Broadcast: News items

On Thursday 22 April, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education and Students Kelly Coate wrote to all students. You can read the message in full below.

Dear all students,

Please read this week’s email for updates on:

• Virtual Spring Careers Fair
• Sussex Festival of Ideas online launch
• Providing feedback on your Semester Two modules
• How we are working to prevent and address sexual violence (trigger warning)
• The latest Government guidance on return to campus
• Keeping campus safe
• Support available to you.

Virtual Spring Careers Fair

The Virtual Spring Careers Fair on Wednesday 28 April is a great opportunity for you to research and speak to over 20 recruiting employers, find out about their current opportunities, and chat with them in online meetings. Find out how to take part.

Sussex Festival of Ideas online launch

On 28 April you might also like to join the School of Media, Arts and Humanities for an afternoon of online events to mark the launch of the new Sussex Festival of Ideas, which is coming up in June. Visit the Festival website.

Provide feedback on your Semester Two modules

If you are on a taught course, we encourage you to provide feedback on your experience of the individual modules that you have taken this semester through the Module Evaluation Questionnaires (MEQs). Your feedback helps tutors to reflect on their module design and teaching, while giving you the opportunity to reflect on your learning and module choice.

You can access the questionnaires through Sussex Direct until 10 May – find more information on how to complete them.

How we are working to prevent and address sexual violence (trigger warning)

We want to reassure all of you that the University is absolutely committed to preventing and addressing instances of sexual harassment and violence within our community – you can read more about our work in this area. We will support any student who has experienced sexual assault or unwanted sexual attention. You can find information about this support on our website, including how to access help in an emergency, sources of on-campus and off-campus support, your options for deciding what to do following an assault, and links to ongoing support services.

We also want to highlight that any student affected by abuse can contact 0800 136 663 to reach the Report Abuse in Education Helpline run by the NSPCC. They can provide advice, support and signposting to other agencies. Help is also available online via help@nspcc.org.uk.

The latest Government guidance on return to campus

Last Wednesday we emailed you following the Government’s decision that the majority of students, unless invited back already, should not return to university until at least 17 May 2021. You should stay in your current location unless you have an exceptional reason to return to your student accommodation – for example, mental health reasons or other personal circumstances.

You can read our message in full on the Student Hub. We will continue to communicate with you about developments.

Keeping campus safe

Wherever we are, we must all continue to follow Covid-19 safety measures, including the ‘Hands, Face, Space and Fresh Air’ message.

You can sign our Community Pledge to join thousands of other students and staff who have committed to follow safer practices and look out for each other.

If you are currently on campus, you should familiarise yourself with the measures we have in place to keep campus safe and how you can follow these.

All students currently on campus are encouraged to take two Lateral Flow Tests (3-5 days apart). You can view more information about Covid-19 testing at Sussex on the Student Hub.

Support available to you

• All of our support services, including the Student Life Centre, Student Support Unit, Counselling Service, Careers and Employability Centre and International Student Support, are providing online services at this time, rather than in-person on campus.
• You can find a list of contact details for these services on the Student Hub. Please do reach out to our teams if you have a question or would like to talk to someone about an issue.
• For academic queries, your School Office is the best place to email – find their contact details.
• As we approach the assessment period, remember that Library services are available online to all students, and you can use the online chat function to get advice from Library staff.
• If you’re facing financial difficulties, you can apply for financial support from our Student Hardship Fund. This funding is available to all Sussex students.

Finally, you may like to read this story about how students are finding community online this year, including through the Spirit of Sussex Award and international connections. In other good news, you can read about how the University of Sussex has been named among the top 50 universities in the world – and 9^th in the UK – for delivering on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

With best wishes,

Kelly Coate

Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education and Students