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We are looking forward to welcoming our new students to St George’s, University of London in the coming months.

Whether you have already accepted your offer or are still thinking about where you want to study, this message sets our current plans for the start of term.

We have listened to the experiences and views of our students and teachers to create a balanced learning approach that is richly interactive and combines regular weekly teaching on campus with online teaching and learning.

We are pleased to say that for the majority of undergraduate and postgraduate courses, all skills based/practical teaching and most small group teaching will be delivered onsite in our specialist facilities. Where there are clinical placements as part of a course, we expect them to go ahead as usual. 

For most courses, the majority of lectures will be online (either live (synchronous) or pre-recorded (asynchronous) for self-paced study), complemented with interactive sessions. This approach acknowledges the likely need for some social distancing (at least in the first term), which reduces the capacity of our lecture theatres, but also reflects the preferences of our students, who told us that they valued the opportunity to balance days on campus with days learning online at home.   

Finally, I want to reassure you that our campus is Covid-secure and compliant with all government guidelines and the safety of our staff and students is the top priority.

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Admissions and enrolment

Our admissions and enrolment process will run as normal, and you will receive information about our enrolment and induction programme soon.

Our Student Services team have worked hard to ensure you have early access to all the information you need before you join and, where possible, have opportunities to meet your peers face-to-face onsite. 

Course start dates

All courses will start on the normal dates, and at this stage we expect them to be delivered within the normal timescale.

We don’t expect you to incur any extra costs over and above the usual costs as advertised for your course. 

Course content

Since last term, course teams have been hard at work adapting the way we deliver our courses to minimise any disruption to your continued studies.

I am pleased to say that we will not be making any significant changes to the content of your course as a result of Covid-19 restrictions, the course structure and content remain as planned.

For courses where you can choose a specialism or pathway later on, all those remain available. We expect this to be the case even if government advice on social distancing changes.

Course delivery

For your first term, we are adopting a blended model for teaching and learning that combines online learning with practical, skills-based sessions on campus.

There will be some variations in how each course is expected to run and you should visit your chosen course on our website for specific information about your course.

The online teaching you receive will take a social-learning approach that combines lectures, interactive sessions, self-paced study and small-group teaching, to keep your experience varied and dynamic.  

Practical elements of courses that are delivered on campus will run as planned, with appropriate social distancing measures. If government advice changes, we will try to delay these to a later term (or year) to make sure everyone gets the practical experience they need to progress. 

The face-to-face teaching we are able to do will take place on campus as usual. We have already implemented a range of measures based on government guidance to help with social distancing on campus. Such as, one-way systems and distance markers, and infection control measures, including enhanced cleaning. Where needed, personal protective equipment (PPE) will be provided for you. 

On clinical programmes, providers will continue to offer placements as they have in the previous years. 

To get the most from your studies, you will need your personal computer or laptop (Windows 10 or Mac OS) and an internet connection in your home. Read more about student laptop requirements.

Students with pre-existing illnesses or disabilities

If you're a student with a pre-existing illness or disability, please contact our university Disability Advisor to undertake an assessment.

If you suffer from a serious illness which may increase your level of risk we recommend that you complete this personal risk assessment.

St George’s is committed to supporting our students and will explore all reasonable adjustments to support you to thrive on your course.   

Attendance at site

For the majority of our courses we will delivering a proportion face-to-face, hands-on teaching on campus in line with social distancing guidelines which you are required to attend.

If you will be unable to attend teaching on site due to a health reason, you must let us know by the start of the academic year so we can consider alternative arrangements to ensure you progress through the course.

Mitigating Circumstances can still be submitted for unforeseen illnesses; however, being unable to attend the site due to being at heightened risk from a pre-existing illness or disability will not be accepted as grounds for Mitigating Circumstances.

Please discuss this with Student Services or your course team as part of the enrolment process and complete a personal risk assessment so that all reasonable adjustment can be made.   

Placements

You will be required to undertake a personal risk assessment before you can attend any placement (or undertake certain other activities, such as those including the practice of clinical skills or requiring the use of PPE) that is part of your course.

Where a health concern arises, every effort will be made to identify alternative placements arrangements, but your health and safety will be the first priority, and where alternative arrangements are not possible, there may be implications for your studies.

If you are clinically vulnerable, we strongly encourage you to contact your course team now to undertake a personal risk assessment. 

The changes that we are making are the consequence of current public health advice, and our capacity to offer alternatives is limited by that advice. You will be required to consent to these changes as part of your enrolment. If you wish to avoid these changes (e.g. by deferring your offer to 2022) please discuss this directly with Admissions in the first instance. We remain, as always, focused on the best experience and outcomes for our students. 

If you have any questions about your application, please contact admissions@sgul.ac.uk. Otherwise, we look forward to welcoming you to St George’s soon.  

View the list of any changes to your programme that are being made as a result of Covid-19 on your individual course webpage under the tab ‘Covid-19 update’. 

The Dissection Room

Unrelated to Covid-19, in recent months, a failure in the ventilation system within the Dissection Room has meant a closure of the facility to allow for thorough investigation. The work to fix this is due to begin imminently; however, it will extend into and beyond the summer period, following which we must carry out a number of tests to ensure the Dissection Room is safe for use.

Our onsite Dissection Room is a key part of the world class facilities that are unique to St George’s, University of London. As such, it is with the sincerest regret that we have no option but to deliver anatomy teaching online from September - December 2021.

Ahead of the autumn term, we will be developing our online resources, which include videos, the Anatomy Learning Resource (on Canvas and accessible to all students) and the newly purchased Complete Anatomy – 3D, interactive software, for which you will have an individual licence. With Complete Anatomy we are able to run interactive, virtual dissection sessions online, which will fully prepare you for working with cadaveric specimens once the Dissection Room reopens. You can sign up for a free three-day trial with Complete Anatomy  to view more about the software.
We are looking forward to re-opening the Dissection Room as soon as we are able to do so.

Best wishes,

Professor Jane Saffell

Deputy Principal (Education)

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