The Covid-19 Survey looked at:

• changes to education, teaching and support during the summer term and
• student wellbeing

What we have done

We've made changes to many areas of support both for your wellbeing and your studies.

Wellbeing

• We have introduced the Being Well Living Well online toolkit. This includes practical tools and tips to help you feel settled, support friends, manage your finances and get help if you need it. There are also a range of related self-help resources.
• We are running a range virtual community building events to help you connect, join in and enjoy shared activities.
• Our support services have adapted to provide support via phone and online and our Wellbeing Access service is now open 24/7.
• In response to the pandemic we ran our Science of Happiness course online during May and June. Over 500 students and staff registered for the online version.

Study Skills support

We have introduced Study from Home and Online open book exams online learning resources. These provide information and advice about how to study and take exams online.

We are running:

• online tutorials, workshops and study groups
• workshops for the Digitally ready course.

We have a new team of student Bristol Futures Advocates. If you have a question or need to talk to somebody about how you study, contact them. As they’re students, they know how things work and how to do well.

Everything is available on Blackboard under Study Skills and is all currently delivered online. 

The Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellows are now available for confidential, one-to-one consultations online. More about Royal Literary Fellows.

We have embedded the digital literacies that play an important role in how you learn and work into our Bristol Skills Framework. Access the Bristol Skills Framework on the Personal Development Plan (PDP) tab on Blackboard.

Teaching and learning 

Adapting to online learning

We worked with Bristol SU to develop our Digitally Ready induction to online and blended learning.

This course is designed to help you get 'digitally ready' for your studies. It provides the tools and competencies you need to start your studies. We will add to this over the year with new courses to help you prepare for key activities like assessment and revision.

To help your lecturers support you better, we developed a range of guides aimed at students. These cover key areas such as learning online, assessment and using tools like Blackboard Collaborate.

We worked with schools to develop new Blackboard templates to make using Blackboard easier for you.

Digital champions

We are working with Bristol SU to recruit student digital champions. They will work with our Digital Education Office to inform and shape how we develop our digital environment and support you with your learning.

Teaching

There have been over 10 million minutes of synchronous Collaborate teaching in the 4 weeks up to 19 October 2020. We have implemented new teaching and learning tools which include:

• software to enable student discussion and collaboration and
• better tools to create learning materials and give detailed feedback.

Library

We've adapted our libraries and study spaces in line with social distancing guidelines, so you can still access our physical collections and study spaces safely.

Study seat booking system

We have introduced a study seat booking system in our open libraries and study centres.

Discussion zone

All library and study spaces are silent zones except for our Senate House Study Centre which is a discussion zone. This is available for individual online discussions during online learning sessions.

Accessing electronic resources

We have a wide range of digital resources and support. These resources will have a positive impact on your library experience and we can help and support you wherever you are studying.

More about the library.

Sport, Exercise and Health

We recognise the impact coronavirus has had on your health and wellbeing. It can be challenging to looking after your physical and mental health. Our facilities and sports programmes have been adapted to keep you safe and are here to help and support you.

In August 2020 we introduced a sport app which provides details on the facilities, programmes and memberships available. It also includes free 'on demand' and live fitness classes. Download the sport app.

Our Students' Union sports clubs and societies are still available. They have adapted to the current situation and offer something for everyone.

In October they offered 'Give it a go' sessions to give you the chance to try something new. 

Next steps

There’ll be other opportunities for you to tell us how it's going. You can contact one of your student representatives at any time.

Please feedback, we're listening.