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    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

    Following the Government announcement on 4 January 2021 in relation to the national lockdown due to COVID-19, we understand that you are likely to have concerns and questions about how this will affect your studies at University Centre Somerset.

    Firstly, we would like to reassure you that we take your studies very seriously and will continue to work with you to support your progress.  The Government have made it clear that learning will need to be online until at least 12 February, which is the Friday before the half term break (15 -19 February), in order to cope with the current pandemic threat. 

    We will continue to monitor the situation closely.  Your Course Leader will communicate any changes directly to you as and when they might occur.

    University Centre Somerset, as part of Bridgwater & Taunton College is continuing to make decisions in line with Government advice and based on the following guiding principles:

    • Student and staff safety and wellbeing
    • Supporting students to continue to learn and make progress

    The Current Student FAQs may answer your queries.  Should you have other concerns, please contact your Course Leader or the central HE Team (he@btc.ac.uk) so that we can support and advise.

    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:
    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.
    For more information, please read our Future Student FAQs. If your question remains unanswered, please email HE@btc.ac.uk.

    Further information

    University Centre Somerset is part of Bridgwater & Taunton College. For more and updated information on the College's situation please visit:
    https://www.btc.ac.uk/students/essential-information/coronavirus-information/

    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