End which you may find the most convenient, and is available from 09.00 – 19.00 seven days a week.

Limited parking is available on some sites. Please remember to drive and park considerately as they may be residential areas and please do not block any driveways while you attend your test.

If you have COVID-19 symptoms on the day of your test please do not attend. You should book a PCR test with the NHS online. You can cancel your appointment through the text/confirmation email sent to you. Please then follow our staff Self-isolate, test, inform procedure for staff.

What you need to bring

You must bring the following proof to your appointment:

• test booking confirmation (text or email)
• critical worker status (a letter from your employer or your ID card)
• face covering exemption letter (if exempt)

You will not be allowed to take the test without them.

The test

Please ensure you arrive on time. You should not arrive more than 15 minutes before your allotted time as you will not be permitted entry to the centre.

Please ensure you follow the instructions carefully at all times. You will be guided to a booth to complete the test.

You should wear a face covering at all times except when the test is taking place unless you are exempt.

The test should not take any longer than a few minutes and is similar to a symptomatic test.

Your test result

You should receive the result of your test by text and email within an hour of completing the test.

If you test negative you will need to retake the test in two weeks. You can book your second test using the online form again.

If your test is positive, you will need to self-isolate for 10 days and book a PCR test with the NHS online. Please then follow our staff Self-isolate, test, inform procedure for staff.

Thank you for helping to keep our communities safe.

Our official Employee Assistance Programme provider, Care first offers a numbers of services and provide useful advice and support, including weekly webinars.

This week’s (Monday 7 December – Friday 11 December) webinars are as follows:

Monday 7 December 2020 –  ‘Managing Grief’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link.

Tuesday 8 December 2020 – ‘How Care first can support you’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Wednesday 9 December 2020 – ‘COVID-19: Supportive information for Vulnerable groups’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Thursday 10 December 2020 – ‘Coping with Burnout & Tiredness’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

Friday 11 December 2020 – ‘Maintaining Structure & Routine’
Time: 12.00-12.30 – to register please click on this Go to webinar link

As you will know from the media, the Government has now released its guidelines for a return to campus after the Christmas vacation for the Spring Term. The guidelines confirm our expectation that there will be a staggered return of students and that continued asymptomatic testing will play a key role in enabling students and staff to come back safely onto campus.

According to the guidance, medical students and those on practical courses requiring face-to-face teaching will be the first to return to campus. Other courses will be initially taught online for a short period before reverting to the combination of face-to-face and online teaching.

We have already developed plans to support this approach, but we need to ensure they meet all the Government’s requirements before we communicate the exact arrangements to staff and students.

One thing I would like to clarify is that the start of Spring term remains 18 January 2021, although KMMS students return on 4 January due to the specific nature on their course.

Thanks to the team responsible for setting up the asymptomatic testing site, we started testing on Monday. We have had an extremely good response from students wanting to be tested before they go home and, by this morning, we will have tested over 1,000 students. I am pleased to be able to say that, at this point in time, all tests have proved negative. We have also extended asymptomatic testing facility until December 15 to accommodate the levels of demand from our students – both undergraduate and postgraduate – as well as staff.

Our plans for testing before and in the Spring Term are also underway. Once again, we will encourage all students to be tested twice before they take part in face-to-face teaching.

We will update you on the plans for the Spring Term as soon as we possibly can as we know this latest Government announcement is potentially confusing as well as concerning. I would like to reiterate that we remain committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all our staff and students and that is at the forefront of all decisions we are making.

I would also like to again acknowledge the amount of hard work that continues to take place across the University, and I thank you all for the support you are showing at this challenging time.

Best wishes

Karen

Professor Karen Cox | Vice-Chancellor and President

From Professor Richard Reece, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education & Student Experience

Tier 3 Covid restrictions

As of 2 December, we are now in Tier 3 Covid restrictions in both Canterbury and Medway. Many of you will have noted that these restrictions do not differ greatly to those of the national lockdown. In accordance with Government guidance, we will continue to offer a blended approach to teaching until 4 December when all our teaching will move online until the end of term (December 18). The  majority of our campus catering outlets will remain open offering a takeaway service until the end of term. A Christmas vacation timetable is available detailing which outlets will be open during the festive break. Our sports facilities will reopen on 3 December providing online activities and a limited physical service.  Study spaces and our library services will remain open for our students throughout the Christmas vacation period.

The safety of all our Kent community remains of paramount importance. Please do ensure you follow Government guidance concerning Hands, Face, Space and remember to follow the ‘rule of 6’ when meeting people from other households outdoors in public spaces.

We have communicated the new Tier 3 restrictions to our students and will continue to support them to follow the guidance for the safety of our whole University community.

Asymptomatic testing

I would like to extend my thanks to all staff involved in setting up asymptomatic testing on our Canterbury and Medway campuses. This has been a significant undertaking within a very challenging schedule and staff have coped admirably.

As of 2 December, 3,600 appointments have been made at the Canterbury Asymptomatic Testing Site, and I extend my thanks to all of those who have been involved in setting the facility up in a very short period of time. In response to the high number of bookings we have received, the service has now been extended. Appointments are available until 15 December 2020 so please do book should you wish to get tested.

We are awaiting further information from the DfE, but do know that our asymptomatic testing programme is likely to continue in the New Year. To accommodate this, universities are likely to be asked to bring students back onto campus on a staggered basis. This is to ensure that social distancing can be adhered to and that the testing programme is ready to manage the volume of tests required. I will provide further information on how this will work once we receive the guidance from DfE.

Professor Richard Reece | Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education and Student Experience