Supporting students through Covid-19
Supporting students through Covid-19
Sussex Grad at Home campaign
- We recently celebrated our students’ success on results day with our Sussex Grad at Home campaign.
- Lots of teams worked hard to ensure our students could celebrate their achievements in spite of not being able to have their usual graduation ceremony in the Brighton Centre – this has been postponed and will be rearranged
Housing
- Since the start of lockdown, we housed more than 750 students on campus - ensuring their ongoing safety and round-the-clock support for those who remained on campus with continued access to services.
- Looked after those in isolation and or/ who had Covid, by delivering hot meals
- Cancelled over 4,000 student rents where students have left their University residences
Study Abroad
- We provided around the clock support to 203 students who wished to return home and advised an additional 44 students wishing to remain abroad on matters relating to travel, visas and insurance.
- We also supported 168 students to return to their home countries as well as advising the remaining 100 students who decided to stay on at Sussex and in the UK
Students’ education
- We introduced the no detriment policy to ensure that our students’ grades were not adversely impacted by Covid-19 and adjusted assessments and timetabling.
- This involved a huge amount of work by teams, across the University and particularly in ADQE
Financial support
- Students who have been adversely impacted have had access to hardship fund requests
- We have also launched the Covid-19 Student Appeal (£166,864 in support of Student Hardship and Mental Health and Wellbeing since the Emergency Sussex Fund Hardship Appeal was launched on 3 July)
Remote Library Services
- Ensured students still had remote access to Library Services and all the other support services – so they can continue with their studies
General Teaching Spaces
- Refurbished many spaces allowing us to provide better access to Panopto, better lighting, improved surroundings – which we have been able to push forward with while these areas campus have been out of use
Communication
- Frequent communication with our students to keep them abreast of our response to the crisis and responding to all students’ enquiries on a range of issues
- Colleagues from across the professional services and the Students’ Union produced a daily activity guide on the Student Hub, known as Things You Can Do - to help students with both their mental health and staying connected to our community and Sussex.