We hope you are keeping well.

We’re writing to share with you important information about the next academic year at Goldsmiths, as we look to welcome you to the College to begin your studies with us.

As you will hopefully understand, Covid-19 (Coronavirus) presents Goldsmiths with a number of challenges. This email explains our approach to these issues, answers some of the key questions you may have about studying with us and sets out the principles we will follow in keeping students and staff safe next year while remaining committed to the highest quality of teaching and learning experiences for you.

The three main points are:

• Term will start on 5 October 2020 with online induction from 28 September 2020
• Learning will be through a mix of in-person and online teaching
• We will take every step to keep our community safe

We hope that the information in this email helps you to plan for next year with us – and we will be in touch with more updates over the coming weeks and months as our preparations for the autumn continue.

START OF TERM

We're pleased to confirm term will start on 5 October 2020, with online induction activities from 28 September 2020. We are working on new approaches to make the start of term as exciting, welcoming and inclusive as possible, as well as looking ahead at how we connect with our community throughout the academic year.

For non-standard programmes such as PGCE (QTS), programme enrolment may take place earlier. The date for this will be communicated by the Department directly.

CAMPUS LIFE

The safety of our community is paramount. We’re planning for our single-site campus to be open, including accommodation, with a focus on how we can keep everyone as safe as possible. We’ll need your help and support to make this possible and everyone will have a role to play in securing our community’s health and wellbeing. Teams at Goldsmiths are working together developing tools, resources and operating arrangements so we can all stay safe, well and look after each other. This will mean working together using social distancing and other public health measures, deep cleaning, hand sanitisation and practical steps to navigate around campus with safety in mind. We fully recognise the disproportionate impact Covid-19 continues to have on BME communities and our planning includes specific measures to support BME students, colleagues and visitors.

HOW LEARNING WILL BE DELIVERED

We will deliver a mixture of in-person and online learning in the autumn term, and will confirm with you the exact details of these arrangements as soon as we can. Due to the wide range of subjects offered at Goldsmiths there are likely to be differences in how courses are taught and we will share relevant information with you over the coming months.  We can assure you all learning will meet our high standards delivered by the expert academics at Goldsmiths.

We are committed to offering you the best possible support while remaining flexible in order to respond to the ongoing situation around Covid-19. Personal situations for our students may mean that they can’t attend classes, visit workshops or practice spaces. We know the current situation presents many challenges, and our academic departments are developing alternative support, provision and ways of learning to ensure that you do not miss out whatever your circumstances.

INFORMATION FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

We recognise international students may face specific challenges as a result of Covid-19 and we have a team, the Immigration Advisory Service, able to support you with help in applying for visas and any other questions you may have.

OUR APPROACH TO PLANNING FOR NEXT YEAR

Goldsmiths will be open for learning this autumn. Our twin priorities are keeping you safe and delivering a great learning experience while you are with us. Our decisions will be informed by both UK and global official guidelines and requirements as they are updated in response to the evolving situation with Covid-19. We will make sure the student experience is the best it can be in the circumstances, is available to all our students, and we will ensure the quality of our teaching is maintained.

In summary, we are committed to ensuring our re-opening plans:

• have maximum resilience. This means that they will be suitable for whatever phase of social distancing/lockdown we find ourselves in at the start of the academic year and as the year moves on. This resilience will enable us to adapt to last-minute changes as quickly and effectively as possible. This will ensure we can support our students to the best of our abilities whatever changes occur next year;
• prioritise the quality and standards of the education that we provide, ensuring a focus on delivery of education that is of our usual high quality. This means that any temporary adaptations to the curriculum we deliver and the way in which we deliver these will have been subject to careful scrutiny through our usual internal and external standards. This will ensure that you know that you are receiving the same quality and standard of education even where it differs from how we would previously have been providing your learning and teaching;
• put parity for students at their heart. This means that whatever social distancing/lockdown situation a student finds themselves in they should be able to access our education in some form, whether online, in person or a combination;
• ensure that the health and safety of staff, students and visitors is paramount.