Universities are prioritising student and staff wellbeing by:

• Encouraging adherence to public health advice
• Helping to raise awareness in students and staff of risk factors and symptoms
• Reinforcing public health advice to self-isolate for 7 days without contacting NHS111 if experiencing mild symptoms regardless of travel history
• Providing students and staff who are self-isolating with clear guidance re accessing support and care if symptoms persist and worsen.
• Providing students and staff with support regarding additional anxiety as consequence of the pandemic
• Providing support for any students who may be experiencing harassment related to the pandemic.

Following the most recent guidance and advice, we have seen universities across Wales pause all face-to-face teaching and assessment, and switch to carrying out as many of their functions as possible virtually and remotely.

Some of the measures we are seeing across the university sector include:

• Shifting to online delivery of teaching and learning
• Closing the majority of buildings, except those delivering essential services or that hold equipment or research that requires attending
• Advising all students and staff to stay at home, with the exception of key or essential workers
• Postponing spring and summer graduation ceremonies
• Cancelling in-person open days
• Changing examination arrangements
• In all cases we know university staff are working to support staff and students to continue to work and study where it is practical to do so and provide access to resources remotely.

We are not aware of any universities that are planning to close. Most universities cannot fully close as they have commitments to students who live on campus, to certain research that must run around the clock and to maintaining infrastructure and other systems that cannot simply be switched off or left unattended.

Information on covid-19 (updated 20 March)

1. Full guidance on staying at home and away from others: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/full-guidance-on-staying-at-home-and-away-from-others/full-guidance-on-staying-at-home-and-away-from-others
2. Information about further and higher education during the coronavirus pandemic: https://gov.wales/further-and-higher-education-coronavirus
3. Welsh Government has issued a statement on summer examinations: https://gov.wales/written-statement-written-statement-summer-examinations-2020
4. Welsh Government is providing information about covid-19 here: https://gov.wales/topic/980/latest
5. Including travel guidance for education settings and students: https://gov.wales/coronavirus-travel-guidance-education-settings-and-students
6. Public Health Wales is updating their advice regularly here: https://phw.nhs.wales/topics/latest-information-on-novel-coronavirus-covid-19/
7. Universities UK is providing information for universities about covid-19 on its website: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/Pages/coronavirus.aspx
8. UKCISA covid-19 information for international students: https://www.ukcisa.org.uk/Information–Advice/Studying–living-in-the-UK/Coronavirus-Covid-19-info-for-international-students#layer-6716
9. Covid-19 immigration guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-immigration-guidance-if-youre-unable-to-return-to-china-from-the-uk

Welsh universities’ information