Current students

The University will 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.

If you are experiencing financial hardship, we are here to help and can be contacted at studentfunding@ed.ac.uk.

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.

As confirmed on 20 March, we exceptionally agreed to allow students 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 applies. 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.

The University of Edinburgh was one of the first universities in the UK to offer a lease break to students.   ​​​​

Accommodation Services will directly contact visiting students recalled by their institutions to confirm their individual circumstances.​​​​​​

If you wish to hand in your notice, please do so by email to the address below, including your name, address and matriculation number, in addition to your intended departure date which can be at any point in the notice period. If you have left but not yet removed your possessions, please arrange for a friend or neighbour to do so and confirm these arrangements in the email providing notice:

accom.allocations@ed.ac.uk

On receipt of this email, an ACE colleague will provide further advice as to the departure processes.

Students who have already handed in keys will be assumed to have triggered the lease break on 23 March 2020. If you have departed without returning your key, please let us know on the email address above.

We will continue to support those students who remain in our accommodation and are happy to discuss any accommodation requirements should you require to stay in Edinburgh beyond your lease end.

Travelling home from your term time address has been clarified as not being essential travel. Therefore you should not attempt to travel home at this time. This is a change from what we had previously understood to be the case, when this type of travel had initially been classed as essential and allowed.

Non-UK students, who already have their travel home booked, should follow the advice of their embassy.

We appreciate that current travel restrictions could mean in 28 days, you are not able to move out. If that is the case, your lease can be extended until these restrictions have been lifted and you are able to leave your accommodation. You will be expected to pay rent until you can move out.

If you find yourself in this position, please email accom.allocations@ed.ac.uk to let them know you won’t be able to leave on the agreed date.

Once you are able to move out, please email accom.allocations@ed.ac.uk again letting them know your new move out date.

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.

• Generally, yes. Teaching is carrying on (although remotely) so assessment of learning should carry on too. So you are still expected to submit any outstanding coursework assignments as normal, in order to ensure Boards of Examiners have as much information as possible to assess your performance.
• In some cases, you may have already demonstrated that you have achieved the learning outcomes for your course – for example, because you have already completed a major course work assignment, or have completed lots of coursework assignments for a particular course. In such cases, your School may decide there is no need for any further assignments for that course this semester. Your School will advise you if that is the case.
• Schools will provide details regarding all outstanding assessments and any changes to deadlines. If you are in any doubt, (and on the principle of “better safe than sorry”) you are strongly advised to continue to work towards completing assessments as they become due.

• Pre-honours undergraduate students (SCQF levels 7 and 8): you will not have exams for pre-Honours (Years 1 and 2) courses. There will be a small number of exceptions to this, where a professional or statutory regulatory body (PSRB) requires students to complete further assessment, or where there has been no (or very little) in-course assessment for the course. You are already aware of particular requirements from your School – if you have any doubt you should contact your School for clarity.
• Honours undergraduate and postgraduate (taught) students (SCQF levels 9, 10 and 11): you will take exams or other summative assessment such as additional coursework assessment or timed take-home (“open-book”) exams offered remotely.
• If your School is setting an alternative form of assessment in lieu of exams, they will let you know the format, deadlines and timescales for this.
• Your final exams this semester (or other forms of final, summative assessment) will not have a detrimental impact on your course marks. This means we will ensure your final academic year average is the same as, or higher than, the average you would have attained through assessment that has already been undertaken, or (as is the case with some continuous assessment) is currently in progress.

Boards of Examiners will give you a mark for your courses based on the in-course assessment (e.g. coursework assignments) you have completed by the end of the semester. In some cases, where the amount of available assessment does not allow the Board of Examiners to give students a secure mark for the course, they will record course outcomes as pass/fail only.

On a small number of courses, where there is no (or very little) in-course assessment, there may need to be some form of additional assessment to determine your course outcome. Your School will let you know if this applies to any of your courses.

• Final year undergraduate students who are required to submit a dissertation should still submit their work, even if due to current circumstances it is not finished or up to the standard they had planned or hoped for. Your School will be in touch to advise you if the deadlines for submission have changed.
• Postgraduate taught students are expected to prepare for the dissertation phase of their studies following the completion of the taught phase. We recognise that for some of you it will be necessary to change the focus of your dissertation to reflect changed circumstances, and your School will be ready to support you with that.

• This refers to a timed, take-home exam offered remotely for which you may use the text or material you have been studying.
• In most cases, take-home, open-book exams will be made available for you to complete within a 48-hour period. You do not need to spend 48 hours working on your answer! An open-book exam paper will typically take approximately the same length of time as the original to complete; the extra time allows all students to complete comfortably, including where they normally receive additional time to complete an exam as a reasonable adjustment. The 48-hour period applies no matter your personal circumstances or which time zone you are in.
• A small number of take-home exams (primarily in quantitative subjects such as Mathematics, Informatics, Physics and Astronomy, and Economics), plus some with strict professional body requirements, will be offered with a shorter time allocation, which will be the time scheduled for the original, in-person exam (usually 2-3 hours), plus one hour to submit your finished work. Your School will advise you of the details where this applies to you.
• Your open book exam answers will be checked by Turnitin software to monitor for plagiarism and collusion.

For take-home exams offered over a 48-hour time period, the amount of time being given is designed to take account of all students’ personal circumstances, including those who would normally be offered extended time in exams. No extensions will therefore be offered to these exams.

For the small number of (primarily quantitative) exams offered on a shorter basis (normally 2-3 hours), with the addition of one hour for students to submit their work, students who are offered extended time as a reasonable adjustment will receive an additional one hour. This means that, where the exam is being offered as a two-hour exam, with an additional hour for submitting your work, you will receive three hours to complete the exam, and an additional hour to submit your work (i.e. a total of 4 hours instead of 3).

Where final exams have been replaced with coursework assignments, students who are able to request extensions to deadlines as a reasonable adjustment will be able to do so for these assessments in the usual way.

Students who normally receive an adjustment preventing them from being penalised in relation to spelling or grammar in their work will have this applied in the normal way.

If you are at all uncertain about what adjustments you will be offered for your remaining assessments, please contact your School.

No. Some students may already be in a position where they are carrying too many failed credits from Semester 1 in order to progress, or may be found to have failed courses taken this semester, which means they are not in a position to progress. Students who are unable to progress may be offered additional assessment during the summer vacation. If this affects you, your School will contact you directly to explain what will happen.

Possibly, yes. Professional or statutory regulatory body (PSRB) requirements for your course(s) may mean that you have to complete a further assessment. Your School has already advised you if this is the case but if you require additional clarification please contact your School directly.

Yes, the general guidance applies to all students. Specifically, Postgraduate (PGT) students will take examinations or other forms of summative assessment.

We are not expecting to offer the normal, centrally-scheduled diet of in-person resit examinations in the summer. There may be instances where a School and the Board of Examiners feel that it is appropriate for a student - even at pre-Honours – to do an additional assessment over the summer period to address concerns around progression and classification. Your School will discuss this with you directly. If you also feel that you have not been able to demonstrate your learning, again your School will discuss this with you directly and potentially be able to arrange some form of assessment. There will not, however, be a defined resit examination period.

• Examination Boards have a great deal of experience in taking account of a range of extenuating circumstances. They will be operating on a ‘help not hinder’ basis in determining course marks for Semester 2 and full-year courses.
• You will not need to submit special circumstances relating to the impact of Covid-19 or the impact of the recent industrial action on your learning as these will be applied automatically by exam boards. You can still submit special circumstances for non-Covid-19 related reasons, however given the current crisis, supporting medical evidence will not be required.  
• In order to allow for extensions to assessment and the staggered submission deadlines and also in order to allow for staff sickness as a result of Covid-19, we may have to adjust the timelines for the release of results. We will confirm this as soon as possible.

No. Boards of Examiners will make every effort to give you a grade for your course if they are able to do so. If Boards can’t do that – for example because too few assessments have been submitted – they will award a pass/fail instead.

We feel very strongly that it is essential that assessment should continue, albeit some of it in an adapted form. This will not ignore the extraordinary circumstances we are in. The University’s approach to any major disruption to its operations is to minimise the impact on students while maintaining academic standards. It is important that you – and others, such as employers - can have confidence in your qualification; we do not think it would be helpful for the class of 2020 to be known as the class that graduated without doing their final exams.

Also, many students were relying on their final exams to improve their course marks, or overall average, and we feel it would be unfair to deny you this opportunity altogether. We will, however, be replacing traditional exams with “open book” exams or alternative assessments, as described above. Boards of Examiners will be provided will information about the nature of the disruption that taken place during the past academic year and will be provided with guidance on how to reflect this disruption when they are considering course and programme results.

You should not submit special circumstances for your final exam or summative assessment based on Covid-19 disruptions (or on disruption caused by the recent industrial action). If you are impacted such that you cannot take the examination or other form of summative assessment, your School will work with available marks on the no-detriment basis set out above.  You can still submit special circumstances for non-Covid-19 related reasons, however given the current crisis, supporting medical evidence will not be required. 

If your in-course assessments from earlier in the Semester have been affected by special circumstances, you should use the special circumstances process to tell your School about these in the usual way. 

We understand that there may be circumstances where you have difficulty completing assessment remotely due to having limited access to a laptop, PC or broadband. The University is making loan laptops and if needed mobile data packages available on application. These are being prioritised initially for final year students (including PGT).

If you are not able to access a loan laptop or do not have any internet access, please advise your School as soon as possible. Schools will consider alternative approaches and will discuss this with you. For example, it may be possible for you to complete assessment by hand and email scans via a mobile phone.

With a move to remote teaching from the 23 March, students are not expected to attend timetabled activities or meetings with supervisors in person.  We will be taking the following approach to engagement and attendance monitoring for the remainder of the semester:

• Undergraduate students should engage with the remote teaching provided by their School.  Results of assessments and exams will be recorded on your student record once marked.
• Postgraduate taught student engagement will be recorded through remote contact with your supervisor and dissertation hand in.
• Postgraduate research student engagement will be recorded through contact with your supervisor, remotely if needed.

Provided you engage with your studies remotely, there will be no impact on your Tier 4 Visa.  We do recognise that not it may not be possible for all students to engage with their studies in this way; therefore if you will not be engaging with your studies remotely, you must inform your school and take an Authorised Interruption of Study. 

The Home Office recognises the current situation is exceptional and has agreed that decisions on whether to withdraw a student from their studies are for sponsors to make.  What this means is that if you will be interrupting your studies for over 60 days due to the Covid-19 outbreak, there may be no impact on your Tier 4 visa at this time. To ensure we are aware of your circumstances, you must email the Student Immigration Service, studentimmigration@ed.ac.uk and provide details of your authorised interruption of study. ​

In most cases, the assessment approach being used (for example the use of 48-hour, take-home exams) will mean that it is not necessary to offer additional time to students who would normally require this as a reasonable adjustment. A very small number of students usually receive the assistance of a scribe when they undertake written exams; where Schools are offering an alternative form of assessment to a student who would usually have the assistance of a scribe, they should contact the Student Disability Service for advice, disability.service@ed.ac.uk.

No. Due to the exceptional pressures that medical services are currently under, this requirement has been waived. You may however still approach others who know you for supporting evidence, for example, members of the Residence Life team, your personal tutor etc.

You do not need to apply for special circumstances relating to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic (or industrial action) on your performance in assessments. Boards of Examiners will be asked to take account of the impact which the current situation will be having on students’ performance in assessment, and will be made aware of any changes which have been made to assessments for courses due to the pandemic.

This guidance will be updated shortly, please bear with us.

• Schools are making arrangements to ensure that you can be assessed based on whatever experiments, studio projects etc. you have completed prior to the move to remote teaching. Where laboratory- or studio-based projects have not yet begun (e.g. for PGT students) Schools will put in place alternative, desk-based projects in order to assess students.
• Where field trips have been cancelled, Schools will be amending learning outcomes for those courses (if needed) in order to ensure that students are not disadvantaged.
• We are working on alternative approaches to assessing students for practice-based courses and programmes, including finding ways to allow students on these courses such as Art, Architecture etc. to showcase their work.

Most field trip and placement activity that has been cancelled will be assessed in an alternative way this academic year, via a method that requires desk-based research only – you will not be required to be on-site to undertake the learning/ assessment.

The only exceptions to this will be in situations where your programme is accredited by a Professional Statutory or Regulatory Body (PSRB) and the learning outcomes cannot be replaced because they are required for PSRB accreditation – for example, clinical hours. Where this is the case, your School will keep you up to date as to the arrangements for allowing you to obtain the necessary experience and learning outcomes.

If your placement or field trip is due to take place before 31 July 2020, then no – unfortunately, you cannot participate in it. We have taken this decision based on the latest guidance available regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, with the health and safety of our students first and foremost in mind.

If your placement or field trip is due to take place after 1st August 2020, then your School will be actively reviewing it and a decision will be taken nearer to this date to assess whether it is viable, on the basis of any updated Government information available at the time. You should not book any travel or accommodation for your trip without the prior approval of your School. Please note that your School may have to take a decision to cancel trips after 1st August as this situation develops, and you will be advised as soon as possible if this is the case.

This depends on your professional body or clinical provider. Your School or Deanery will issue information directly about your clinical placement.

The University of Edinburgh is now formally advising all students currently on study/work placements abroad to return to their permanent residence if they are able to do so, and if they have a safe place to return to.  This is based on the exceptional travel advisory notices issued by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) on 23 March 2020, urging all British citizens currently abroad to return to the UK now, if commercial flights are still available. We are aware that similar guidance has been issued to citizens of other countries.

However, we understand that not all students are in a situation where it would be safe to travel, due to restrictions, concerns about exposing themselves to risks by travelling through busy airports, family circumstances etc. For those who feel that it is safer to remain in your host country, we will continue to support you as best we can in-country for the duration of your period abroad. You will need to make sure that you have a safe and comfortable place to stay and be mindful that you may need to stay longer than initially planned, if travel restrictions or lack of travel options prevent you from returning home at the end of your exchange. Please also make sure you keep monitoring the FCO travel advice for your host country, and continue to follow the relevant health and safety advice.

Please make sure you let the Study and Work Away team (SWAY) know if you intend to make any changes to your placement, for example, returning to your home country to complete your placement remotely. You will have received emails from SWAY with a link to the relevant survey asking you to provide us with information about your circumstances. If you have any other questions relating to your placement, please contact Europe.outgoing@ed.ac.uk (for European placements) or international.outgoing@ed.ac.uk (for international placements).

Please refer to the insurance FAQs for details about what the University of Edinburgh’s travel insurance would cover.

If you are experiencing financial hardship and would be unable to cover the initial cost of returning home, please contact studentfunding@ed.ac.uk, who will be able to advise on the support available.

As outlined above, if you are unable to travel to your normal place of residence and/or feel that it is safer to remain in your host country than to travel, we will continue to support you as best we can in-country for the duration of your period abroad.

You will need to make sure that you have a safe and comfortable place to stay and be mindful that you may need to stay longer than initially planned, if travel restrictions or lack of travel options prevent you from returning home at the end of your exchange. Please also make sure you continue to follow the relevant health and safety advice, and contact the Study and Work Away service (SWAY) if you require further support.

Many students will be able to complete their academic requirements remotely (e.g. through virtual classes/remote exams or remote working options provided by your host organisation). You should check the remote options offered by your host, and if they have arrangements in place for you to complete your placement remotely then we would encourage you to make use of them, to ensure you achieve the learning outcomes set out in your learning/training agreement, and the associated credits.

As outlined above, many students who return home will be able to complete their academic requirements remotely (e.g. through virtual classes/remote exams or remote working options provided by your host). If this is the case, you should continue with your placement remotely, which should enable you to gain credits and progress as normal. If continuing remotely isn’t an option for you, please see the section below.

Yes. If you are unable to continue with your placement remotely because your host institution is not offering online resources to enable you to complete your assessments remotely, then the University of Edinburgh will put in place alternative arrangements for you so that you will not be academically disadvantaged by returning home.

A large number of partner institutions have now temporarily closed/suspended teaching and are instead offering remote courses/assessments/working options. Please make sure you keep up to date with the services provided by your host, and are able to access any online resources provided, whilst you are unable to attend in-person.

As mentioned above, if you are unable to leave your host country we will continue to support you as best we can in-country for the duration of your period abroad.

If you need to remain in your host country but your host institution is not offering online resources to enable you to complete your assessments off-campus whilst it is closed, then the University of Edinburgh will put in place alternative arrangements for you so that you will not be academically disadvantaged by returning home.

If you are able to leave your host country but cannot enter your normal country of residence due to travel restrictions, please contact Accom.Reslife@ed.ac.uk to arrange emergency accommodation in Edinburgh.

If you are unable to leave your host country due to travel restrictions, then our current focus would be on supporting you to remain safely in-country until you are able to book a flight out. If you are in this situation, you should keep monitoring the FCO travel advice, follow any advice from the local authorities, and contact the SWAY team on international.outgoing@ed.ac.uk or Europe.outgoing@ed.ac.uk (depending on your destination) if you require further support.

Yes. All students who are able to complete their mobility, either remotely or in-person, will be entitled to receive their full Erasmus+ grant, regardless of whether you have returned home or are staying in your host country.

This means that if you have returned home and are continuing your exchange remotely through the online material provided by your host university, you will be eligible for your full Erasmus+ grant. The SWAY team will be in touch with students in this situation to let you know what documentation will be required to enable us to pay out second instalment grant payments (that are normally processed following completion of the mobility).

If you have returned home and are not able to continue with your studies remotely then, as per Erasmus+ regulations, you will only be able to retain funding covering the actual period of time spent abroad. This amount could be lower than the amount you received in your first instalment, meaning that you may have to return part of your funding. However, if you have incurred additional costs strictly related to your mobility (such as e.g. travel and/or in-country accommodation expenses) you may be eligible for extra funding, up to a maximum of your total original grant amount. Please make sure you keep any relevant receipts. The SWAY team will contact you to let you know what the next steps are you need to take.

If you have remained in your host country whilst studying/working remotely, you will be eligible to receive your Erasmus+ grant as you would under normal circumstances.

If you feel unwell and think that you may have the symptoms of coronavirus (Covid-19), you should follow the latest advice from the NHS. PGRs should also inform their supervisor, and check here for further information.

No. In line with the UK Government’s latest advice about coronavirus (Covid-19), the University has closed all of our non-essential sites until further notice. This includes all teaching and research buildings both on campus and in associated clinical sites and the Library - although electronic library resources will still be accessible.

No. PGRs should continue working on their research remotely, if at all possible, until further notice. Please follow guidance issued by Information Services on supporting you to work remotely. Discuss with your supervisor tasks that can be reasonably completed whilst remote working. If your main supervisor is unavailable, please liaise with your supervisory team, contact your School’s postgraduate office, or look at the online training skills offered by IAD. You can also view the Research Data Management Policy for advice.

PGRs should work from home wherever possible. If you are unable to continue working, you should discuss an interruption or extension request with your supervisor, depending on the length of time you are impacted. Keeping a log of any lost time is strongly advised whether that be due for example, to lack of access to appropriate resource, a period of illness, a need to attend to caring responsibilities, or a return to clinical duties.

Please follow guidance for Remote Desktops issued by Information Services.

If your research is significantly affected, then please use extension or interruption as the means for managing impacts on progression (temporary suspension of studies may affect stipends). We will offer an unfunded interruption or extension, as appropriate, to all affected PhD, MPhil and MScR students to match the duration of closure of the University. This does not mean you must use this facility, but it is there in case you need it.

Please request extensions/interruptions through your College PGR committee. For those with Tier 4 visas, you should be able to interrupt for longer than 60 days in the current circumstances without the withdrawal of your CAS, however please check your situation first with the University’s Student Immigration Service.

An extension may have implications for your funding. With other universities, we are encouraging research funders to extend studentships to enable degrees and projects to complete where home working causes delays. UKRI now offers some support for extensions. For those of you on multi-university CDTs we need to agree a common process with partner universities. Work to achieve this is underway.

The University of Edinburgh will waive continuation and matriculation fees while the University is shut for those that require this. For those of you affected by the disruption, we will develop needs-based and equitable criteria to determine appropriately targeted underwriting of your stipend for up to the duration of the Covid-19 shut down. Specifically, we will either:

1. Negotiate with funders to provide additional stipends for students interrupting/extending during this Covid-19​​​​​ closure period.
2. On a needs-basis, pay for extension of stipends which are required in the next few weeks for students with end dates during the disrupted period.
3. Offer access to mitigation funds, on a case-by-case basis, to self-funded and school-funded students.

Yes. All PGRs are required to submit their thesis electronically but the University will not require submission of either the softbound copy of the thesis for examination, or the final hard bound thesis during this period of remote working (in both cases electronic copies should be submitted).

Now that the University has moved to a position of remote working and until further notice, all vivas should either be conducted remotely or postponed to a later date. If vivas go ahead remotely, internal examiners should record that all participants are happy to proceed remotely. Given the current circumstances, please use the technology that most suits the participants of the viva (eg: Zoom, Skype). If you have any questions about the examinations process please contact your local PGR support team.

Yes, the University’s support services (e.g. the Big White Wall; free online mental health and wellbeing support 24/7) are also available to all PGRs. For this and other support see the student support webpages.

We recognise that during this uncertain time remote working is not easy. It is important to keep in regular contact with your supervisor or supervisory team. In addition, many Schools or research groups have set up social networks to help with keeping in touch.

Here are some excellent ideas how to manage working from home and stay well.

• If you can, set up a dedicated workspace in your flat, it will help to differentiate between 'research' and 'off' time and create a boundary between relaxed, social space and workspace. There is some useful guidance from NHS England about how to sit at your desk correctly - try adapting this to your at-home set up.
• Maintain a routine, this will look different depending on your circumstances, but can include things like getting up and ready as you usually would, taking a morning and afternoon walk, and taking regular breaks away from your workspace and screen.
• If you have caring responsibilities, speak to your supervisor about how to manage your research work around these. It is likely that this will be a changing situation and will require ongoing discussion.
• Try to define the hours you will be working on your research and resist the temptation to check-in outside of these hours.
• Even if you are isolating with symptoms, light exercise is recommended. 
• The IAD (Institute for Academic Development) at the University has begun offering advice for researchers which may be helpful to you. They will also send out IAD newsletters w/c 30 March 2020 for PGRs and research staff, and are starting PGR virtual coffee breaks on 1 April. 
• Students are also directed to “The Wellbeing Thesis” for support.

If you are a PGR on fieldwork or placement overseas, please refer to travel advice on the Gov UK website for foreign travel. PGRs should discuss this with your supervisor and they can advise further.

No, all future-dated fieldwork and placement activity should be postponed until further notice. If you have any questions please contact your supervisor or local support team but you must follow government advice regarding travel and social distancing.

Provided that your supervisor is in good health and therefore working remotely, contact should be maintained during this period. If not, PGRs should liaise with other members of their supervisory team. All progression and supervisory meetings should be conducted remotely.

Please contact your supervisor / supervisory team / School PGR support team for advice. Further information can also be found on the Student Disability Service webpages. You should follow the most recent NHS advice at all times.

Data collection which does not require direct personal contact can continue during this period, such as via Skype, telephone or electronic surveys/questionnaires. Where possible, projects should be adjusted to be conducted remotely.

Research will only be permitted to continue face-to-face if there is an exceptional reason such as clinical need or a significant ethical rationale for non-immediate cessation. Any continuation of face-to-face research will require University approval. Taking clinical samples that are (or potentially are) positive for Covid-19 requires handling in labs of the appropriate category and should not be done without clearance from senior staff and thorough risk assessment.

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. 

Once you have completed all your assessments and exams, and these have been marked, the Board of Examiners will be able to meet and confer your degree. 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.  We are currently working to confirm a schedule of when Boards of Examiners will meet. 

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 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 will be closed from Monday 23rd March at 5pm, except for Counselling appointments due on Tuesday 24th March which will continue as planned.

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 those of you who have appointments with Student Counselling later that week, they will be in touch with you directly. 

We are looking into alternative provision of safe study spaces for those that need it, and will update you on this as soon as we can. 

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

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

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 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

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.

Visit the Careers Service website for more information

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