Research Student Update: Access to PGR study spaces

This update includes information covering postgraduate study rooms and the booking process, Covid-19 testing for returning to campus and safety on campus.

Please read the full update carefully before travelling to the University to access a study space. 

Postgraduate study rooms now available on our campuses: 

Faculty of Science and Engineering

Rooms available:

• Springfield Campus
• School of Engineering (Aspen Room) at Telford Campus
• MI 159 (Alan Turing Building) at City Campus

Please make bookings via FSEresearch@wlv.ac.uk

Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing

Rooms available:

• MC 118 (Millenium City Building) at City Campus
• WA 104 and WA 106 (Jerome K Jerome Building) at Walsall Campus

Please make bookings via FEHWAcademicSupport@wlv.ac.uk

Faculty of Arts, Business and Social Sciences

Rooms available:

• MU 412 (Lord Swrag Paul Business School) at City Campus
• MH 029 (Mary Seacole Building) at City Campus
• MK 031 and MK214 (George Wallis Building) at City Campus

Please make bookings via: FABSSResearch@wlv.ac.uk

Before accessing these rooms, you will need to complete a risk assessment in conjunction with your Director of Studies or Postgraduate Research Tutor. The rooms are operating an access rota to limit the number of people in each room 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 first completing a risk assessment and having successfully made a booking.

In the Harrison Library (City Campus), the Researchers’ Reading Room (MD 103) will be available from Monday, 24 May, during library opening hours.

Please request access upon arrival at the Library reception desk. This room will be available for single, socially distanced study. For the purposes of Track & Trace, Library staff will ask for your details which will be kept for 21 days. Staff will also ask to see your University ID card to confirm your PGR status and provide you with a code to enter the Researcher’s Reading Room. Access to the library is strictly by University ID card only. If the room has reached capacity, the Harrison Learning Centre also have some drop-in PCs on the ground floor for use, or PGRs can book to use any other space in the library.

Directors of Study and postgraduate research students should only meet in communal areas for supervision, not in offices or postgraduate rooms. Directors of Study and postgraduate research students should 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.

Covid-19 testing 

Students that have not yet returned to campus should take a test before travelling to the University, either through your local community testing programme or by ordering a home test kit online. If you test positive, you must take a confirmatory PCR test and self-isolate for ten days before returning.    

On return to the University, you should take three tests (three/four days apart) at an in-person testing facility. All students should then test twice a week, either using home test kits or at an in-person testing facility.   

We have a webpage that includes the Government's latest guidance about when to get a test, along with the locations for testing sites close to our campuses. You can arrange to get a lateral flow test using the facilities referenced on the webpage, somewhere local to you, or by ordering a home test kit online.  

Testing is just one part of our on-campus preventative measures against coronavirus, so please continue to follow our safety guidelines and wear a face-covering whenever you are on campus.  

Safety on Campus

Everyone must continue to play their part in keeping our University and the wider community safe; this means following social distancing guidelines, wearing a face covering and taking part in regular testing.    

Whilst Covid-19 restrictions continue to ease, there are specific actions that are crucial for everyone to adopt to ensure our campuses remain as safe as possible. Please be aware that household bubbles are not permitted on our campuses, meaning that everyone must maintain two metres social distancing, even if you live together.      

• Face coverings must be worn inside all University buildings, including practical learning spaces, libraries (study and PC areas), corridors, stairwells and teaching rooms.     
• Everyone must maintain two metres social distancing on campus both indoors and in outside spaces, including students who live in a household bubble.     
• Follow hygiene procedures, including washing your hands regularly with soap and water and making use of sanitising stations where available.    
• Clean work and study spaces before and after use using the cleaning products provided.     
• Follow all on-campus signage to safely move around buildings and learning spaces, including one-way systems, QR check-in and only use workspaces designated as available and not use those that have a cross. 
• Adhere to the isolation and reporting guidelines set out in our Covid-19 reporting procedures. If you are feeling unwell or experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, do not come on to campus.    

In line with Government guidance, everyone accessing catering facilities on campus must check in with the NHS Covid-19 app or provide their name and contact details. Anyone who does not comply will be refused entry.  Everyone must maintain two metres social distancing, and wear a face-covering when not eating. 

The number of cases of Covid-19 at the University remains very small, but to keep these numbers low, we need each member of the University community to do their bit in following the rules. The University will continue to review our on-campus safety measures in line with any changes to Government guidance. 

Visit our Safety on Campus webpage for more information.