FAQs for Brighton students

The government has confirmed that all students are eligible to return to campuses for the 2021 academic year. 

Timetables are being developed to give students the maximum possible time on campus. All students will have timetabled on-campus, in-person learning – dependent on their course, this will include seminars and tutorials, interactive workshops, studio time, clinical skills sessions and/or laboratory classes.

Most students will have some remote learning – for example, some large group lectures. These will also be available as recordings, so that students can watch at a time and place convenient to them.

You can find further detail specific to your School via the My Brighton app. Go to 'My School' and click on 'Autumn teaching plans' to find the information for your course, or find your course in our course finder, then go to the content section and read ‘how this course is delivered’.

In line with government guidance the university has now moved to a covid aware approach. Of course, after long periods of restrictions, we recognise that mixing in greater numbers may be a source of anxiety for some. We’re asking all staff and students to be covid aware and take the following simple steps to help keep everyone safe:

• We strongly encourage you to wear a face covering when moving around the university - in a small number of teaching rooms, this may be a requirement
• Wash or sanitise your hands regularly
• Respect everyone’s space and take note of occupancy limits, ventilation reminders, and directional signage
• Receive both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible
• Keep taking regular lateral flow tests and report your results online – search for University of Brighton in the list of education providers
• Check in on friends and be kind to yourself and others.

Students will be able to use our libraries and study spaces, including computer suites, sport and fitness facilities and food outlets. Our full range of online study support and wellbeing services, including support in relation to the pandemic will also be available. 

Do not come onto campus if you are feeling unwell or have COVID-19 symptoms. If you have symptoms, you should get a PCR test as soon as possible and follow Public Health England (PHE) instructions on self-isolation until you get your results.

If your PCR test result is positive, you must follow government requirements around self-isolation. You should also report your result to the university – students via the My Brighton App, and staff via the self-declaration tab on My View.

If you were on campus on the same day that you tested positive: please report this to the Facilities Team, by calling 01273 642222, so they can arrange additional precautionary cleaning.

Make sure you work with the NHS Test and Trace team to ensure that people you have been in close contact with can be identified and contacted if needed. Remember to tell the tracer that you have been on campus in Brighton or Eastbourne.

The majority of our teaching spaces will operate at a reduced capacity and have 1m spacing between desks and seating to ensure a good level of ventilation. Staff and students will be asked to make sure windows are open in teaching and working spaces, and that occupancy limits are being respected. You will be required to wear a face covering, unless you are exempt, in a small number of teaching rooms, as an additional precaution. Affected rooms will be clearly signposted and if you have classes timetabled in these rooms, we will let you know in advance.

New signage will also be in place to remind people to be covid aware and to reinforce the steps that we need everyone to take to help keep us all safe. Cleaning stations are also widely available across campus, and you’ll be asked to clean your workspace when you arrive and when you leave.  

Like all universities, we will be following government guidance and will be monitoring the pandemic very closely with our local Director of Public Health. Should a worsening of the pandemic occur, and Public Health advice require us to make changes, we have robust plans in place for students to continue their studies with a blend of in-person and remote learning, supported by additional safety measures on campus. 

Brighton & Hove and Eastbourne are not currently subject to specific restrictions but government guidance recommends that we all continue to take a number of steps to stay safe. 

Yes, there are currently no restrictions on spending time with groups outside of your household, but you should remain cautious and follow government and university recommendations to stay safe. 

Yes, you should test before you travel back to university, by ordering a free test online or collecting one from your local pharmacy.

On arrival at university, you should take two asymptomatic tests (3 to 4 days apart) using home test kits. This is to reduce the risk of transmission following the movement of students across the country.

Thereafter you should test twice each week using home test kits.

There are two main types of test used to check if people currently have COVID-19. Both types of test can be used on nose and throat swabs and saliva samples.

The first type looks for the virus’s genetic material, and this is the test currently deployed by the NHS through local testing sites, often known as a PCR test.

The second type looks for parts of the surface of the virus (antigen). This is a Lateral Flow Device test – or LFD. The test on offer to University of Brighton students, either via a home test kit picked up from the university, or by ordering online or making a collection at a local pharmacy, is this type of test - also known as asymptomatic testing. This test is meant for people who do not show symptoms and who are not close contacts of confirmed cases.

LFD tests give results much more quickly. However, they are not as sensitive as tests offered through other channels (e.g. PCR tests).

You should test before you travel back to university, by ordering a free test online or collecting one from your local pharmacy.

On arrival at university, you should take two lateral flow tests (3 to 4 days apart) using home test kits. This is to reduce the risk of transmission following the movement of students across the country. Thereafter you should test twice each week using home test kits.

You are strongly encouraged to take regular tests (twice weekly). 

Yes, you should still follow the same guidance on regular testing. 

The easiest way to get tested is to book a free test kit online. You can also pick up a test kit from your local pharmacy. Test kits are also available via our Eastbourne Hillbrow Sports Centre, Falmer Sports Centre, Aldritch Library at Moulsecoomb and Cockcroft and now Grand Parade Caretakers’ desks.

Once your test is complete, even if you test negative, please ensure you report your results online - search for University of Brighton in the list of education providers.

Our wellbeing services provide further details of the support available. 

Lateral Flow Device tests or asymptomatic tests are highly specific, which means that only a small proportion of people who do not have coronavirus will receive a positive result (false positive).

Although they give a result much more quickly, LFD or asymptomatic tests are not as sensitive as tests offered through other channels (e.g. PCR tests available in other channels like Local Testing Sites). Sensitivity measures how likely it is that a test will return a positive result when that person is infected. This is mitigated by testing people regularly, because the more times someone with the disease is tested, the more likely they are to be picked up by the test.

A negative test result means you can go about your university life as normal. Please continue to observe government and university good practice including hand washing, and wearing of masks. You are also strongly encouraged to continue with regular testing (twice weekly).

You should report your result through the Government website – search for University of Brighton in the list of providers. If a member of your household tests positive for COVID-19, you will need to take a PCR test and you may need to self-isolate for ten days. Check government information for the latest guidance.

• self-isolate straight away – check if people you live with need to self-isolate
• Report that you were on campus to the Facilities Team, on the same day that you test positive, by calling 01273 642222, so they can arrange additional precautionary cleaning. 
• get a PCR test (a test that is sent to a lab) to confirm your result as soon as possible – get a PCR test to check if you have COVID-19 on gov.uk
• Continue to self-isolate until you get the result of the PCR test. Follow the advice you're given when you get the result.
• If your PCR test is positive, please report your result to the university – via the My Brighton App.

In England, if you do not get a PCR test within two days of a positive rapid lateral flow test at a test site, you will need to self-isolate for 10 full days even if you get a negative PCR result.

• If you do need to self-isolate, we’re here to support you. After the self-isolation period it will be possible to return to campus.

Yes, please refer to our self-isolation guide in the first instance, which shares links to our wellbeing resources. 

The tests don’t guarantee that you would not catch the virus, but they do provide information to your status at the time of the test. So please do keep yourself and others that you care about safe by continuing to follow all of the COVID-19 guidelines. 

In line with government guidance to the sector, and alongside all other universities, we are strongly encouraging all eligible students to get vaccinated.

The use of vaccines is significantly reducing the link between infection and severe disease and death from COVID-19. With a sufficiently high proportion of the population vaccinated, higher education, along with other sections of society, will be able to operate without the restrictions we have all faced since March 2020. 

It is not mandatory to be vaccinated before returning to campus, but the university strongly encourages all eligible students to take up the offer. External placements on some health and social care courses may require students to have been vaccinated before starting work – in these cases it is the placement provider who has set this requirement and not the university directly. 

You can get your first and second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine if you're aged 18 or over (or will turn 18 within three months), as part of the Government’s nationwide vaccination programme. A first dose is also being offered to people aged between 12 and 17. Parents and guardians of children aged 12 to 15 will get a letter or email with information about when the vaccine will be offered, and will be asked to give their consent. People under the age of 18 can get a second dose if they turn 18 within three months of their first dose, or if they, or someone they live with, is at high risk from COVID-19.

Booster vaccine doses are also available to people most at risk from COVID-19 who had a second dose of a vaccine at least 6 months ago. If you are elidable for a booster dose, the NHS will be in touch.

You can read more information about who can get a COVID-19 vaccine on the NHS website. Nationality or immigration status do not affect your eligibility for a COVID-19 vaccination.

The COVID-19 vaccines currently available are given in two doses. You should have your second dose eight weeks after the first dose. The first dose should give you some protection from three or four weeks after you've had it, but you need two doses for stronger and longer-lasting protection. 

All students (vaccinated or not) should remain cautious on returning to campus, following the ‘covid aware’ guidance set out in our covid commitment.

For some of our courses in subject areas such as health and social care, students will be required to have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccination before they can complete the placements which form part of their learning experience. This is a stipulation from the placement providers in question and not one made directly by the university. Your school will have been in touch to confirm where this is the case but please speak with them directly if you are unsure. 

In line with government guidance for the sector, it is strongly encouraged but not mandatory for students to receive the vaccine before returning to campus. Some health and social care students will be required to receive the vaccine where a placement provider rather than the university is stipulating that this is necessary. 

If you are in the UK and registered with a GP, you can book an appointment at a larger vaccination centre, a community pharmacy run site, or at some GP run sites through the National Booking Service website or by phoning 119. If you are not registered with a GP, you can still make a vaccination booking request as an unregistered patient through a local GP practice or find a walk-in vaccination site near you.

If you move location between your first and second dose, you can use the National Booking Service to book or rearrange your second vaccination appointment at a different location to your first. 

For more information, including advice about vaccinations for international students who are planning to travel to the UK for university, please read the NHS England FAQs for students in higher education (pdf). 

We strongly encourage you to get fully vaccinated as soon as is possible, if it is not possible to receive both vaccine doses before the start of term and your return to campus, please ensure that you receive your second dose as soon as is possible after your return. 

Extension to deadline: a process that enables you to request a revised submission deadline. If you experience an unexpected issue that you believe can be rectified quickly so that you are eventually able to submit your work, you can apply for an extension through your course leader, providing supporting documentation.

Late submission: a penalty is applied to work that is submitted after the deadline set and where an extension request has not been submitted. To avoid this, you must request an extension through your course leader, as detailed above.

Additional Consideration: new regulations and procedures which allow the university to take into consideration serious circumstances which are unforeseen and unavoidable, which have prevented you from either demonstrating or acquiring the skills, knowledge, competencies required to meet the learning outcomes associated with an assessment.

Unrepresentative Performance: if you have passed your assessment but feel that the mark is unrepresentative due to serious circumstances which are unforeseen and unavoidable, you should use the Additional Consideration procedures. Please see separate section for more details.

Compensation: an Examination Board may allow credit to be awarded at the end of your stage of study for failed modules (up to 20 credits per 120 credits studied pro rata).

Trailing: an Examination Board may allow you to repeat up to 20 credits in the following stage of study. This is known as conditional progression.

In-Year Module Retrieval (IYMR): participating modules at level 0 and 4 allow retrieval by means of correcting the original failed submission. The IYMR attempt will have the mark capped at 40%.

Intermission: a student led decision to take an official, extended period of absence from studying at the university. You must submit a written application to your course leader which explains your reasons.

Whilst the pandemic continues to be ongoing, a more stable academic year is predicted for 2021–22 with a planned approach to the blended delivery of learning, teaching and assessment.

As such, the university is transitioning out of our Safety Net approach and returning to our usual assessment regulations and classification calculations, which are detailed in the General Examination and Assessment Regulations, known as GEAR. The Safety Net assessment regulations continue to apply to modules which commenced prior to the 26 September 2021.

We have reviewed and made significant revisions to our mitigating circumstances regulations for 2021–22 onwards. From 2021–22 mitigating circumstances is replaced with a more generous Additional Consideration package, there will no longer be automatic generic mitigation for failed or non-submitted assessment, or a separate process for unrepresentative performance.

The university will continue to monitor and review the impact of the pandemic upon students.

Please do not worry. There are options available.

Requesting an extension enables you to request a revised deadline; an application should normally be made at least one full working day before the published submission deadline.

If you experience an unexpected issue that you believe can be rectified quickly so that you are eventually able to submit your work, you can apply for an extension through your course leader - you will normally be expected to include supporting evidence and must have a valid reason.

Extensions can help you manage the impact of short-term circumstances that occur close to a coursework submission deadline, but you should think about whether delaying one assessment deadline could lead to you having to manage a large workload within a short period of time if other assessments are due.

If you are experiencing difficulties and would like to discuss this further, we encourage you to reach out to one of our support services, such as your Personal Academic Tutor, a Student Support and Guidance Tutor, the Brighton Students' Union, or your Course/ Module Leader. If you have a Learning Support Plan you should seek advice from the Disability and Dyslexia Team. 

Additional Consideration is a set of regulations and procedures for the university to take into consideration serious circumstances which are unforeseen and unavoidable, which have prevented you from either demonstrating or acquiring the skills, knowledge, competencies required to meet the learning outcomes associated with an assessment.

Additional Consideration is a new process which replaces Mitigating Circumstances, generic mitigation and Mitigating Circumstances for Unrepresentative Performance. The new regulations and process have been designed in partnership with the Brighton Students’ Union and follow sector best practice.

A request for Additional Consideration can be submitted for:

• absence from an assessment (including examination);
• failure to submit or undertake assessed work (non-submission);
• failure of an assessment and/or a module (failure);
• unrepresentative performance.

You must submit a request for Additional Consideration if you have extenuating circumstances which have impacted your assessment, otherwise the Examination Board will be unable to take this into account – this could lead to penalties if you have insufficient credit (modules passed). Please do not wait until you’ve received results from the Examination Board to submit a request – the earlier we receive this information, the more effectively you can be supported.

There are two routes for Additional Consideration requests:

• Self-certification for absence from assessment;
• full request for Additional Consideration.

If you are experiencing difficulties and would like to discuss this further, we encourage you to reach out to one of our support services, such as your Personal Academic Tutor, a Student Support and Guidance Tutor, the Brighton Students' Union, or your Course/ Module Leader. If you have a Learning Support Plan you should seek advice from the Disability and Dyslexia Team.

You can submit a request for self-certification for absence from assessment if you have been experiencing exceptional circumstances that have caused you to be absent from a time-bound assessment(s) for a period of up to and including 7 calendar days.

Example of circumstances

An example of these circumstances could be a short-term illness such as norovirus, an accident, or emergency caring responsibilities. You are not required to provide supporting documentation with your request and can include any time-bound assessment(s) that was missed during this time period.

It’s really important that self-certification is only used for unavoidable emergency situations – you may not have another chance to take the assessment until the resit period (normally in the summer break) or the following academic year, which could delay your progression or graduation. Generally, the best time to take assessments is when they are originally planned as part of the module assessment structure, and as close to the teaching and learning activities as possible.

What is a time-bound assessment?

A time-bound assessment is an assessment taken under timed conditions and examples of these include written exams and practical skills assessments such as Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE), laboratory tests, observed practice and practical skills exams which cannot be postponed.

If you are unsure whether your assessment is time-bound and eligible for self-certification you should seek advice from your school office. Some time-bound assessments may not be eligible for self-certification due to the requirements of Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (PSRBs). In this case you should submit a full request for Additional Consideration, there’s more about this in the next section.

Are there any limits or exclusions to the self-certification process?

You can only submit a maximum of one self-certification request per semester and you must submit your request within 7 calendar days of the date of the last assessment you missed. If your circumstances last more than 7 calendar days, or if you have already used the self-certification process for the number of times as stated above, then you should seek medical advice and submit a full request.

Self-certification does not apply to coursework. If your difficulties are short-term and occur close to a coursework submission deadline you may apply for an extension to deadline.

Some courses have attendance requirements and you may need to submit supporting documents to account for any absences from lectures, tutorials, etc. You need to check your module/course information to make sure you know what the attendance requirements are for your course, particularly if there are placement or professional body requirements.

This process is not available to postgraduate research students, as the university’s regulations for research degrees and the Doctoral College’s code of practice and regulations for research degrees will continue to be followed.

We would encourage you to make contact and access the guidance and request form as soon as you are able to. You must submit your request as close to the circumstances as possible, and no later than 14 calendar days from receipt of Examination Board results.

No supporting documents are required to self-certify your absence from an assessment.

You’ll need to provide supporting documentation to support a full request.

This should be from a professional source and cover the period of time being claimed. Please don’t submit photographic evidence of illness or injury with your request, the types of supporting documents students usually submit are:

• Medical certificate or letter from a medical practitioner e.g. a doctor
• Hospital admission and discharge letter, to confirm time spent in hospital
• Letter or form from an appropriate health professional (i.e. counsellor you’ve been supported by)
• Supporting statement from the Disability and Dyslexia Team
• Police, insurance company or news report

Supporting documents may help you explain your circumstances, but we understand that this can be difficult to obtain - please do not worry – you’ll have the opportunity to tell us about your circumstances and the impact on your assessment on the request form , each claim will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Full guidance, time limits, case studies and a request form is available.

The majority of students graduating this year will be covered by the approaches below. If your circumstances are complicated, (for example you are returning to university after a break, or changing your mode of study) please contact your school office to confirm bespoke arrangements.

Current Level 6 undergraduate students

As in previous years you will still need to pass all your modules but in recognition of the impact of the pandemic in 2020-21 , some modules where you may not have performed so well last year will be discounted when calculating your award.

Your classification will be made up of*:

• 2020-21 Level 5: Your best 80 credits (out of 120) in Level 5, weighted at 25%. Your lowest performing 40 credits will be excluded from the calculation;
• 2021-22 Level 6: your final year calculation currently remains at 120 credits, weighted at 75%.

Integrated Masters awards (MEng, MPharm, MDes, MFA, MComp, MChem, MGeog, MGeol, MMath)

A subject-specific classification and algorithm for the award is permitted which should be approved at validation of the course and follow either the undergraduate or postgraduate scheme.

Masters awards – full-time (MA, MSc, MBA, LLM, MRes, March)

The award classification calculation detailed in your Course (Programme) Specification and GEAR will apply.

We will continue to review the impact of the pandemic against our methods for calculating awards as you progress through your studies.

*This revised approach to calculation awards will apply for most courses, however they will be some exceptions and differences for some courses, due to the structure of your course or due to your course being associated with a Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Body. Your school will contact you to confirm arrangements for your course where this may differ.

Revised award calculations were put in place during 2020–21 as part of the Safety Net. The university is considering the ongoing impact of the pandemic carefully and is currently reviewing the impact of the pandemic against our methods for calculating awards. Further information will be available in November 2021.

Whatever your reasons for needing some time off, we highly recommend that you keep in touch with course staff. They are a source of support and advice – academic or otherwise – and may be able to grant you an extended deadline or other support for your work if that would help your situation.

You should contact Student Services or your course leader, personal academic tutor or SSGT if you are considering time away from university so that we can provide one-to-one advice and support. It might be helpful to consider the following when you have these discussions:

• the time period for intermission
• when any outstanding assessment will be taken
• whether the Safety Net benefits will apply on your return
• whether the curriculum and assessment will be different on your return
• fee and student finance implications
• visa implications if you’re an international student

If you eventually decide to spend time away from the university, you must submit a written application to your course leader that explains your reasons for intermitting. If they accept your application and allow you to intermit, the school office will work with Academic Registry to ensure that your student record and transcripts are prepared, and you will be free to leave the university.

The dates of intermission will vary according to your individual needs, course and stage of study, but they usually begin at an appropriate stage in the academic calendar, for example at the end of a module, term or semester.

Further information is available.