Overnight things have changed quite rapidly again with the University announcing all teaching will be online until the end of the Academic Year. This has quite a significant impact on The SU with regards to the events we planned to run after the Easter break. Due to the lack of students physically being on campus because of this additional change, we have made the sad decision to cancel the following events: SU Awards, Blues Awards, Education Awards and the Summer Ball 2020.
SU Awards We have had some outstanding nominations in over the last few weeks, and we are currently looking at ways we can still virtually reward students to ensure their achievements still get recognised. Groups do a vital job in creating the sense of community and inspiring change on campus, so please watch this space for updates.
Blues Awards
Blues recognises outstanding sporting achievements amongst a host of other things that clubs and athletes achieve over the year. Thank you to all those that applied for this years awards, the number of nominations was high with great applications to support them. The University Blues Committee met before the outbreak and have already discussed and agreed on the winners for this year. Information will be sent to all nominees to confirm if they have been successful or not, and we will be recognising these successes virtually in due course. Winners will also still recieve certificates and where relevant badges as well.
Education Awards
Every year we are inspired to hear about individuals who are making a positive impact on students education here at the University. We are working with the University and looking at options to hold the Education Awards online, so we can celebrate the contributions of individuals and groups nominated for the 2020 Awards. Further details will be released soon.
Summer Ball
Cancelling the ball really was one of the toughest decisions we have had to make. The ball isn’t just a big party, for some it marks the end of their journey at Bath. It has real meaning and emotion attached to it and we are devastated our graduating students won’t have that opportunity to end the year the way we had planned. However, our plan is to work with the University and keep in the loop with regards to graduations and to look at ways we can potentially run a smaller scale graduate-only event at a later date. We will keep final year students updated with plans.
Rest assured: full refunds will be given to all students who have purchased a ticket. Please note the refund process is a manual process and every ticket must be refunded individually, so with over 3,500 tickets sold, this will take a significant amount of time. We will try and get all refunds processed as quick as possible but please be patient as we have limited staff which is making the process even more challenging. We will be in touch directly with students who have bought a ticket.
Part Time Workers
We are aware that for some students who depend on part-time jobs that you may well be worried about the impact financially if you’re unable to continue with your work. The University has a Hardship Fund that we would advise you to look at if you’re worried about your finances in the coming days, weeks and months. They can do the processes remotely, and we’ve received assurance from the University that there will be money found to boost the fund’s availability. For other queries and worries, you can email studentmoneyadvice@bath.ac.uk.
Corona Community
Our community Facebook group has already got over 1,000 students connected, and we have already seen the Plug Quiz streamed live, a virtual workout for your bedroom and lots of amazing ideas to bring everyone together. Feel free to share ideas and help us keep spirits high.
Still on campus?
We are aware there are still many of you still in Bath or on campus. One important thing to highlight is that from Monday 23 March onwards, First will only be running a Sunday service on the U1 service. All other services to the University will be cancelled. This is to factor in the downturn of the number of passengers travelling and to ensure they can keep the buses running with fewer drivers.
If you are on campus and want us to give you direct communication relevant to you please join our mailing list.