Please take a look at the support on offer for all students. 

PGR pastoral care continues from your Faculty's Research Support Tutors. Their names and contact details are available on Canvas, through The Postgraduate Researcher Development Programme topic.

The Doctoral College provide a series of resources through the Postgraduate Researcher Development Programme topic on Canvas.

If you are a student with symptoms, you should not return to the University campus for supervision meetings, lab or studio work, workshops, annual progress review, your viva voce, or for any other reason.

Action required:

Anyone who experiences coronavirus symptoms must not come on to campus or must leave campus immediately, avoid touching anything and return to their home or residence.

You should call 119 or visit gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test to arrange a free NHS test.

Email: Covid-19help@wlv.ac.uk and provide the following information:

• Full Name
• Student Number/Department
• Contact Telephone Number

Complete the online reporting form. 

Contact your personal tutor/line manager to inform them that you are self-isolating. 

Email: Covid-19help@wlv.ac.uk with the result of your test as soon as possible.

Return to campus when:

Your test comes back negative or if you have not had a test, a period of 10 days has passed since the symptoms started and you feel well.

If you are an international student and you wish to return home the University will endeavour to put in place support and resources to ensure that that your studies will not be adversely affected. Anyone considering this should contact their Faculty Support Service by logging a Helpdesk call on e:Vision, and email visa-enquiries@wlv.ac.uk

A key benefit to using the Helpdesk call is it's very easy to track, update and have a record of your query and our responses, we will respond to your call as soon as possible. 

You should contact your Director of Studies to make appropriate arrangements. The full Postgraduate Researchers’ Development programme will be delivered online – please check the Postgraduate Researcher Development Programme topic on Canvas.

In line with the Road to Reopening @WLV we are working towards the phased reopening of labs and studios. In some instances, such as the labs in Rosalind Franklin, a booking system is in place to manage lab capacity. Please contact your supervisory team for details

We will be conducting online supervisory meetings, including for Tier 4 students.

Where your current situation requires you to step back from your research because you are unable to progress with your research at all, a Leave of Absence will be granted, upon application. The period of this Leave of Absence will not count against the maximum Leave of Absence time permissible, which is 24 months.

Where your current situation is seriously disrupting your research, but you are able to continue to an extent, please consider asking your Director of Studies to apply for an Extension on your behalf. Extensions for Covid-19 related reasons will be granted for up to six months, without incurring additional fees.

Where your research is somewhat disrupted but you are mostly able to continue as planned, please seek guidance from your Director of Studies to see if it is possible to mitigate or work around disruptions. We remain committed to providing full and on-going supervision across the current period, and have overseen the running of numerous Viva Voces and awarded PhDs and Professional Doctorates in recent weeks.

The Home Office have confirmed that attending remotely will temporarily be acceptable under Tier 4. Postgraduate Research students will still need to meet with their supervisory teams at least once a month, but this can now be through video-conferencing and your supervisor will log these meetings. We will update you if the advice changes.

We will conduct these online through video-conferencing. Please contact your Director of Studies if you have any questions.

We have moved Viva Voce examinations online since March 2020, and we will continue with online examinations in all but exceptional circumstances. Full guidance for online vivas can be found on the Postgraduate Researcher Development Programme Canvas topic.

The University is committed to supporting its students and we will work with you to review all options available to you to enable you to financially continue your studies.

Continuity of financial arrangements for PGRs on scholarships may be available in some cases for those seeking an extension. Please speak to your Director of Studies.

Where possible, conduct the research remotely, e.g. interviews or focus groups can be conducted online. Remember to seek a new ethics review from your Faculty ethics committee if this is a change to your original plan.

Where face-to-face contact is required, you need to abide by government guidance for your research setting, which will involve social distancing, hygiene measures and possibly wearing of face coverings.

If your research involves a health or social care setting, you must follow the NHS Health Research Authority Guidance – please see https://www.hra.nhs.uk/planning-and-improving-research/policies-standards-legislation/covid-19-guidance-sponsors-sites-and-researchers/. Please check updates on this site regularly.

FSE - Faculty of Science and Engineering

Rooms available on the Springfield Campus and at the School of Engineering on Telford Campus (Aspen room), at City (Wolverhampton) Campus PGR rooms are based in the Alan Turing Building: MI159, MI228, MI229

Please make bookings via FSEresearch@wlv.ac.uk

FEHW - Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing

PGR room available at City (Wolverhampton) Campus is MC118 (Millenium City building), and at Walsall Campus is WA104 and WA106 (Jerome K Jerome building). 

Please make bookings via FEHWAcademicSupport@wlv.ac.uk

FABSS - Faculty of Business and Social Sciences

PGR rooms are available at City Campus in MU412 (Lord Paul Swrag Business School), MH029 (Mary Seacole building), MK031 and MK214 (George Wallis, School of Art).

Please make bookings via FABSSResearch@wlv.ac.uk

Please note: non-library buildings will be shut 19 Dec 2020 – 3 Jan 2021 (i.e. last day of availability in 2020 is 18 Dec, first date of availability in 2021 is 4 Jan).

Before accessing PRG rooms, you will need to have completed a Risk Assessment, in conjunction with your Director of Studies or Postgraduate Research Tutor. We are operating an access rota, to limit the number of people in such rooms at any one time. Therefore your time may be limited. This information is available to you as you book.

Please do not attempt to access these rooms without having first completed a Risk Assessment, and without having successfully made a booking.

In line with government guidance, please do not attend campus at all if you have any of the following: a high temperature; a new, continuous cough; a loss of, or change to, your sense of smell or taste. If you are experiencing symptoms of Coronavirus, please follow our reporting procedures. 

Once on the campus, face coverings are mandatory in all communal areas and learning environments, please review our guidance for safety on campus. 

• Please maintain 2-metre social distance at all times.
• Please sanitise upon entry and exit from the PGR room. You will find cleaning materials in the rooms.
• Please wipe your personal workspace clean at the start of your session, and again at the end of your session. You will find cleaning materials in the rooms.
• We ask that Directors of Study and postgraduate research students are not present in the same PGR room at the same time.
• We ask that you do not share items such as staplers, telephones, stationery, hole-punchers and chairs.

Accessing the Library 

From Monday 11 January until further notice, Harrison and Walsall libraries will be open 10 am - 4 pm Monday to Saturday. 

On Wednesday 13 January the Hutchison Library at Telford Campus will close at 4 pm and will remain closed until further notice.  The University will continue to keep opening hours of the library under review.

If you are a student who has been accessing the Telford library, alternative study space is available in The Angad Paul (SA) Building, Common Room Restaurant area 10 am – 4 pm (no booking required.) Please note that catering facilities will not be available.

You will still be able to book to use study spaces, PCs and printing facilities at the Harrison and Walsall libraries. Click and collect and book returns will also be operating, as will laptop loans. However, we strongly advise that you do not travel to campus unless it is necessary to do so for your studies.

All students accessing study spaces will be expected to follow social distancing guidelines and, in line with the latest advice from the UK Government face coverings must be worn.

Please ensure you bring your Student ID to access the library. You must book a study space in advance of travelling and show your booking confirmation to staff upon arrival.

Online Resources

There are a huge amount of online resources and learning support accessible from the library webpages and Canvas. To get started, access your Reading Lists via Canvas, or go to LibrarySearch to search across thousands of resources including ebooks, journals, articles.

Need Help?

If you have any questions about the service or need help with access resources, support is available 24/7 via the online chat service ASSIST.

Academic skills support remains fully available through the latest lockdown with our library team continuing to help you identify, develop and refine your academic skills. One to one support remains available by appointment together with a range of on-line support and live training workshops offered via a range of platforms. Full details at wlv.ac.uk/skills.

For further details on accessing library services and latest updates, visit wlv.ac.uk/lib/reopening.