Email to students 18 February 2022

Subject: Update on strike action

Dear students,

We are coming to the end of week one of the current periods of Industrial Action. Over the next couple of weeks action is set to continue as follows:

• Week 2: Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 February 2022 (two days)

• Week 3: Monday 28 February, Tuesday 1 March and Wednesday 2 March (three days)

• Alongside this the action short of a strike will continue and will finish no later than 3 May 2022 (action short of a strike is staff working their contracted hours and duties and not volunteering to do more.)

Listening to feedback from students so far, through our Student Unions and class reps, I wanted to reassure you on a couple of things.

• It is very important that you engage with your scheduled teaching, labs, assessments and other learning activities, unless you have been told otherwise by your department.

• Departments will review what teaching does not take place and will make arrangements to mitigate the impact on students wherever possible.

• Mitigations might include rescheduling teaching, providing complementary teaching, supporting learning in other ways and making adjustments to assessment.

• Adjustments to assessments means you will not be assessed on anything that has been missed because of the industrial action.

• Any dissertation supervision sessions missed should be rescheduled during non-strike days with your supervisor at the earliest opportunity.

• All student support services, including the library, catering, accommodation, wellbeing support and sports facilities will operate as usual.

Maintaining students' studies is at the heart of our planning for the period of industrial action. The Industrial Action Contingency Group is meeting daily and we are working closely with academic departments to monitor the situation to plan and make adjustments to minimise the impact on your studies and university experience.

Please keep referring to the website including a Frequently Asked Questions page which is regularly updated and covers lots more information and guidance.

Best wishes,

Tracy

Tracy Lightfoot, PVC for Teaching, Learning and Students