STATEMENT: Important information and advice on coronavirus outbreak

COVID-19 is a new illness that can affect your lungs and airways. It's caused by a virus called coronavirus and was first identified in the city of Wuhan, China.

University College Birmingham is following  government advice concerning the risk of the coronavirus, which has been raised to HIGH in the UK. This allows the government to plan for all eventualities.

The symptoms of coronavirus include:

• Persistent cough
• High temperature/fever
• Difficulty breathing
• Fatigue

For more information about symptoms, please visit the  NHS website.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a new illness, so we do not yet know exactly how it spreads from person to person. However, similar viruses are spread through cough droplets.

In line with advice from the NHS, we would ask you to follow these basic hygiene rules to protect your own health and the health of others:

DO

• Wash your hands with soap and water often for around 20 seconds (the amount of time it takes to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ twice)
• Always wash your hands when you get home or into work
• If you are out and about with no access to soap and water, use  hand sanitiser gel (containing at least 60% alcohol)
• Always carry tissues with you and use them to catch your cough or sneeze. Dispose of used tissues immediately and wash your hands thoroughly
• Try to avoid close contact with people who are unwell

DON'T

• Touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean.

We appreciate this is a concerning time for everyone in our University community. At present (18 March), we are operating as normal and the University remains open in line with guidelines we have received from the Office for Students (OfS), the official regulator for all universities and colleges in the UK.

While the situation is evolving, the advice the OfS has been given by Public Health England is that ‘educational settings, including universities and colleges, stay open and they have not advised against face-to-face teaching’. You can read more on the GOV.UK website.

In accordance with this advice, face-to-face teaching is continuing at University College Birmingham this week. However, in light of concerns raised by many of our students and staff, and feeling it is soon time to temporarily suspend face-to-face teaching in everyone’s best interests, we are bringing forward the final date of face-to-face teaching to Friday 20 March, finishing at the end of the normal scheduled teaching day. After this date, teaching will move online until the Easter break, which begins on Monday 6 April.

As many staff as possible will try to attend work to support you. Some staff may have to work from home from time to time during that period, but will still do everything they can to support your learning. You will understand we must consider the health, family and home circumstances of our staff just as much as we do your own.

We will send a further update about how this will work later in the week. Staff are working very hard to ensure that you have plenty of learning materials online to study and engage with your learning while at home or within the University should you wish to attend campus.

After face-to-face teaching on campus finishes on Friday 20 March, teaching will move online until the Easter break. Once this happens, we will maintain other campus services such as IT facilities and the library, although students will still be able to attend campus to study in the library or use computing facilities, mainly in The Link and Camden House.

We recognise that many students will have concerns about coming to campus, and we strongly encourage you to follow public health and NHS advice, which you can view on the GOV.UK website.

We are working very closely with our cleaning contractor Solo for increased cleaning vigilance on campus. In addition to extra cleaning of doors, handles and surfaces in communal areas, toilets and teaching spaces, we have also increased regular cleaning, paying particular attention to touchable surfaces such as PCs, computer keyboards and mouses, offices, desks and chair arms.

Please also be assured that we are working with Solo to ensure cleaning is carried out using professional quality cleaning and disinfectant products that are used by the NHS.

These FAQs are being regularly updated to reflect the latest advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO),  World Health Organisation (WHO)  Public Health England (PHE). We advise that you check this page regularly in order to stay informed of the latest advice.

Please also continue to regularly check your student email for communications from the university over the coming weeks. If you are not already doing so, you can also follow the latest updates on our social media accounts:

Facebook: ucbofficial

Twitter: @ucbofficial

Instagram: ucbofficial

For the latest health advice, please refer to the NHS 111 online COVID-19 advice service.

For the latest travel advice, please refer to the guidance issued on the GOV.UK website.

If they are displaying symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), they need to avoid contact with others and use the NHS 111 online COVID-19 advice service for guidance on what to do next.

UCB is monitoring developments closely and at present the Semester 2 exam period is still scheduled to begin on 27th May 2020. UCB is also working to develop alternative assessment arrangements should these be required. We are currently planning to confirm these arrangements on 27th April 2020.

If you have recently returned from travel abroad and develop symptoms such as a new and continuous cough, a fever or shortness of breath, you should stay indoors, avoid contact with others and use the NHS 111 online COVID-19 advice service for further guidance. These steps should be followed even if you only have minor symptoms.

Further travel advice is available from the GOV.UK website.

At present (18 March), the University remains open in line with Public Health England’s Guidance for Educational Settings (issued 16 March), which advises that ‘education settings, including universities and colleges, stay open and does not advise against face-to-face teaching.’

However, in light of concerns raised by many of our students and staff, we will be bringing forward the final date of face-to-face teaching to Friday 20 March (finishing at the end of the normal scheduled teaching day) After this time, teaching will move online until the Easter break, which begins on Monday 6 April.

We recognise that many students will have concerns about coming to campus, and we strongly encourage you to follow public health and NHS advice, which you can view on the GOV.UK website.

If you do feel unable to attend campus, please let your lecturers know, and send an email to our dedicated email address covid19@ucb.ac.uk so that we can make sure we support you. 

We understand some students will be unable to attend University as they are self-isolating, have been advised to stay at home or have travelled home. If you are self-isolating or unable to attend campus, please let your lecturers know, and send an email to our dedicated email address covid19@ucb.ac.uk so that we can make sure we support you.

Please be assured that all of our staff are working very hard to ensure you have the best student experience and engagement as is possible under these challenging circumstances. As far as possible, staff will provide teaching resources online and will continue to set and monitor completion of work, while tutorials will take place online or by phone, to monitor progress and maintain contact.

As long as you are well, you will still be expected to continue engaging with your studies as much as possible.

If you have a Tier 4 visa sponsored by University College Birmingham, you will not have any timetabled classes between 20 March and 27 April, so your attendance will not be affected. You should continue to engage with any online learning activities and submit any assessments. You can return home if you wish, although we would encourage you to complete as much of your studies as possible.

If you will be leaving the UK earlier than 20 March or you are currently self-isolating and not attending classes, please complete this online form to notify us of your situation.

If you have any questions, please contact tier-4-compliance@ucb.ac.uk. Absences due to the coronavirus situation will not affect your Tier 4 visa.

Please see the guidance published on the GOV.UK website for any students affected by this situation who may be facing travel restrictions due to circumstances beyond their control.

If you have any other concerns related to your visa, please contact our International team: international@ucb.ac.uk

We will be moving to online teaching once face-to-face teaching ends on Friday 20 March.

As far as possible, we will provide teaching resources online, and you are expected to engage with these if you can. This will vary by course and/or module depending on the types of study and assessment. If it is not possible for us to offer appropriate content, we will offer catch-up teaching for missed content next semester/term.

Where practical, some courses and modules may offer alternative assessments and submission methods so that students can continue to work online. Your module or programme leaders will be in touch about this.

We will do everything we can to ensure students are able to progress as normal, and in particular, we will be supporting students who are in their final year so that they receive their award in a timely fashion. This may mean we need to schedule extra classes or possibly that the academic year will be extended – we will communicate with you about this as soon as we can.

Where necessary and possible, we are developing alternatives to campus-based assessments in order to allow students to complete their units/modules. For courses with practical assessments, we have moved as many of these as possible into the remaining teaching time on campus. Where students are not able to complete a practical assessment before on-campus teaching ends, we will reschedule or use alternative assessment methods, and we will be in touch with affected students directly.

If you have any questions about the specifics of delivery for your course, you should contact your year manager or module leader.

Before you leave the University, please ensure that you know how to access online resources for your course, especially Canvas. Staff in the Student IT Hub can help if you require support.

All public exams due to take place in May and June 2020 have been cancelled by the DfE. UCB is following awarding body and government updates closely to identify what happens next.

Mock GCSE English exams due to take place on 1st April, will now be delivered through a combination of paper based resources sent to students and online teaching and support. Your tutors will be in touch to confirm details.

If you were due to take GCSE exams, it is particularly important that you complete any work provided to you by the team, if you possibly can, as mock exams can be used to provide evidence of achievement for the exam boards if you were subsequently unable to sit the formal exams. This could be very important for you in the coming months but also for the duration of your career.

We will do everything we can to ensure all students are able to progress as normal. Please be assured that we will be supporting students who are in their final year so that they receive their award in a timely fashion.

This may mean we need to schedule extra classes or possibly that the academic year will be extended – we will communicate with you about this as soon as we can.

Where necessary and possible, we are developing alternatives to campus-based assessments in order to allow students to complete their units/modules. For courses with practical assessments, we have moved as many of these as possible into the remaining teaching time on campus. Where students are not able to complete a practical assessment before on-campus teaching ends, we will reschedule or use alternative assessment methods, and we will be in touch with affected students directly.

If you have any questions about the specifics of delivery for your course, you should contact your year manager or module leader.

Due to current circumstances, the University has agreed that between Thursday 19 March and Friday 3 April, there will be no penalty applied to work submitted up to 10 working days after the original submission deadline. This will also apply to students who are due to submit for the Thursday 2 April resubmission period.

Late submissions will not be accepted after these 10 working days. You will only need to complete an extenuating circumstances form if you are not able to submit by this date. This does not apply to draft submissions.

If you have any queries, please send an email to extenuating@ucb.ac.uk

If you are currently on placement, please follow your employers’ advice and let us know if you are informed that you cannot continue with your placement. We have requested for employers to let us know if placements have to be suspended, and we will work closely with them to plan for your placement to recommence as soon as they are able.

Please do not worry about achieving your placement days/hours, as we will work with you to support you through this situation.

Students on our FE courses (aged 16-18) will not be required to attend placement from Friday 20 March to Monday 27 April. We will liaise with your employer to discuss your placement and agree a plan to continue your placement once teaching starts again.

You must follow the advice of your local Trust or placement setting. They may require for you not to attend your NHS place of work/placement and undergo a period of self-isolation. Please follow the NHS 111 online COVID-19 advice service for further guidance.

This is your personal decision, in line with any advice from local authorities and the FCO. We will of course continue to offer pastoral and academic support to you, whether you decide to return or remain abroad.

The latest guidance from the FCO (as of 17 March) advises British people against all but essential travel worldwide due to unprecedented international border closures and other restrictions. You must follow the advice of local authorities, as your safety and security is the responsibility of the local authority where you are.

If you wish to leave the country you are in, contact your airline or travel company and your insurance provider as soon as you are able, and keep updated with the latest developments. For more information, view the latest guidelines on the GOV.UK website.

If you decide to remain abroad on placement, you will need to contact the hired@UCB team immediately and talk through why it is essential for you to remain.

You should follow the latest advice from Public Health England, and/or the equivalent public health body in your home country.

Students who are due to begin a one-year paid placement during the summer of 2020 will still be able to continue subject to the agreement of the employer and any travel restrictions or advice that may apply at the time of travelling. You should regularly monitor all UK Government advice, as well as the advice from the host country.

Unfortunately, government advice has now required that all overseas trips and activities for students aged 16-18 be cancelled.

If you are currently on placement, please follow your employer’s advice and update hired@UCB if you are informed that you cannot continue with your placement (either due to illness or the company’s coronavirus policy). Please do not worry about achieving your placement days/hours, as we will work with you to support you through this situation.

Students on our FE courses (aged 16-18) will not be required to attend placement from Friday 20 March to Monday 27 April. We will liaise with your employer to discuss your placement and agree a plan to continue your placement once teaching starts again.

Student accommodation in The Maltings and Cambrian Hall will remain open as usual. We will continue to support students and have put in a number of measures in place to do so.

Please contact halls staff if you have any concerns, or notify halls reception if you are returning home temporarily. You can also send an email to accommodation@ucb.ac.uk

If you are displaying the symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), you must avoid contact with others and use the NHS 111 online COVID-19 advice service for guidance on what to do next.

You must also report to the relevant office – see contact details below:

The Maltings

• Office: 0121 666 7304
• On-call: 07780 458054

Cambrian Hall

• Office: 0121 232 4429
• On-call: 07754 261660

Please report any issues in the usual way to assistant hall managers. Where possible, maintenance issues will still be resolved.

You will be able to leave your belongings in your room for the duration of your accommodation contract. If you are unable to return to campus before the end of your contract, we will contact you to discuss options.

The University cannot guarantee safekeeping of any belongings, and if we cannot contact you, any items left may subsequently be discarded accordingly.

Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and following government advice, we have had to make the decision to postpone our on-campus undergraduate open day on Saturday 28 March. Our next undergraduate open day is currently scheduled for Saturday 27 June, though we will continue to provide updates.

We have also made the decision to postpone our applicant day on Saturday 21 March and will move this to a later date. We are not able to announce the exact date as yet, but we will be in touch with you as soon as alternative arrangements can be confirmed. Please refer to the FAQs on our applicant days page for further details.

We are developing an online open and applicant day on Saturday 28 March to support students in deciding the university of their choice for September 2020. Further details will be made available in due course.

The University is currently reviewing contingency plans for our 10-week pre-sessional English course, which is due to start on 1 July 2020. If required, we will commence teaching later in July to accommodate applicants who may be affected by the coronavirus.

We anticipate that our 6-week pre-sessional English course will commence on 1 August 2020, but we will consider other contingency arrangements if required.

The University is developing further English language testing options and will keep applicants informed. A list of our current English language requirements can be found here, and further country-specific information can be found here.

Do not come into work. You should inform your line Manager by telephone and notify UCB via email Covid19@ucb.ac.uk as soon as possible.

Do not come into work. You should inform your line Manager by telephone and notify UCB via email Covid19@ucb.ac.uk as soon as possible.

Please contact your line manager immediately and make sure they are aware of your arrangements and the advice given for self-isolating.

Yes – University sick pay will be paid to any member of staff who has been required to self-isolate based on the latest guidance from the NHS / Public Health England.

The University recognises that due to the particular current circumstances relating to Covid-19 it may not be possible for you to provide a sick note (fit note), particularly for self-isolation. However, if you do have a sick note (fit note) please ensure that you send this to your line manager as soon as you are safely able to do so.

The University is working closely with Public Health England and will continue to follow the advice and guidance set out by the UK government. While the current indications are that universities are unlikely to be required to close we recognise that this is a rapidly evolving situation and are planning for a range of different scenarios, including temporary closure or increased homeworking, and how these may affect staff and students.

You can help in these preparations by ensuring that you have a way to communicate with your line manager and other people you work with. Please read all university communications regarding Covid 19 and take the required steps to ensure that you are able to work remotely. You can also have some preliminary discussions with your Line Manager about what work could be carried out at home or remotely should the need arise.

The NHS website states that if you live with anyone who has symptoms, you should stay at home for at least 14 days, to avoid spreading the infection outside the home.

At present the normal HR policies should be applied for taking time off to care for dependents. See attached link: https://portal.ucb.ac.uk/documents/file/1588/time-off-for-dependants-and-specialleave. If we are advised that we need to review our position on this as an organisation we will advise staff through the usual channels.

At present the normal HR policies should be applied for taking time off to care for dependents. See attached link; https://portal.ucb.ac.uk/documents/file/1588/time-off-for-dependants-and-specialleave. If we are advised that we need to review our position on this as an organisation we will advise staff through the usual channels.

Individuals who are required to self-isolate should discuss the practicalities of working from home with their line managers. Where working from home is possible and agreed with the line manager, normal pay (as opposed to sick pay) will continue to be paid. Please note that in these circumstance, the time will be recorded as self-isolation for our monitoring and reporting purposes, but will not be recorded as sickness absence.

Currently, as there are no planned restrictions on public transport individuals should ensure they make appropriate arrangements to attend work on time. The University will continue to monitor the advice received from Public Health England and take action as necessary. Where there is an unexpected disruption to travel as a result of coronavirus, individuals should notify their line managers as soon as possible and consider other arrangements such as working from home (if possible) or taking unpaid/annual leave if necessary. Line Managers may be able to consider making up time at a later date depending on operational needs and the availability of other staff.

Where a work colleague meets the recommended criteria and has to self-isolate, in line with PHE advice, this would not automatically affect the working arrangements for other staff. The University will inform staff at a local level and continue to consider situations as they emerge in line with the PHE.

Our University restaurants will be closed to the public from Friday 13 March to Wednesday 29 April 2020.

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Cakes and Bakes will remain open while teaching is being delivered. However, the shop will close from Friday 20 March to Monday 27 April, as there will be no teaching taking place.

The spa, hairdressing and sports therapy clinics will remain open while teaching is being delivered. However, these services will close from Friday 20 March to Monday 27 April, as there will be no teaching taking place.