Coronavirus Information
The success and welfare of our students is at the heart of everything we do, therefore during the pandemic we continue to provide support and education for all.
For current students
Information on how our courses are being delivered this academic due to Covid-19 can be found at this link: http://bit.ly/heinfo2020
This information will tell you what you can expect in relation to the delivery of your course during 2020-21. Unless the national and/or local situation changes we are anticipating that our 2021-22 delivery methods will be similar. Further information about 2021-22 will be added at a later date.
We are expecting to run a hybrid method of teaching, based online, with access to on-campus resources on a planned basis with priority for those modules where specialist resources are needed. We aim to work towards more on-campus delivery using two key principles:
• Student and staff safety and wellbeing
• Supporting you to continue to learn and make progress
It is important that you are fit and well enough to undertake or continue your course, using both online and hopefully, on-campus delivery and that you feel able to cope with this method of learning. You will need to have access to a suitable computer or laptop, as well as an appropriate place to be able to concentrate, engage in remote learning and time to dedicate to your studies and complete your assessments. Bursaries are available for those who meet the eligibility criteria which may help you to purchase IT equipment. This will be on a first come first served basis with priority to certain groups of students as set out in the UCS Access and Participation Plan 2020-25 which is available here.
For any further queries please email the HE Team he@btc.ac.uk.
Support
For Safeguarding matters, the staysafe@btc.ac.uk email will be monitored at all times in office hours, including during the Easter period.
Contact the HE Team at HE@btc.ac.uk if you have any other questions or concerns.
Learning Resources Co-ordinators are happy to offer students individual support on any aspects of study skills including referencing. Request support by email:
Bridgwater
Cannington
Taunton
For those who have been offered conditional offers and are hoping to start their course with us
We look forward to welcoming you to University Centre Somerset. Enrolment for new students is online this year and instructions will be emailed once entry criteria are met and offers confirmed.
A link to course specific information has been sent out to prospective new and returning students. Specific dates and days of delivery can be found in these documents.
Key principles underpinning the planning are:
- Student and staff safety and wellbeing
- Supporting students to continue to learn and make progress
University Centre Somerset (UCS), together with the rest of Bridgwater & Taunton College, will be following the guidance published by Public Health England as well as education sector national bodies. Our aim is to think flexibly, monitor the situation continually and work towards an element of on-campus delivery as soon as we can safely achieve this during the academic year. As our groups tend to be relatively small, this will be more easily achieved than for those universities with very large groups of students. It will be a carefully staged approach, in compliance with Health and Safety risk assessments. We will be running a blended learning approach with teaching learning and assessment planned for online delivery in the first instance. Priority for on-campus delivery will go to those programmes whose learning outcomes require the use of specific on-campus resources.
Further information
University Centre Somerset is part of Bridgwater & Taunton College. For more and updated information on the College's situation please visit:
What do I do if I wish to complain?
In order to resolve any issues as quickly as possible, please raise your concerns at the earliest opportunity, to the member of staff it concerns, by talking or writing to them or if you prefer, with their line manager. It is hoped that this will enable the issue to be addressed quickly and without the need for a formal process. If you do wish to complain formally then it will depend on which University partner you are enrolled with as to the process you then follow. Please see the table below for further information.
Normally, to make a formal complaint you will complain to the College in the first instance by emailing complaints@btc.ac.uk. If you remain dissatisfied and all steps of the College’s process have been exhausted, you would then complain to the University/awarding body. Ultimately if you are still dissatisfied you may be able to complain to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education.
| University Partner/ Awarding Body |
Overview of the complaints process
|
| Plymouth University |
The College may resolve the complaint informally. If this is not possible and the complaint becomes formal you must complete the university’s ‘Formal Complaint Form’ (contained in their policy) and email it to the University at complaints@plymouth.ac.uk. The University will work with the College for Stage 2 of their policy to enable the investigation of and response to the complaint.
The university’s complaints policy and guidance is available from their website: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/student-life/your-studies/essential-information/complaints-appeals
|
| Oxford Brookes University |
The College’s HE Complaints process is used in the first instance. Once the College’s policy is exhausted you can then complain to the University via their ‘Collaborative Provision’ process. You will normally need to do this within 10 days of the date of the College’s final response. Please ensure you make yourself familiar with what the University will consider and what they will not consider before taking a complaint to them.
http://www.brookes.ac.uk/regulations/ (see Section C for full policy)
https://www.brookes.ac.uk/students/your-studies/student-disputes/student-complaints/ (Guidance for students)
|
| The Open University (OU) |
The College’s HE Complaints process is used in the first instance. If this has been exhausted, and the complaint is directly related to the academic standards of the OU validated programme on which you are studying, then you can complain to the Open University by submitting a formal complaint as soon as possible and within three months of the outcome of the College’s processes. If the complaint is not related to academic standards the OU may pass your complaint back to the College or you may go straight to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIAHE). |
| University of the West of England (UWE) |
The College’s own process is used in the first instance. Once the College’s policy is exhausted you can then move to Stage Three of UWE’s Complaints Procedure.
http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/about/contactus/complaints.aspx (General overview)
http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/about/contactus/complaints/submittingacomplaint/stagethreecomplaints.aspx (Stage 3 of their Complaints Policy)
|
| Pearson (Edexcel) |
The College’s own process is used in the first instance. Once the College’s policy is exhausted then you can refer your complaint to Pearson. The College must send any documents, regarding unresolved complaints, to Pearson within 28 days of Stage 2 concluding.
http://qualifications.pearson.com/en/support/contact-us/feedback-and-complaints.html
|
