Dear colleague,
Assessments and marking
Thank you so much to all involved in the assessment period, and the subsequent work it entails. Inter-semester break is always an incredibly busy time, between completing marking and planning for the next period of teaching and research. I am deeply grateful for your commitment and all your hard work, and I hope the first weeks of the new Semester go very well.
How we are operating in Semester 2
We wrote to colleagues, undergraduates, postgraduate taught and doctoral students following the UK Government’s announcement last month about the lifting of Plan B measures, outlining how we are planning to operate in Semester 2. This information is still available on our staff and student homepages.
We will, of course, keep the public health situation under review and will continue strongly to encourage all members of our community to undertake regular testing, wear face coverings where strongly recommended, get their vaccinations and boosters and take careful note of their local risk assessments.
Industrial action
As you may be aware, the University and College Union (UCU) has announced further strikes at UK universities. Here at Bath, these will occur between 14 and 22 February 2022. As a University, we respect the right of individuals to express their views through industrial action though, of course, we are very concerned about the impact of protracted strike action on our community. UUK has announced a consultation on a substantial change to defer the application of the 2.5% cap on inflationary increases up to and including the increase due in 2025. We will be providing further information about this significant development in the coming days.
Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games begin
The Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games start officially today with the opening ceremony in Beijing. Our very best wishes to the Bath-based athletes who have been selected to compete, including athletes who train as part of the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association performance programme who have been selected by Team GB, and aerial skier Lloyd Wallace, a Sports Performance graduate from our University. In addition, we were delighted to host the Jamaican bobsleigh team last week, who were finalising their preparations on the UK’s only outdoor push-start track, based on our campus. You can also read some superb examples of how our sports scientists are supporting British athletes to succeed at the Olympic Winter Games.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Natural Sciences Programme Lead, Dr Gary Mathlin and the whole team involved in Bath becoming one of the first universities in the UK to achieve accreditation by the Society for Natural Sciences for its natural sciences degree programmes.
Congratulations also to Dr Steve Wharton who has been appointed to the QAA’s Advisory Group for the Review of the Subject Benchmark Statement for Languages, Cultures, and Societies.
May I wish everyone a very successful start to the second semester.
With best wishes,
Professor Ian White
Vice-Chancellor and President
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