The University has put in place measures to ensure the safety of our students, staff, and the entire community. We are all required to adhere to these safety measures as the primary responsibility of ensuring a safe campus lies with each one of us.
WHAT TO KNOW
What measures is the University taking to ensure a safe campus?
- The University has put in place measures to ensure the Ministry of Health Covid19 protocols are observed.
- At every entry point at the campus, there is a thermal gun temperature check and a hand-sanitizing station.
- All recordings/registration is done electronically by the security team.
- Each student is required to present their student identification card in order to access campus.
- While recognizing that you will be happy to reconnect with one another, we discourage hugging, handshakes, and any other close physical contact that goes against the Covid-19 health protocols.
What are some of the Covid -19 symptoms that I should look out for?
- High temperature (>37.5 ºC).
- Cough and shortness of breath.
- Other symptoms such as muscular pain, headache, loss of taste and smell,
diarrhea, or other flu-like symptoms.
What should I do If I experience the symptoms mentioned above?
- Anyone experiencing the above symptoms should not attend on-campus classes.
- The person should contact the University Medical Centre or seek medical attention from a reputable medical facility for further evaluation, diagnosis, and follow-up.
What happens if I fall sick or test positive for the virus?
- Any student who feels unwell is advised to stay home.
- Should a student test positive for the COVID virus, they are requested to inform their respective School Administrator/Manager immediately so that necessary action is taken, and the process of contact tracing is initiated.
- The University requires the students who cannot come to campus due to illness, to write to their respective Schools attaching supporting medical documents.
What happens if several students and staff test positive for the virus?
- The University will seek guidance from health experts and take any necessary containment measures to reduce community transmission.
Now that the University is going back to on-campus learning, will I be required to attend all face-to-face classes scheduled in my timetable?
- Yes, all students are expected to attend on-campus classes as scheduled in the timetable issued to them by their respective Schools.
- Any student who for medical reasons cannot attend the in-person classes should inform their School Manager in writing, attaching the necessary documentation.
- Students who may not be in the country and who cannot travel due to government directives/travel restrictions will be required to inform their School Manager in writing.
- Should a student fail to attend in-person classes without valid reasons, they will be considered absent for purposes of the required attendance threshold.
What happens to the students who, for valid reasons cannot attend the in-person classes?
- Efforts will be made to ensure that these students have access to learning
resources. Lecturers shall upload learning resources on the e-learning platform, this may include class recordings where possible.
- Where practical, lecturers may use available technology to allow the students who are off-campus to follow the classes synchronously.
- The same applies to international students who cannot travel due to
lockdown/travel restrictions in their respective countries.
What happens if a lecturer cannot come to the in-person classes due to illness?
- Where possible, the lecturer shall deliver the classes remotely.
- Where a lecturer cannot deliver their lectures, the School will work to ensure that students make up for the time lost in due course.
How will the classes run?
- Classes shall be delivered using a blended learning model. For every 3-hour class, 2 hours shall be delivered in-person and 1hour remotely.
- The sitting arrangement of the in-person classes will ensure appropriate social distancing.
- The 1-hour virtual class is timetabled, and students will be required to attend the class at the time allocated.
- As is the case now, all examinations will be conducted on campus.
What happens if the class capacity exceeds the available space for a physical class?
- For the most part, classrooms have been allocated based on class sizes.
- In the event that the class size does not allow for appropriate social distancing, the class may be split into smaller groups.
- Where classes have to be divided, the lectures will be imparted using a hybrid model where a group of students will attend the classes physically and the other group will synchronously attend the class virtually. The groups will alternate on a weekly basis so as to ensure each gets a similar student experience.
- The University is working on installing supporting classroom technology that will enhance the hybrid mode of learning.
Will the bundles provided for online classes be discontinued once physical classes commence?
- As students return to in-person learning, the provision of bundles to students will no longer be necessary as students will be in a position to access the University network connections.
- Students who may be experiencing difficulties in accessing reliable internet will be allowed to attend the virtual classes from the campus.
- The ICT services such as Wi-Fi are being enhanced to cater for the influx of students who may be connecting to the wireless.
- The University will continue engaging the service providers to negotiate for students continued access to the discounted rates for bundles.
What is the status of the resumption of physical classes for evening students?
- The evening students are expected to resume physical classes by August 2021 subject to government directives relating to night-time curfews.
- Schools are engaging the evening students and staff to obtain feedback on
workable schedules. Further updates will be given to evening students in due course.
What happens should the government reinstate lock-down measures that make it impossible to continue in-person learning?
- Should the government impose restrictions affecting in-person learning, learning and University operations will not be interrupted.
- In-person classes will be migrated back to the online platforms.
