Current students

The University is pleased to announce financial support for students who are experiencing financial difficulties as a result of Covid-19. This represents hardship funding we receive from the government and University funds. The funds can be used to cover any exceptional costs you may have incurred in relation to accommodation, subsistence, and travel. The financial support is available to matriculated UG, PGT, PGR students across fee statuses. Exceptionally, we will also make these funds available to those who graduate this summer and so you may apply at any time between now and 31 July 2020. 

Visit the student funding pages to download the form and for further details. All forms and inquiries should be submitted to studentfunding@ed.ac.uk. The Scholarship and Student Funding team supported by other colleagues aim to process applications within 20 working days and will keep the webpages updated if the processing time extends. 

The University will however not be offering compensation for tuition fees due to the outbreak of Coronavirus (Covid-19) as teaching for all taught students – undergraduate and postgraduate – is continuing, from 23 March 2020. It is, however, being delivered remotely from 23 March, with alternative assessments and online exams being introduced. 

If you are unhappy, you can of course make a complaint at any time under the University’s Complaint Handling Procedure (CHP) – you can find more details about this online. The CHP does not cover complaints which are requests for compensation only. 

The University of Edinburgh is very sorry that the Covid-19 outbreak is interrupting your stay. Please ensure that you follow these steps:

• You should return home if instructed to do so by your home institution.   
• We will be in close discussion with your home institution about your academic progress and the nature of the academic assessment that will be conducted. Please continue to use the online materials available for your programme.
• The Visiting Student Office is your first point of contact for CAHSS students if you have difficulties. Students in the other Colleges should contact their school teaching offices.

Many of you will be used to accessing support and information about your degree from staff within your School or Deanery. The University is still providing support and information to all students and is making plans to ensure that in the event of significant staff absence over the coming weeks and months we are still able to provide you with appropriate and timely advice and guidance. We are also putting into place plans to ensure our teams are able to administer and process your assessments and marks with as little delay as possible.

Please continue to contact the staff in your school by email as you otherwise would have done. Many schools will have dedicated Student Support team mailboxes in case the member of staff you might usually speak with is unable to respond.

As many of you will no longer be at your term-time address, we are keen to have as accurate a record of possible as to where you are currently residing. Please can you ensure your contact and emergency contact details are up to date at the Student Self Service Channel.

To further support  students and staff during this period of remote and homeworking, Information Services (IS) have restructured their homepage to signpost the latest IS-related information and advice. This includes guidance on homeworking, online resources, network and service updates and FAQs.

The usual IS alerts website and Twitter feed will continue to publish known service issues. The IS Helpline will continue to provide support remotely. Please use the online contact form or email as your first point of call.

Feeling overwhelmed or anxious by the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak is understandable. We appreciate that you may have concerns about how this will impact you or your family and friends.

Ways to Manage Fears & Anxieties:

• Keep connected. Maintaining social networks, even online, can help maintain a sense of normality, and provide valuable outlets for sharing feelings and relieving stress.
• Be mindful of assumptions about others. Someone who has a cough or a fever does not necessarily have coronavirus.  Self-awareness is important in not stigmatizing others in our community.
• Stay healthy. Continue to practise good hygiene measures:
  • Avoid direct hand contact with your eyes, nose and mouth.
  • Wash hands with soap and water or alcohol hand sanitiser, after coughing or sneezing, after going to the toilet, and prior to eating and drinking.
  • When coughing or sneezing, cover your nose and mouth with disposable tissues and disposing of them in nearest waste bin after use.
  • Avoid contact with others who are sick and stay home while sick.

Read Young Minds’ blog on managing anxiety during the Coronavirus outbreak: What to do if you’re anxious about Coronavirus.

Read the Government's guidance on how to look after your mental health and wellbeing during the Covid-19 outbreak.

If you would like further support, a number of resources are available to you:

• you can speak to the student support team in your School
• The Chaplaincy’s Listening Service will continue remotely throughout the Covid-19 closure period. If you would like an appointment with the Listening Service, please email: chaplain@ed.ac.uk
• The University Chaplaincy is also creating blogs to help us through Covid-19 lockdowns and meltdowns, and to raise our spirits
• the Residence Life team (if you are staying in University accommodation)
• the Students’ Association Advice Place is also running their service remotely and can be contacted via phone or email during their usual opening hours
• Student Counselling Service have lots of advice online about managing stress and anxiety
• The Student's Association have some dedicated Covid-19 webpages that cover taking care of your mental health during this challenging period and ways to volunteer in the local community

Information (in Chinese) on the services available to students can be found on these leaflets:

Student Services Guide Simplified Chinese

Student Services Guide Traditional Chinese

Self-help and online resources:

• Big White Wall
• Feeling Good App
• SilverCloud

The Advice Place has now also moved to a fully remote service, the officers at Potterrow and Kings Buildings House are closed until further notice. They will be available to provide advice over the phone and via email within their usual opening hours.

Phone: 0131 650 9225

Email: advice@eusa.ed.ac.uk

The Advice Place website

In line with the latest University and Government guidelines, the Student Counselling Service is now delivering remote support by telephone during the Coronavirus pandemic. 

Please visit the Student Counselling Service website for further information.

The Student Disability Service will now be supporting students over the phone or online. If you have an appointment scheduled, staff will be in touch to make arrangements for your scheduled appointment. If your appointment cannot be conducted via one of these alternative methods, it may be postponed until they are able to offer in-person appointments again.

For those receiving mentoring or tutoring support, your mentor or tutor will also contact you to arrange an alternative method of holding your sessions.

If you want to get in touch or have any questions email disability.service@ed.ac.uk

The Student Disability Service website

The Careers Service has transitioned to online delivery with all staff working remotely. They will continue to work with students, graduates, recruiters and organisations to support employment and employability.

New job vacancies including part-time jobs are regularly added to MyCareerHub. Please visit the Careers Service website for more information and read their weekly blog.

As a result of the UK and Scottish Government’s latest advice on social distancing, we are taking immediate steps to ensure that the health and safety of our students and frontline staff is protected as much as possible.

The Main Library in George Square is currently closed. We are extending loan periods during the closure and no fines will be accrued during this time. All loans – including standard loans, short loans and reserve – are renewed until 22nd June, after which we will review the situation.

For more information about Library services and support for students visit the Library Updates page.

Following the recent government and public health guidance surrounding the measures being put in place to contain the spread of Covid-19 and closure of pubs and restaurants, all cafes across the University are now closed. Catered Halls in Pollock Halls remains open with enhanced social distancing measures in place with ongoing operational review based on Government advice.

As confirmed on 20 March, we exceptionally agreed to allow students a short window of time in which to request an early release from their fixed term leases; as the University responded to Covid-19 with a transition from on-campus to remote teaching.  

A 28-day notice period applied to that lease break. Rent for that period is payable whether you are in residence during that time or not. This mirrors the tenancy conditions in private rented accommodation more generally. The University will not offer refunds for the notice period.

If you have not yet removed your possessions, please be aware that you must not return to University accommodation to collect your belongings, since this is deemed to be “non-essential” travel. Once travel restrictions are relaxed, we will contact you to provide suitable arrangements for you to collect your belongings.

If you departed without returning your key, please let us know by emailing accom.property@ed.ac.uk and post your keys to:

Accommodation, Catering and Events

Property Team

Pollock Halls

18 Holyrood Park Road

Edinburgh

EH16 5AY

Students staying in University accommodation with a lease ending soon

If your University-owned accommodation lease is ending soon, please be assured that you are welcome to remain in your accommodation until the lockdown restrictions are relaxed and travel guidance is updated. You will not be charged for this extended period, and the extension will happen automatically – so you do not need to do anything.

Our Residence Life and Community Support teams will continue to support you over this period.

You should start to make plans for how you will return home when travel restrictions are eased. At this point, we will contact you again with further support and guidance to help you make arrangements to move out of your University accommodation safely.

Government advice makes it clear that you should not travel home or elsewhere while the lockdown and travel restrictions are in place, since this is not deemed to be “essential” travel. You are therefore advised to stay in your accommodation until further Government guidance is issued.

We are asking all students in University of Edinburgh accommodation to give 28 days’ notice, even if they have already left.

Accommodation, Catering and Events will shortly be in touch with any exchange students who have been recalled by the home institutions.

We worked with the Students' Association to agree on these terms to ensure a fair outcome for all parties involved. Our current leases don’t have a lease break clause, so we felt the most consistent option would be for residents to provide 28 days’ notice of their intention to end their lease, the same as they would with a private landlord.

Government advice on travel also applies to those in private rented accommodation. In the event of difficulties or if you feel pressured to act against the lock down advice, please contact The Advice Place for assistance.

Cancelling a lease with a private landlord or letting agent

If you have entered into a lease (also known as a Private Rented Tenancy) after December 2017, you can terminate your agreement at any point by providing your landlord at least 28 days' notice in writing. 

Advice on housing issues is available from The Advice Place and more information on Private Rented Tenancies can be found at  https://www.gov.scot/publications/private-residential-tenancies-tenants-guide/

What will happen to my deposit if I give notice on my lease?

In Scotland, all deposits paid in relation to accommodation are covered by the Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Regulations 2011.  Landlords and letting agents who receive deposits in Scotland are required to register with their local authority and join a tenancy deposit scheme.  Your deposit acts as a guarantee against damage to the property, cleaning bills if the property is left in poor condition, unpaid bills, including rent. If there are no such issues at the end of your tenancy, you should expect your deposit to be returned to you.  

The Advice Place can provide advice on this issue and more information on the Tenancy Deposit Scheme can be found at https://www.mygov.scot/tenancy-deposits-tenants/

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) have released guidance for those affected by the Covid-19 outbreak. Please visit the Student Immigration Service FAQs for full details.

We regret that graduation ceremonies in Summer 2020 will not be running. We currently expect that degree certificates for students entitled to graduate this summer will be printed and mailed by the end of July 2020, with graduates being offered a series of options:

• to defer to an in-person ceremony in Winter 2020 or Summer 2021
• to attend a virtual graduation
• to receive their certificate and not attend a ceremony

If you have any immediate concerns, please contact infopoint@ed.ac.uk. 

If you are completing your studies this summer, your final award and degree classification will be available on Tuesday 7th July. Once your degree has been conferred, you will be able to view the final result through your Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) or academic statement, both of which can be accessed through MyEd.