Tag Archives: policy

Adverse Weather Forecast

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weatherShowers of hail, sleet and snow have been forecast for our region for tonight and heavy rain for the next couple of days. We do not know at this stage how severe this will be, or if it will cause any disruption to travel or services. Driving conditions may be difficult.

In the unlikely event that it becomes necessary to close any of the university estate, announcements will be posted on the university’s website, Facebook, Twitter, Staff Intranet, myBU, iBU, Student Portal, and by e-mail to all staff and students by 8.00am on Wednesday morning.

The University’s information line on 01202 968999 will also carry a recorded message, advising of any closures.

Please check the status of the campuses before you travel, and staff and students should also follow any police advice before setting out from home.

Temperatures are expected to remain low over the next couple of days. Although many access routes on the campuses will be gritted, please do take care on all university paths, roads and car parks.

For more information please read the arrangements for unforeseen closure of the BU campus

Students: New social media policy announcement

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social-mediaStudents: A social media guidance document has been created to encourage and promote responsible use of social media at Bournemouth University.

This document is designed to support, protect and encourage your use of social media. All students should familiarise themselves with the document, which can be found on the Student Portal under the Conduct and Welfare tab of the Rules and Regulations page.

If you have any questions about social media procedures at Bournemouth University, please refer to your Programme Administrator in the first instance.

John Vinney speaks to Guardian Higher Education Network

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Bournemouth University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor John Vinney, spoke to the Guardian to give his thoughts on George Osborne’s plans for the future of Higher Education, announced during the autumn statement.

The plans centred on freeing the restriction currently placed on the number of students universities can recruit each academic year.  Funds will be created for the new plan by selling the loan book that supports students while they study.

The blog post started with Professor Vinney declaring that ‘Christmas had come early’ for Higher Education institutions as the cap on the number of students was relaxed, “It is easy to get caught up in discussions about affordability and implementation, but the real headline in the chancellor’s autumn statement is that Christmas just came early for a future generation of students. Higher education is a fundamental good for both the individual and society, and any effort to make it more accessible to a larger number of people should be applauded.”

In the article Professor Vinney weighed the pros and cons of such a move, stating, “Speaking as a father, I am pleased that when my children start thinking about going to university they will have a much better chance of entering higher education, and will be much more likely to get a place at the university they want to study at, with their likelihood of success being dependent solely on their academic ability.”

Professor Vinney continued, “Speaking as a vice-chancellor, we will now have a true market in higher education, with all the joys and sorrows that come with it. But competitive, innovative providers who genuinely care about the future of their students and graduates should have absolutely nothing to fear from that.”

Professor Vinney concluded by saying, “The freeing of controls is a landmark moment for the sector and I for one am glad that a little bit of ideological policymaking has prevailed at last.”

Read the article in full on the Guardian website.

Mitigating Circumstances: update to policy

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We have made an important change to the process for mitigating circumstances and introduced a new short-term sickness notification procedure for the 2013-14 academic year. Please take a moment to understand what this could mean for you if you need to submit evidence of short-term sickness for a coursework extension, exam postponement or Board consideration of circumstances.

Previously, you needed to provide a medical certificate / other appropriate independently verified evidence for all mitigating circumstances requests which may have been difficult or costly to obtain for cases of short-term sickness. Short-term sickness is an illness which lasts no longer than 5 days.  The University has now introduced a new procedure whereby you can notify us of short-term sickness. The key points to be aware of are:

  • You must phone your Programme or Course Administrator on the first day you realise that your assessment performance may be affected by sickness or prevent you from meeting an assignment deadline/sitting an exam. Other forms of communication will not be accepted.
  • The Administrator will complete a ‘Short-Term Sickness Notification Form’ and email this to you. You then need to submit this as evidence along with the relevant completed Extension/Exam Postponement Request Form or Board Consideration of Circumstances Request Form.
  • NB You will not be able to inform us of your sickness retrospectively, i.e. after your assignment deadline/time of your exam under the short-term sickness notification procedure. Where necessary, the telephone call can be made on the day of the assessment, but must be before the submission deadline/start of the exam and no later than 4pm.
  • NB If your sickness lasts more than 5 days, you must provide a medical certificate/other appropriately verified evidence in order for your circumstances to be considered.

The full short-term sickness procedure can be found in 6J – Mitigating Circumstances including Extensions: Policy and Procedure (see Section 1.2 in Appendix 3 and Appendix 6 in particular). This document and other academic regulations, policies and procedures concerning students can be accessed throughout the year on the Student Portal under Rules and Regulations should you need to consult them. If you find you have a query in relation to any of the documents, please discuss these with the relevant member of your course team, your administrator or the SUBU advice team.