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Faculty of Humanities

Message from Keith Brown and Fiona Smyth

19 Aug 2021

Return to campus from 1 September.

Dear colleagues

Following this morning’s update from Nalin Thakkar, Chair of the Campus Management Group, we are getting in touch to share more details on returning to campus in the Faculty of Humanities.

Key information on returning to campus:

  • All Faculty of Humanities colleagues and students can return to campus from 1 September.
  • The majority of our Faculty buildings will be open from 1 September. Staff based in Manchester China Institute, Confucius Institute, Crawford House (Faculty Office space) and the Legal Advice Centre will be advised locally on opening arrangements for later in September.
  • There will be no restrictions on building occupancy levels. 
  • The legal requirement for social distancing is no longer in place.
  • Staff and students are strongly encouraged to wear face coverings when moving around indoors but it is not a requirement.
  • All staff who are eligible are encouraged to get vaccinated before coming on to campus.
  • Staff working on campus are encouraged to get tested twice a week whether they are displaying symptoms or not (testing kits will be available on campus).
  • Hand sanitiser and face-coverings are available at the main entry points of all buildings across campus.
  • We have enhanced cleaning regimes in place and significant work has taken place to assess the current ventilation arrangements across the estate and to implement any additional mitigations required.
  • To support leaders and managers across the Faculty to make plans for bringing back their teams to work on campus from 1 September, a guidance note has been cascaded.
  • You can find guidance and more information on topics including car parking, transport, and access to testing on Humanities StaffNet.


Return to on-campus teaching

All Faculty of Humanities programmes will return to in-person teaching for Semester 1. We expect colleagues who will be teaching or supporting students to be back working on campus for the relevant days from the start of term.

We strongly recommend that if you are teaching in Semester 1, you return to campus to familiarise yourself with your working space and check your IT setup on campus before the start of term.

Dual teaching training and guidance

Some of our students have opted to study remotely for Semester 1, perhaps because they are not yet able to travel or they have to self-quarantine.

To ensure you can engage with both on-campus and remote students, many teaching rooms across the Faculty have been updated with ‘dual teaching’ equipment. Mobile dual teaching kits that can be used in other rooms are also available.

You can find all the information you need on dual teaching here. If you are teaching in Semester 1, we urge you to act now and book your dual teaching training so you are well prepared before teaching begins.

Research

All research staff will be able to carry out their work on campus with no requirement for social distancing, or face-coverings in laboratories or other research facilities.

Please ensure you consult the government’s latest advice regarding travel before making any research-related travel arrangements.

You can also consult the University’s research-specific FAQs for further guidance.

PS hybrid working pilot

Most PS staff in the Faculty will begin the hybrid working pilot from 1 September. Your manager will confirm what your on-campus working pattern will be and when it will commence.

Familiarising yourself with campus

While some colleagues have regularly worked on campus throughout the pandemic, we recognise that most colleagues will be returning to campus for the first time in a while and may have some concerns. There is a wide range of well-being support available should you need it.

We encourage you to reacquaint yourself with your office and set up any IT equipment ahead of September. Please talk with your line manager to make arrangements for this.

If you have joined us during the pandemic your line manager will let you know about upcoming campus tours and other support available to you as you come to campus. Your manager and colleagues will also help you settle into your new surroundings.

Exceeding targets - update

Following our recent communication about exceeding targets this year, although we are seeing some attrition - which will continue in the coming weeks and months - there will be more students than planned joining us this year.

This is good news for some programmes, and will present some challenges for others. We are making new appointments to ensure staff-student ratios will be reasonable as planned and additional teaching assistants are being appointed to support delivery.

Together with colleagues across the Faculty, we are scoping additional requirements around student support and academic advising and will be putting plans in place to meet demand. Lastly, we are working with colleagues from across the University to increase the number of study spaces on campus.

Thank you again for your flexibility and perseverance over the last 18 months. Our managed return to campus from 1 September is a much-anticipated milestone and we are very much looking forward to seeing you in person over the coming weeks and months.

If you have any questions please speak to your line manager in the first instance.

Best wishes

Keith and Fiona