Dear Colleagues
Following the successful move of all lectures online from 17th March, we are now moving all other classes online from Monday 30th March.
Some student placements will continue as they play an important role in training the key professionals for the future workforce.
Other face-to-face classes will be deferred until the COVID-19 situation is resolved and the timing of their reinstatement will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.
Once again, I would like to thank staff for the hard work and detailed planning that is being done to ensure that our educational programmes continue to deliver an outstanding experience for our students.
With the appropriate implementation of Social Distancing and the increased cleaning regimes that have been implemented, we can be confident that our various campuses provide safe environments for work and study.
However, we can expect that further steps towards physical isolation within the community are likely and so we must be prepared to continue to deliver core elements of our Research and Teaching mission under those circumstances.
Therefore, today I am announcing that by 6th April, those staff who can work safely and effectively from home should do so.
There are of course some critical functions that cannot be performed remotely and that will require a relatively small number of staff to continue to work on campus for at least some proportion of the time.
Working from home requires an approvals process that includes an assessment of the safety of your workplace. All staff must follow the approvals process which requires the approval of both your supervisor and manager.
More details on the approvals process will be provided later today by the Chair of the COVID-19 Taskforce.
Whatever your working location, all staff should take great care to follow Health Department advice on good hygiene principles and observe strict Social Distancing in order to minimise the transmission of the COVID-19 virus.
Under conditions of enforced isolation please make every effort to reach out to one another and support each other through what is likely to be a prolonged and difficult period for all of us.
Please remember that you will still be able to access the Employee Assistance Program, further information for which can be accessed at the following at this link.
Best wishes as you embark on a new way of working together in the virtual world.
Keep safe and keep healthy,
Colin
President & Vice-Chancellor