Academic staff are currently working on the revised programme of study for students commencing their degrees in 2020, to ensure that you will be taught safely, and that we can minimise risks to staff and other students.

Effective learning both in-person and online

Our starting point has been to identify what activity needs to be available through in-person teaching and engagement on site. Within your full timetable of learning activities, you will typically receive 4 hours a week of in-person learning. This will mainly take the form of small group tutorials and seminars, peer-to-peer learning and group discussions. Where relevant, in-person time will also be spent on lab work.

In addition to this, there will be live interactive sessions using Microsoft Teams and other online platforms as well as independent study. We are not planning to provide in-person large group teaching and lectures, instead utilising alternative tools for this to be delivered online, so that you can access this when it fits best with your schedule.

The University already has a number of courses that run entirely online, and teaching and assessment had to adapt during lockdown, so the way we intend to provide your course next year is building upon existing expertise and feedback from current students on what worked well in the period from March to July 2020.

Flexibility for those who need it

For students who are unable to travel to Bath for the start of the semester or are unable to attend due to reasons related to Covid-19, we will be timetabling interactive sessions that you can engage with online in place of the in-person teaching and engagement we will be offering on-campus.

Arrangements for undergraduate students

The University will continue to update you over the coming weeks as the proposals are developed further, and by the end of the first week in August we will notify you of any material and significant changes to the content or structure of the course that you are holding an offer for.

In her latest blog, Sasha, one of our undergraduate students, talks about her experience of online learning since lockdown.

Arrangements for postgraduate students

The University will continue to update you over the coming weeks as the proposals are developed further, and we will notify you of any material and significant changes to the content or structure of your course in mid-August.

Room arrangements for teaching

The University has plans for all in-person teaching to occur within the normal weekday timetable.

To ensure we can respond to the widest range of scenarios, we have ensured that all timetabled teaching spaces can operate at 2 metres for social distancing purposes all year long.

We will always be mindful of the regulations of the day in accordance with the priority we place on the health and wellbeing of our students and staff.

If we are able to relax measures on social distancing, we will be able to offer a slightly greater flexibility in our use of learning space where this is beneficial to a particular activity.

If there is a need to revert to a period of further lockdown, we will follow Government and public health advice and update students accordingly.

If social distancing measures are relaxed to the extent that teaching can operate on a business as usual basis, there will be much greater opportunity for using space that will make maximum use of the increased flexibility.

To retain flexibility in our planning for different scenarios, all large lectures will be conducted online for the entire academic year.

Skills support for undergraduates

We understand how important the transition to university is, especially this year. To support you in your studies, our Skills Centre offers a wide range of development opportunities to improve your academic, English and foreign language, maths and statistics skills.

We have been thinking carefully about what support you’ll need to succeed in your studies during this next academic year. We especially recognise the increasing importance of digital skills and you will have access to a range of resources to help you get the best out of your studies and support your future employment.

Once you have joined the University, you can book tutorials, appointments, workshops, courses and access online resources through our MySkills Hub.

Find out more about our support and follow us on Twitter at @BathSkills.

Skills support for postgraduates

We understand how important your next steps are, particularly the transition from undergraduate to postgraduate studies, especially this year. To support you with this transition, our Skills Centre is pleased to offer a special online programme during August and September, providing you with the opportunity to:

better understand the study options available to you together with advice on financing further study
help you develop the key academic skills you need to succeed at postgraduate level
help you think about what you want from your course and develop your skills for future employment
find out more about life at Bath as a postgraduate student

Once you have joined the University, you can access a wide range of academic and employability skills development opportunities including tutorials, appointments, workshops, courses and access online resources through our MySkills and MyFuture Hubs.

Find out more about our support and follow us on Twitter at @BathSkills.

Learning and teaching from September 2020

Understand the changes we've made to learning and teaching in light of Covid-19 for undergraduate and postgraduate students during the 2020/21 academic year.