Today (Wednesday 9 February) Kelly Coate, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education and Students, wrote to all students. You can view her message below:

Dear all students,

You may be aware that there is currently strike action planned to start at a large number of universities across the UK from next week. Sussex is one of the universities included in this nationwide industrial action and some staff may exercise their legal right to take part in the strike, if it goes ahead.

Talks are ongoing this week between negotiators at the national level, to try to agree solutions to the challenges around pensions, pay and related conditions across the sector.

University members and UCU local and regional representatives are continuing talks about this round of strike action.

We really hope that there can be national agreement before the proposed action, which would impact Sussex and 67 other universities in the UK. In case the strikes do take place from next week, we want you to be aware that we will ensure the continuity of all students education, which is our utmost priority and this is key to the preparations we are putting in place.  

Please read on for more information and to find out what support is available, should you need it. We will keep you updated via your University email accounts and via the Student Hub.

The action, unless it is cancelled by UCU, will run for a total of ten days over three weeks:

week 1: 5 days; Monday 14 to Friday 18 February 
week 2: 2 days; Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 February 
week 3: 3 days; Monday 28 February, Tuesday 1 and Wednesday 2 March 
 
There has been a huge amount of work going on at the University, in case the strike action takes place to make sure you can continue to access your studies and expected learning outcomes.

In some Schools, most (if not all) classes will be running as normal. In other Schools, there may be some disruption dependent on how many staff choose to take strike action.
 

Your studies

Here are a few practical things to remember about your studies from Monday 14 February, should the strike action occur:

1. If we know that a teaching session is not taking place, you will receive a notification on the relevant Canvas module and/or the class will be cancelled on Sussex Direct.
2. Please remember to regularly check Sussex Direct and Canvas to see if your lecturer has given advance notice that your class is not taking place.
3. UCU members don't have to let us know if they're striking. This may mean that in some instances we might not be able to give advance notice or cancel your lectures or seminars.
4. If you come to campus and your class isn't happening, you can use the time for independent study. The Library and study spaces will be open as well as other campus services, such as sports facilities, cafés and bars.
5. If you had an assessment scheduled during the strikes you should have been notified by your School if it has been cancelled. If you haven’t been told it is cancelled, then it should be taking place as originally scheduled.
6. Any assessments that were due to be handed in via Turnitin or Canvas with deadlines during the strike action remain unchanged, unless you have been told otherwise.

Picket lines

You may notice picket lines at the entrances to campus on any strike days that go ahead. These are made up of a small group of people supporting the strike. This is a usual situation in any strike action and you would not be stopped from entering the campus.
 

Travel to campus

Buses will be travelling to the University throughout any industrial action.

We expect that buses will not enter the campus between 6.30am and 3pm on strike days if they occur. Buses would be likely to stop just outside campus on the A27 slip road and then near Falmer Station.

For service updates, see the Brighton & Hove Buses website. We suggest you allow more time than usual to get to campus by bus if the strike action is occurring.

Trains will run as normal on strike days. More information on train services can be found on the Southern website.

Should there be strike action a free minibus will be provided for students who need support accessing parts of the campus. Please check back for information about this on the Student Hub next week.

If you have a disability and your access to campus is disrupted, please check the Student Hub or Student Support Unit website for up to date information.
 

Visit the Student Hub

We’ve made sure there is a range of information available to you on the Student Hub. This includes a set of commonly asked questions. These commonly asked questions will be updated in response to student enquiries, so please look there first if you have any queries. Please also continue to speak to staff in your School office.

I hope you understand that you and your fellow students are our number one priority, and we are working to ensure that there is minimal disruption to students during any period of strike action that may occur.

We will continue to keep you updated so please do check your University email account regularly.

With best wishes

Kelly

Kelly Coate
Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education and Students