Welcome back!

Welcome back!

by David Hewlett -
Number of replies: 0

We are looking forward to a new academic year and continuing to work with you in your learning and formation. This email is being sent to all continuing students with different sections flagged for particular groups.

 ALL STUDENTS – news and developments

  • The first thing that should strike you when you visit the campus is a brand new car park.  We hope this will make it easier for students and staff to have reliable and more secure parking.  At the moment the diggers are hard at work but we hope it will be completed before the start of term.  We have been seeking permission to do this for some time so will be working with the staff student community forum to review our whole site parking policy and we will be sharing the outcome of this with you as soon as possible.  In the meantime when it is ready you will be able to use it, but we may need to issue temporary permits.  

  • We are sorry to have said goodbye in August to our Campus Manager, Mark McFadzean.  Mark has done a great job during the year (including securing the new car park) so we wish him well for the future.  At the time of writing we do not have a replacement, but we do have an interim Operations Manager, Paul Capelin.  Paul will be supporting all the support staff during this year and releasing Katherine Onion to focus on Registry work as we go through the time consuming process of becoming an Approved Provider, regulated by the new Office for Students.  We are doing this largely so that students can continue to access DSA and student finance, so that we can continue to be globally connected and able to offer opportunities for study for students from the majority world, but it intensifies pressure on us as we are treated as identical to a University with 30,000 students.

  • One of the consequences of this is that the data Government collects is increasing and I am afraid this means during this year we have to get information from you in addition to that which you have already provided.  Please look at the information on Moodle about the HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency) Student Collection Notice about how the Government stores and uses the data they collect. Other updated information about data protection from Queen’s and Durham University is available to view but you don’t have to do anything further.  https://queens.commonawards.org/course/view.php?id=1066

  • Other staff changes, which many of you will already be aware of, are that we have said farewell to Ash Cocksworth to take up his position as senior lecturer at Roehampton University; we are glad that Deacon Jess Foster and Dr Tim Hull will be continuing to work with us to strengthen our interfaith and doctrine provision respectively.  We are also delighted that Professor Robert Beckford is acting as consultant in the development and provision of new pathways in Black Theology and that he will doing some teaching in mission and evangelism modules this year.

  • For those who are completing in 2017-18:

    • For Newman post graduate students who have completed all work before April you will hear from the University in September for an October graduation;

    • For Newman post graduate students who are completing work before the end of August 2018 your work will go to Exam board in November, you will hear from us if there are any problems, and you can expect to hear from the University in September 2019 for an October graduation;

    • For Durham post graduate students your work will go to Exam board in November, you will hear from us if there are any problems, and you can expect to hear from the University in January 2019, for a graduation soon afterwards;

    • For Newman under graduate students your work will go to Exam board in September, you will hear from us if there are any problems, and you can expect to hear from the University later that month for an October graduation;

    • For Durham under graduate students your work will go to Exam board in January 2019, you will hear from us if there are any problems, and you can expect to hear from the University in January about receipt of certificate and graduation if you are completing a BA.

ALL TRACK 1 AND TRACK 2 STUDENTS and READERS/CURATES/PROBATIONERS

  • If you are following a standard pathway your timetable with assessment deadlines will be posted on the above page.  If you are on a bespoke timetable your Director of Studies or Centre Director will be in touch with you, if they have not already done so.

 ALL TRACK 1 students

  • On the same Moodle page as above you will find information about accommodation and dates for your return.  Please note this carefully and if you have questions or problems contact Dede (hospitality@queens.ac.uk). 

  • Keep an eye on Moodle for information about the advanced preaching course “Speaking into Life” from the 17th – 20th September and also for information about the intensive Biblical Studies module in the first teaching week of term.

 STUDENTS LEARNING AT SHALLOWFORD HOUSE

  • The Diocese of Lichfield has suspended admissions to the Reader training programme for this year while the programme is re-shaped.  This means that there will be less pressure on space but also that those preparing for ordination will have a differently shaped programme so that they can belong to the continuing year 2 cohort for at least some their learning.  Please welcome them warmly!