Message for staff and PGRs
Dear colleagues
At a meeting of the Senate on Wednesday it was agreed that the commencement of teaching for the second half-session 2020/21 would be put back one week and will now start on Monday 25 January 2021.
In addition to providing an additional week of preparation time for staff before the beginning of the second half-session, the delayed start will also have the benefit of providing a wider quarantine window for students either returning from the winter vacation or new entrants arriving from overseas in January.
This change will mean the new late programme registration date for January start entrants is now 1 February 2021, as opposed to 25 January 2021.
Although the beginning of teaching will be delayed, the end of teaching for the 2020/21 session will remain 21 May 2021 with no reduction in teaching time.
The session will consist of a 13-week teaching/assessment period with one week used for non-teaching purposes (e.g. as a Reading, Assessment or Revision week). The timing of this week can be determined at a School level and may be set at a School or Course level, but not within weeks one and two of the term (weeks beginning 25 January 2021 and 1 February 2021) to ensure that all students are actively engaged with the teaching and learning experience at the start of the second half-session.
Other key dates for semester 2020/21
The marking deadline for the second half-session moves back one week to Friday 11 June 2021 – taking into consideration that with an alternative assessment model, teaching and assessment may well be taking place until later in the term and as such a longer window may be required for marking.
Graduation week, whether in-person or virtual, moves back one week to commence on Monday 21 June 2021 – as two weeks minimum are required following receipt of assessment results.
A three-week resit period will begin on Monday 12 July 2021 with results returned by Friday 20 August.
The changes to the structure of the rest of the academic year 2020/21 will not apply to those programmes where exceptions to the standard teaching structure are already approved (namely, MBChB, BDS, BSc Med Sci, Physician Associate and PGDE). Term dates for the Qatar Campus will broadly align with the proposed new structure, with teaching weeks commencing on Sunday rather than Monday.
It is noted that in some Schools, taught postgraduate delivery continues over the spring vacation, both for teaching delivery and fieldwork activity. These arrangements can continue if Schools wish to do so, although the associated term dates will need to be captured and approved by UCTL to ensure there is clarity around the teaching schedule for these programmes.
ACADEMIC YEAR 2021/22
At Senate, a two-week delay to the start of the next academic year was also agreed – with Induction Week commencing on Monday 20 September 2021 and teaching commencing on Monday 27 September 2021.
A later start will allow us greater flexibility to respond to any potential issues surrounding later schedules for SQA Higher and JCQ A Level results and enable us to offer our applicants flexibility in response to any disruption to their examinations or results. The change will also prevent us from being put at a competitive disadvantage to other UK universities in terms of student recruitment.
It is impossible to know what kind of restrictions related to Covid may be in place at this time next year, but making this decision now will enable us to present a clear message to existing and potential new incoming students in a positive way, as well as giving staff a longer lead time in which to prepare.
As always, we wish to thank you sincerely for your ongoing efforts to continue to deliver a first-class education to our students during these unprecedented times.
Best wishes
Ruth and Alan
Professor Ruth Taylor | Professor Alan Speight |
Vice-Principal – Education | Vice-Principal – Student Recruitment |