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Every Wednesday, we ask you to send us your questions on our Instagram stories. Since a lot of people don't have Instagram or may have missed the stories, we've put together all our frequently asked questions here. 

Welcome Week

When does Welcome Week start?

Monday 27 September. 

 

BUT...We’ll be running online and some in-person events from Monday 20 September as some students will be coming on 6 September to complete their isolation. 

 

Our main Welcome events will start from 25 September as that’s move-in weekend. You’ll have the option of moving into your UCL halls a few days early if you want to - have a look at UCL Accommodation’s pages for that.

Can non freshers take part in fresher/ taster events if they've never joined societies

Of course! We can’t stress this enough: ALL our events and societies are open to all! If you’re second year and plus, this is just as much of a welcome as it is for those just beginning their UCL journey.

Is Welcome Week the same as induction week?

Kinda. Lots of names for that bit at the start of the year. 

 

Here’s how it’s going to work:

 

20 September - 26 September - Returners and Early Arrivals Week

Events, things to do and lots of online stuff for people isolating/quarantining. Plus a chance for returning students to catch up on the things they missed last year. Everyone is welcome though…

 

27 September - 3 October - Welcome Week

Loads of events, things to do and the Welcome Fair. You’ll also have your course induction events this week.

Are there any postgraduate socials during freshers week?

Yep - lots. We’ve got loads of events just for Postgraduates coming up, plus more that we’re planning. We’re gradually putting it all up on our What’s on Calendar these will go up over the next few weeks. UCL is majority Postgrad, so you’re in good company.

Vaccines & hotel quarantine

If im fully vaccinated from my home country, how will that show up on the NHS app

Good question. You may not need to have your vaccination show up on the NHS app if your country has a vaccination record system that’s accepted in the UK. For example, from this Monday travelers from the EU (apart from France) and the US no longer need to isolate on arrival if they’ve been double-jabbed - they just need to show proof of their vaccination. This isn’t integrated into the NHS app as the EU and US proof of vaccination systems are just being accepted at the UK border. 

 

Couple of questions we’ll be looking really closely at:

What happens at the end of September when it’s expected people will have to show proof of full vaccination to access ‘crowded events’?

What other countries will the UK accept proof of vaccination from?

 

Will keep you posted if/when the Government answers those questions.

 

Can UCL provide COVID tests (2nd and 8th day) for international students? 

You’ll still have to book a private test with the ‘Test to Release for International Travel Scheme’. Under the rules of the scheme, you won’t have to take a test on day 8 if you've been fully vaccinated in the UK, US, EU or in Swiss vaccination programmes.  

 

You can see more information about this by swiping up. 

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-test-to-release-for-international-travel 

 

Is UCL providing financial assistance to those needing to hotel quarantine?

Yes, UCL will be offering financial support in the form of a grant. You can find more info here.

 

Online learning

Why is UCL partly online after government guidance says we can go back?

It’s likely that online learning will be a part of every university for the foreseeable future, how much of a part is what matters. There are benefits to having a blend of online and in-person. For large lectures, it’s easier and more accessible for people to just watch them in their own time. What really matters is that there are lots of opportunities for people to engage in-person with their subject - through seminars, workshops, labs, small lectures etc. 

 

That’s where the benefit to UCL’s blended approach comes in. Keep the impersonal stuff online, and have more engaging stuff in-person. In our view, in-person teaching is essential to the UCL experience and we’re going to continue to make sure that is prioritised. 

 

From Monday, UCL is dropping on campus restrictions like the one-way system and the aim is to get back to doing the things we love, in-person, this September.

 

Read our position on in-person teaching and what we’ll be working with UCL to make happen.

 
What UCL’s stance is on the ‘blended learning’ this year for 2021-22?

This is UCL's position for the coming year.

 

But your department will send you more detailed info on what that means for you

It'll likely be a blend between online and in-person - the general idea being that large lectures take place on line, with smaller seminars, lectures, labs etc all taking place in-person. This is our view.

 

As far as we know it’s just the plan this year - however higher education has been shifting more and more to a blended model for a while, the pandemic has accelerated this 

 

How do students connect when studying from home?

We spent a lot of the last year making sure everyone could connect with each other whilst being at home. This year, we’ll be doing the same. Now that things have opened up in England, we’re planning to hold more in-person events but we still know that a lot of people won't be able to make it to campus so we’ll have lots of online options too.

Clubs and Societies

Will clubs and societies be online?

Our clubs and societies actually did some pretty special stuff online last year, and we’re sure some of that will continue. It helped them reach more people and try new things. But we’ll be supporting clubs and societies run in-person events, socials and training sessions too. Just like they used to

Is there a trial period or something similar for socs?

During Welcome week and for a few weeks after that, societies will be running free events and socials that you can attend to see which ones you like. They’ll list all the events / activities on our What’s On Calendar, so pop along to their socials, join the mailing lists - and get a feel of the society before committing.

When can we start joining societies?

1 September…

But if you’re new this year, we’d recommend you wait until you get here

Are socs open to postgrads pursuing their masters as well?

Yep, societies are open to all - undergraduates, masters and PhD students! As a majority Postgraduate University, you’re bound to meet other Postgraduates in societies.

Graduation

Will 2020/21 students have a graduation ceremony?

The online ceremony has been confirmed, the in person one has also been confirmed but a date hasn’t been set yet...

Fee Refunds

Will students ever get a refund for a completely online year?

We’re still working on it, we’re still meeting with other SUs, we’ve commissioned new research on the costs of refunds and presented it to ministers, but it’s difficult. We’re not giving up though. Simple fact remains, despite the best efforts of universities, the government’s approach to Covid meant that students couldn’t get what they paid for

 

Published 5 years 1 month ago
Last updated 5 years ago