Campus News
The 2021 ‘safety net’: ensuring fairness and support for all students during January assessments
January 8th, 2021
The university has set out a support package of measures for students during new national restrictions to make sure they are assessed fairly and achieve the outcomes they deserve. The communication below sets out what this means for students and how it will be achieved.
Russell Group universities are working together to respond to the impact of new national restrictions on teaching and assessment.
At Nottingham, we have a package of measures in place to support you during the new national Covid-19 restrictions. The 2021 ‘safety net’ measures ensure that your degree provides a strong foundation for your personal and professional aspirations.
Adjustments to modules
Across all Schools and Departments, and all modules, teaching and assessments were modified and significant changes put in place for the start of the 2020/21 academic year.
These changes meant that almost all your studies could be fully completed and fairly assessed through digital platforms if it turns out to be necessary. We are confident that students have fair access to the materials and support they need to complete their studies with the current national restrictions in place.
Supportive study environments
Of course, we recognise that students are accessing their teaching and assessments under circumstances that may be difficult or stressful. Isolation, illness and difficult study environments may have a detrimental impact on your studies. The new government guidelines make it clear that students whose circumstances make it very difficult to work from home can return to campus – and we will support you in those circumstances.
Extenuating circumstances
We fully recognise the impact of the pandemic and national restrictions upon student mental health and wellbeing. In spring last year, we introduced a new extenuating circumstances policy – as part of the package of 2020 ‘safety net’ measures – to account for the impact of Covid-19 on your studies. This policy has been extended into the current academic year as part of the 2021 package, and continues to consider the student’s own account of impact and keep any requirements for evidence to a minimum.
Our 2021 package of measures enables us to respond to specific phases of the pandemic and to complex problems and needs. We encourage you to apply for extenuating circumstances if you are experiencing difficulties. This means we can offer you the individualised support that you need.
All of our efforts are concerned with enabling you to do your best work, to ensure you are assessed fairly and that you achieve the outcomes you deserve.
January assessments
Deadlines are currently in place for January coursework assessments and online exams are starting in the coming weeks. Schools have been asked to review deadlines and assessment schedules to make them as manageable for students as possible.
Schools have also been asked to identify assessments where the impact of national restrictions is likely to be significant. For example, if materials required can only be accessed in-person in a library on campus.
If this affects your assessments, your school will be in touch directly to communicate any change in deadlines or exam timings. Current study challenges will be taken into account as your work is being marked, and will be considered carefully by the exam boards.
Grace periods
During the autumn term we introduced a grace period of one week for all coursework in response to large numbers of students in isolation. However, this blanket approach for all students is not appropriate to the current circumstances and will not adequately address individual student needs at this time.
Instead, our extenuating circumstances policy continues as part of the 2021 ‘safety net’ package, and provides a personalised route where we can consider the student’s own account of impact and keep any requirements for evidence to a minimum.
Protecting your degree standard
Protecting the standard of your degree you have worked so hard for is of fundamental importance. This year our priority has been to support you fairly, and to ensure the academic integrity of your degree. Russell Group universities are working together to respond to the impact of new national restrictions on teaching and assessment.
In 2020, as part of our ‘safety net’ measures, we introduced an emergency marks policy ensuring students would not receive a mark below their pre-lockdown grade following the summer assessments. It is not appropriate to reintroduce this policy for the January 2021 assessments, for a number of reasons:
- Many students would not have enough credits unaffected by Covid-19 to make their degrees credible if we applied the 2020 approach to 2021 (including all first years).
- There is no obvious date up to which we could take marks. Unlike in March 2020, where teaching moved from 100% in-person to 100% online within a very short space of time, this academic year has been taught in a blended way from the start.
- Teaching, assessments and support in 2020-21 have been designed to be accessible remotely for the majority of students.
The University remains confident that all of the measures we have put in place, including the 2021 ‘safety net’ package, will protect the standard of your degree and thereby your personal and professional aspirations.
Welfare and support
Remember that your Personal Tutors, Module Convenors and School Welfare Officers are there to support you with any academic and pastoral support you require. In the run-up to assessments, you can access a variety of support from the Student Academic Skills Team including webinars, online study sessions and resources.
The national restrictions are necessarily isolating. Make sure you keep in touch with your school and ask for support if you need it.
Tags: COVID-19, January assesments, student support
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Want to learn Mandarin?
January 7th, 2021
Learning to speak a new language can be a great way to experience new cultures – especially now that we’re unable to travel.
The Nottingham Confucius Institute offers Mandarin courses led by experienced teachers. If you’re looking for a new experience or a new skill, then Mandarin lessons can open new vistas in business, education, travel or simply meeting new people.
This term’s courses commence on Monday 18 January.
There are evening courses and Saturday courses available (both taught in 10 weekly two-hour sessions) with levels ranging from beginners to advanced.
Tags: Confucius, language, lessons, Mandarin, Nottingham Confucius Institute
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Research continues during new lockdown: update from Professor Dame Jessica Corner
January 7th, 2021
Professor Dame Jessica Corner writes to update colleagues on the impact the new national lockdown will have on research activities.
Following the Government’s announcement on Monday evening of a third national lockdown, I wish to update you on what this means for research at our university.
In line with Government guidance, our Covid-19 secure research buildings and facilities remain open and our on-campus research will continue.
Research staff, including postgraduate research students, should continue to work and research from home wherever possible; however, work and research that cannot reasonably be carried out at home can continue in our Covid-secure campus buildings.
Please discuss any concerns with your colleagues and line manager and continue to adapt projects wherever possible to overcome the current challenges.
Covid-19 testing for staff
We strongly advise all staff visiting campus to carry out or support research to be tested once a week. This will help keep you safe and protect our loved ones and the wider community, and also help ensure that our university can remain open for research.
All staff, including postgraduate research students, can access the university’s testing service. Please visit Covid-19 testing for all staff. Staff working from home can also access the testing service, but please do not take any unnecessary risks in travelling to our testing stations.
Read Dame Jessica’s full update
Tags: professor dame jessica corner, research
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Small Business Engagement Award – call open now
January 6th, 2021
Following the recent launch of the university’s Knowledge Exchange Strategic Delivery Plan, we’d like to highlight an opportunity for academics to engage in knowledge exchange with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) via the Small Business Engagement Award.
This award is designed to support University of Nottingham academics to engage with SMEs through the established platform of the University of Nottingham Business Network.
The University of Nottingham Business Network has over 1,500 external contacts and its programme of regular business-facing events (currently being delivered as webinars) offers academics a platform to connect with companies from a range of sectors.
The Small Business Engagement Award provides funding of up to £4,000 to cover direct costs of academic time and project delivery costs associated with delivering these online events, as well as developing bespoke follow-up projects with companies.
For more information on how to apply, please read the guidance document and then submit your Expression of Interest by 5.00pm on Friday 29 January 2021.
Please direct any queries to gemma.morgan-jones@nottingham.ac.uk.
Tags: Business Network, knowledge exchange, SME, University of Nottingham Business Network
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University parking permit use suspended until further notice
January 5th, 2021
From today (Tues 5 Jan) people will be able to drive to the University Campuses and park without displaying a parking permit until further notice.
Action Required
Staff who have paid for permits for the year
For staff or associates who have paid for their permit in full for the year 2020-21 please email the Parking Team on parking@nottingham.ac.uk to arrange a refund. Please include your payroll number in your email. Refunds will not be processed until such time as the team knows how long suspension will last.
Staff on monthly payments
For staff members who pay monthly, your payment for December will be cancelled automatically and there is nothing further for you to do. The suspension of monthly payments will remain in place until further notice.
Staff using vouchers
If you have a voucher permit please keep your vouchers and do not use them until later in 2021.
Students
If you are a student you can either request an extension to your current parking permit for the period of the restrictions or you can request a refund by e-mailing parking@nottingham.ac.uk. Please include your student ID number in your email.
The parking team are working from home but will still be responding to e-mails sent to parking@nottingham.ac.uk.
Tags: car parking, parking, parking permits
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New national lockdown: Update from Professor Andy Long
January 5th, 2021
Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Andy Long has written to all colleagues and students providing an update to the university’s plans in light of new national lockdown restrictions.
Dear colleagues and students,
Last night the government announced a full national lockdown would come into force in England today, Tuesday 5 January 2021, following a rise in Covid-19 rates across the country linked to a new variant of the virus. The announcement and further details can be found here.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that universities will remain open but teaching would be delivered online until mid-February for all subjects except those outlined in the revised guidance for returning students issued last week: Medicine & Dentistry; Health & Social Care including Nursing & Midwifery; Physiotherapy and Veterinary Science; Education including initial teacher training; and Social Work. The government has advised students on all other courses to remain where they are and start the term online.
University staff and postgraduate researchers should work and research from home where at all possible. However, work and research that cannot reasonably be carried out at home can continue in our Covid-secure campus buildings.
Staff with school-age children
We appreciate that the news about school closures will impact many colleagues. The Department for Education has confirmed that university staff are considered to be critical workers and may continue to send their children to school where they are required to attend work or work from home to support the welfare, wellbeing and teaching of students.
If you have young children who have yet to return to school or other caring responsibilities, please speak with your line manager to discuss your working arrangements. We understand how challenging this can be and, as on previous occasions last year, we will do our very best to support you in this situation.
Students who have already returned to or remained in Nottingham
For students who have already travelled to university, the guidance states that you must not move back and forth between your permanent home and student home during term time. The University will be putting support measures in place for you during this period; campus and student support services will remain open for those who have already returned to or remained in Nottingham.
Additional measures
We will continue to make use of our Asymptomatic Testing Service and Lateral Flow Test provision to offer additional reassurance for both staff and returning students. Regular testing will be encouraged as a key element of university life and an additional measure in keeping our community safe.
We have taken significant steps to provide a Covid-secure environment on our campuses and the wellbeing of our community remains our priority. Within our university the number of active cases of Covid-19 remains low. Our measures are most effective when we work together and follow the rules to keep everyone safe.
While the University’s work on the trials for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, which has been rolled out this week, offers some much-needed hope for the future, I know that this will be an anxious time and hope that this will be the last significant hurdle we have to face before some semblance of normality can resume.
I appreciate you will want further information and we are awaiting further details from the Department for Education as to how the new restrictions fully impact us. I will write to you again with more details as soon as we have them.
Best wishes
Andy
Professor Andy Long, FREng
Provost & Deputy Vice-Chancellor
Tags: Andy Long, COVID-19, lockdown, recovery, restrications
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Let’s be clear about EDI webinar series 2021
January 4th, 2021
The Leadership and Management Academy are pleased to introduce the “Let’s be clear about EDI” webinar series for 2021.
We launched the Let’s be clear about EDI campaign in October, which aims to promote a university wide conversation at local level to help develop our understanding of what Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) means and how the university embeds this in everything that we do.
To continue to inform, support and guide us all, we’ve put together a series of webinars, running throughout 2021, on some of the key aspects of EDI.
These webinars are open to all University staff and are designed to be a relaxed and informal space to discuss key challenges and opportunities that our colleagues face in the context of equality, diversity and inclusion.
A wide range of 50 minute online events will run on selected dates each month and are led by colleagues from around the university along with representatives from our staff networks.
They will cover topics such as: Caring for carers, Making reasonable adjustments, Intersectionality, Women in research, and much more. You will have the chance to hear about lived experiences, have time to share best practice, ask questions and find out where to go for information, resources and guidance to best support your colleagues.
To find out more information about the range of topics covered and to book your place, visit the Leadership and Management Academy Hub.
Tags: edi, Equality Diversity and Inclusion, Leadership and Management Academy, LMA, lma hub, webinars
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Diversity Festival – coming March 2021
January 4th, 2021
The university’s first ever virtual diversity festival is taking place from Monday 8 to Friday 19 March 2021.
The festival focuses on ‘embracing and celebrating difference’ with more than 30 virtual events open to staff, students and alumni, which aim to:
- Promote understanding and awareness of diversity and inclusion
- Enable challenging conversations
- Champion protected characteristics and beyond
Keynote events include:
- Celebrating diversity
Recorded performances and interviews with performers and musical influencers
- Having challenging conversations
A fireside chat with our Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor
- Painters, sharks and crimson waves
Exploring period inequality and stigma
- The impact of Covid-19 on minority groups
A panel discussion showcasing research and exploring university policy implications
- Caring for carers
A practical workshop to help carers obtain practical support and claim benefits
Research beacons, Schools and Faculties are getting involved too by offering a range of equality, diversity and inclusion events showcasing their research and learning activity.
The festival also celebrates International Women’s Day and enables you to join our International Students’ Festival.
Get involved
Contribute to our festival expo! Share your photographs inspired by the five ways to wellbeing and access resources and support to promote positive mental health and wellbeing. A selection of these images will be shared during the festival and promoted through our digital media channels.
Find out more
We will soon launch our diversity festival web hub where you can find out more, book onto keynote events, submit expo photos and ask any questions.
Find out more about equality, diversity and inclusion at the university here.
Tags: diversity, Diversity and Inclusion, Diversity Festival 2021, edi, Equality Diversity and Inclusion
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Plans for student returns and new tier 4 restrictions
December 31st, 2020
Professor Andy Long recently wrote to colleagues outlining the university’s updated plans for students returning in January given the new nation-wide restrictions.
Dear colleagues,
I hope you are enjoying a good winter break and have had some time to relax and recharge, despite the increased national restrictions announced during the break.
As you may be aware, the government yesterday announced further restrictions for education settings, including universities, which will change the sector’s existing plans for students’ return to campus and how we will teach them. It was also confirmed that Nottingham and Nottinghamshire have now entered Tier 4 of the national restrictions.
These changes follow the increase in national transmission rates for Covid-19 (due, in part, to the advent of a new strain of the virus) and the introduction of further restrictions. While our campuses and classrooms remain Covid-secure environments, and education remains a national priority activity, the government is keen to reduce the movement of people into and across the country to minimise transmission risks. The letter regarding these changes can be found here.
Student Return Dates
The government has confirmed that in-person teaching, placements and assessments will continue as planned for students studying programmes in Medicine & Dentistry, Health & Social Care including Nursing & Midwifery, Veterinary Science, Education including initial teacher training, and Social Work.
There are also some exceptions for students undertaking courses as part of their employment, or with professional-body mandated teaching that cannot be rescheduled. Students on these programmes should return to campus on their previously agreed date between 4 and 18 January.
For all other programmes, the government has said that, until at least 25 January, teaching will still commence at the start of term but remain online. We are informed that the government will keep this under regular review, with the first such review scheduled to take place in the week commencing 18 January.
We will be asking that in both cases Schools confirm these arrangements with their students to avoid confusion. Sarah Speight, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education and Student Experience, will write to Heads of School to clarify this.
I recognise that the challenge of teaching and supporting students both on and off campus is considerable, and that staff have made huge efforts to deliver high quality and engaging teaching both digitally and face to face in 2020. The Digital Learning Directors will continue to work with Professional Service colleagues to ensure that the Faculty Teaching plans can be delivered, and that staff know how to access advice and training.
As previously outlined, all assessments will be online between 11 and 29 January.
During the term, students will have the opportunity to be tested regularly and this will be strongly encouraged. The university will offer all students Covid-19 testing upon return to Nottingham, as well as for those who have remained in and around the city over the break. During the term, students will have the opportunity to be tested regularly. Together these measures will help identify and isolate any positive cases early and help to reduce onward transmission of the virus. Staff are invited to take a test through the University Testing Service at any time you require.
I have written to all students today setting out how these changes affect them and the support available. You can read a copy of this communication here.
Tier 4 Restrictions
Under the Tier 4 restrictions placed on Nottingham, residents should stay at home unless they have a “reasonable excuse” although exemptions apply for both education and work purposes.
Therefore, I would ask that staff work from home where they can but access our campuses where it is essential, for example to continue in-person research activities if the research work cannot reasonably be conducted from home or to deliver in-person teaching. I have also written to all PGRs confirming that these arrangements also apply to them.
Our sports provision will also change in line with the new restrictions.
And of course, we must all continue to follow the ‘hands, face, space’ steps we can take as individuals to help suppress transmission of Covid-19 – wearing a face covering, regular handwashing, and maintaining a safe distance all make an enormous difference.
Within our University the number of active cases of Covid-19 remains low and while this demonstrates that our Covid security measures are working, there is no room for complacency.
Thank you as always for your hard work, patience and willingness to support each other in these challenging times. Whether in-person or online, I look forward to recommencing our new term in January and I wish you a safe and happy 2021.
Best wishes
Andy
Professor Andy Long, FREng
Provost & Deputy Vice-Chancellor
University of Nottingham
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Triple celebration for the university in New Year’s Honours
December 31st, 2020
The Queen’s New Year Honours for 2021 bring a triple celebration for The University of Nottingham, with recognition for the University’s Vice-Chancellor, its most senior technician and a specialist in occupational therapy.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Shearer West has been awarded a CBE for services to education, while Kelly Vere, Director of Technical Skills and Strategy, receives an MBE for services to championing the role of technicians in higher education and research institutions. Kate Robertson, a retired assistant professor in the University’s School of Medicine, will receive an MBE for services to occupational therapy.
Reacting to the news, Professor West said: “I feel humbled and privileged at being recognised in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours for services to higher education. I have a passionate belief in the value of education and research to transform lives and communities, and have been fortunate to learn from so many capable and committed colleagues over many years who have shared this vision.
“Whether at home or overseas, and particularly at the University of Nottingham, I am always struck by the dedication and expertise of my colleagues working in higher education. I am delighted that this dedication is reflected in so many honours being bestowed this year to people working in education settings.”
Professor West joined the University of Nottingham as Vice-Chancellor and President in October 2017, publishing the institution’s new University Strategy in December 2019. She is currently a member of the Universities UK Board to help deliver its mission to maximise the higher education sector’s positive impact for staff, students and the public, through the highest quality teaching, research and scholarship. She is also a Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery and a member of the Independent Schools Governing Body of King Edward’s Foundation, Birmingham.
Previously, in 2008, Professor West was appointed Director of Research at the Arts and Humanities Research Council where she also chaired the Research Directors Group for Research Councils UK. She was appointed Head of the Humanities Division at Oxford in 2011, where she oversaw the launch of the Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH) and the Ertegun Graduate Scholarship Programme in the Humanities. Before joining Nottingham in her current role, she was Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Sheffield.
Professor West also has a number of international roles, most recently acting as main panel chair for the national research assessment exercise for Humanities in Norway and serving on the steering group to introduce impact into the Excellence in Research (ERA) exercise in Australia.
She has represented the UK on the Science Europe Humanities Scientific Committee, and has been a jurist for the Spinoza Prize in the Netherlands and the Odysseus and Solvay prizes in Belgium, as well as an Advisory Board member for the Social Sciences Faculty of the University of Vienna.
Having begun her academic career as a lecturer in History of Art at the University of Leicester in 1987, Professor West has since authored and edited many articles and nine books including Portraiture, The visual arts in Germany 1897-1940: Utopia and Despair, and Fin De Siècle: Art and society in an age of uncertainty. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, the Higher Education Academy and the Royal Historical Society, and has held two visiting Fellowships at Yale University.
There are currently more than 30,000 technicians employed in UK higher education and research institutions working across all disciplines including engineering, science, health and technology. They will be integral to overcoming some of the great challenges of the coming years and decades – from updating our transport infrastructure and local internet access, to securing the future of our energy supply. However, an ageing workforce means that 50,000 of our best technicians across all sectors are retiring every year, and forecasts show we will need as many as 700,000 more technicians in the UK over the course of the next decade to meet demand from employers.
Kelly Vere has spearheaded the implementation and development of the University of Nottingham’s Technical Services Strategy to enable the strategic and professional development of the University’s 700+ technical staff across the UK and Asia. She represents the University externally within and beyond the sector, and works with government and funding bodies to influence national policy.
Kelly’s contribution to championing the role of technicians – the ‘unsung heroes’ of research and teaching in UK higher education and research institutions – is unique.
Kelly said: “It was a fantastic surprise and it still feels very surreal! It means so much to my family and it’s a great honour to be recognised in this way. I am so fortunate to work with wonderful colleagues, at the University of Nottingham, Midlands Innovation, Science Council, Gatsby Charitable Foundation and beyond.
“I’m hugely grateful for all of their support over the years and I’m excited about continuing our work to advance recognition and opportunity for all colleagues who enable research and teaching across our sector.”
Kelly rose through the ranks to her current position after joining the University as a junior technician at the age of 18, whilst studying for a part-time degree in Biomedical Science, before rapidly progressing to positions as Senior Research Technician and Laboratory Manager.
Alongside her role at the University of Nottingham, Kelly is on a long term secondment with the Science Council where she leads on engagement with the higher education sector to increase visibility and recognition of technicians. She founded and leads the Technician Commitment – a sector wide initiative funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation to ensure visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability for the technical community across higher education and research. The Technician Commitment currently stands at 92 institutional signatories and has attracted a number of supporter organisations. In February 2020 it was announced that she would lead a new £5M programme ‘TALENT’, awarded to the Midlands Innovation universities and funded by Research England to advance status and opportunity for the technical community. Kelly has built and developed partnerships with higher education institutions, industry, government departments, funding bodies and learned societies to influence sector activities and policy in the area of technical roles, skills and careers.
Additional external roles include being chair of the Midlands Innovation Technical Skills Strategy Committee while also serving on the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Research Technical Professional Working Group, the Institute of Physics Technical Skills Awards Panel, the Royal Society’s Research System Community of Interest, the Researcher Concordat Strategy Group and an advisory board for the Science Museum.
Kate Robertson qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 1982 from St Andrew’s School of Occupational Therapy, Northampton and worked in Doncaster, Liverpool, Lincoln and Newark before settling with her family in Nottingham.
In 1996 Kate and a colleague established the first primary care occupational therapy service in Nottinghamshire based in Rushcliffe where Kate developed an expertise in the prevention and management of falls. She established the multiagency Rushcliffe Falls Prevention and Research Group in 1999 and this group was instrumental in developing the Guide to Action for Falls Prevention Tools. This led Kate to take an active role in research alongside her clinical roles including being a co-applicant and Principal Investigator in major research projects. Kate was Consultant Therapist in Falls Prevention for Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust until her retirement from the NHS in 2017. She held the post of Associate Lecturer and Falls Module Lead for the MSc Advanced Practice Programme at the University of Derby from 2010 to 2018 and, until her retirement in July this year, was Assistant Professor at the University of Nottingham School of Medicine, where she demonstrated a gift for bringing and maintaining people into the research world who would not normally be included, such as care home staff, wardens from sheltered accommodation and older people’s forums.
Kate was actively involved in the work of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists and was project lead for the development of practice guidelines for OTs in falls prevention and management. She has won a number of awards for her work including a Lifetime Achievement Award from Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in 2017 and a Merit Award from the Royal College of Occupational Therapists recognising her significant contribution to the profession.
Tags: Kelly Vere, New Year Honours, Professor Shearer West
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