Student support over Christmas closure and setting your out of office message
21 Dec 2023
Where to direct students for information and help and suggested text for your automatic email replies
The end of the year is fast approaching and the festive season is just around the corner.
Support resources
Whether students are staying in Manchester or travelling home, we’re making sure that support remains in place for them throughout the closure period.
If students need help or advice before the closure, we’re advising them to contact their School support team for details of any local arrangements.
If students require support during the closure period (22 December – 1 January inclusive) they can find details of available services at the following:
This covers mental health and wellbeing services, safety and disability support, assistance for students in University halls of residence, IT support, sport and fitness, University Library services, the Students’ Union, and things to do over the break (including volunteering).
Link to support in your out of office message
We’d encourage you to also add a link to the student support webpage in your out of office email replies over the closure period - we have some suggested text for this below. Thank you for all of the support that you continue to provide for our students.
Suggested text for out of office replies:
Thank you for your email and we hope you are enjoying a welcome Christmas and New Year break. The University is now closed until Tuesday, 2 January 2024. Your query will be dealt with once colleagues return after this date.
We have a range of support services available over the break and you can read more about these on our student support webpage. This includes details of 24/7 support for mental health and wellbeing.
Once again, we hope you have a restful break and look forward to welcoming you back in the New Year.
Other sources of support
While the festive season can be a happy time for some, we also know that this can be a difficult time of year for colleagues.
We have a number of resources available: