Resumption Of In-Person Teaching – Aberystwyth University

The Vice-Chancellor of Aberystwyth University on September 27, 2020 took a temporary decision to suspend in-person teaching temporarily after discussions with local partners regarding the escalating risk of Covid-19 transmission.

Today (September 30, 2020) the Vice-Chancellor reconsidered the decision and announced that Aberystwyth University will be able to commence in-person teaching on campus over the coming days.

The Vice-Chancellor said:

This decision was taken earlier today in line with the full assessment of the local situation by local, regional and national partners.  This assessment has taken into consideration the levels of transmission locally, and the University’s own careful planning for in-person teaching.

Earlier this week we took the decision to temporarily suspend in-person teaching, following uncertainty surrounding the scale of the spread of the virus within the student community.

Since this decision was taken, we have been working closely with Ceredigion County Council, Hywel Dda University Health Board and Public Health Wales to understand the extent of the clusters.

As of Wednesday morning, we have identified 12 cases of COVID-19 in the student community. All those identified by the Council-led contact tracing system are required to self-isolate in accordance with Welsh Government guidance.

Postgraduate activities will recommence over the remainder of this week, prior to undergraduate in-person teaching commencing on Monday 5 October. On-line teaching will also continue this week.

We appreciate that the past few days have been difficult for everyone and we are grateful for your support and understanding. Our priority must remain the health and wellbeing of our students, staff and the wider community here in Aberystwyth.

To this end, it is imperative that everyone follows Welsh Government guidance to limit the spread of the virus. This means keeping social distance at all times, maintaining good hygiene – wash hands regularly, and wearing face-coverings in buildings, including in your accommodation. In particular, I should also make it clear that mixing households is not permitted under any circumstances.

Working with our partners, we continue to monitor the number of cases of COVID-19 in our community.  In the meantime, we will update you with specific information relating to teaching arrangements before the end of the week.