Uni - finishing early

[Monica53]

Hi there
This coronavirus is so stressful! my anxiety is soaring .... our Dd heading home from Uni - one student in isolation due to home from abroad. She ha had zero contact with the student - however I’ve suggested when she gets home she should isolate herself for7 days - at least we’ll all stay put as I’m working from home in any case ! Can I ask is this the right thing to do? Stress is got be done in. I’m so so stressed

DD's university isn't finishing early as far as I know. The students are still going to lectures, tutorials and doing lab work.

DD's University have cancelled Varsity, cancelled the awards ceremonies and dinners, but lectures / tutorials are still going ahead.
They are all on-line afterwards anyway though so if you were in a vulnerable group you can still get the information without attending.

Tbh, even if they did close / finish early, I doubt my dd would come home as there is no less risk here than there.

Bristol uni are suspending lectures from next Wednesday. But some clinical courses may still be running I think. Dd1 is on a clinical course but hasn't heard yet what's happening. I think lectures will still be run online.
Well done on making a decision Bristol.

@teta
Our Dd is on gateway to medicine and they are finishing Wednesday - Bristol. We are 6hrs drive away so she has to get the train - which she said was ok x

I'm wondering whether the year 4/5 medics will be used in some capacity?
I know in other countries they are being used to staff advice lines. Or maybe in triage?
We're in such uncharted waters, who knows?

teta, DD is a third year medic at Bristol. They got an email late Friday afternoon saying all academies were being closed. Teaching staff would need to be diverted to front line care. I assume vets will not lose teaching staff in the same way.

In terms of infection, my understanding is the around 60% of us will need to catch the virus before the pandemic burns out, and that this will take some months. The Government wants to slow the rate at which people are being infected, so the numbers who are ill at any one time, are reduced. Risks for the people who would not normally be offered a flu vaccine are relatively low. Self isolation, if there is no direct need, is boring. Better to stay well away from vulnerable people who really cannot afford to be ill, and take sensible steps to reduce the risk of contagion. And accept that we will all probably catch it eventually, for most of us it will be not dissimilar to picking up this season's flu.

It is tough for young people being forced to put their lives on hold for a few months, especially with the complications of exams and University courses. We know someone who is taking a gap year to have a good shot at making an Olympic team, something they have worked towards for years. The real concern is for those who have health issues. I am sure all of us have people we are worried about. Oddly probably the best way of us protecting them is for healthy people to get the virus (but not all at once) whilst staying well away from the vulnerable until the point where there are insufficient new hosts within the community and the virus stops spreading.

I hope everyone here, and their loved ones, remain well.

If she's had no contact, and has no symptoms, then I wouldn't have thought you need to isolate.

Bristol is closing on Wednesday (18th) for Easter about 9 days early

"The University of Bristol will be ending lessons for this term on Wednesday because of coronavirus. Teaching was due to continue until Friday, March 27."

Dd says that the dental hospital are running short of masks and patients arent showing up so I think it likely they will be open for emergencies only soon so she will come home for Easter the same time as the uni breaks up. My other dd says lectures are on as normal but they've been given access codes for things online. Her dance showcase has been cancelled as has anything else involving the public and her trip to Ireland has been cancelled.

OP, I don’t think your DD would need to isolate when she gets home if she has not had any contact with the student who is isolating because they have returned from a high risk country/area.

Ours is refusing to shut down early - it's only the ex-polys in our area that are still slogging on.

I'm refusing to go in for anything non-essential - they can kick me out if they want but considering you basically need to have not showed up from September till about January to even get a raised eyebrow about attendance - I'm not expecting it.

I'm expecting the u-turn by the end of next week to be honest. They've disinfected the door handles though!

My information is that Durham, Sheffield, Kings London and at least Birmingham Uni have pretty much tried to clear out as many students as they can. A few key teaching sessions may be offered on line - we shall see. No one knows quite what will happen to year end exams, not even finals. Some assessments may happen on line in some form, but that is a hope and not an expectation. ... Some or most Warwick exams/projects may well not happen as they are just not feasible online.

My daughter is now home from her Cambridge college, having cleared out a lot of her stuff and brought all her key books and papers ... at near enough zero notice. She is not expecting to go back until October, and even then only if her MPhil place is confirmed.

College 'Senior Tutors' met late Friday They are, in effect, the 'Senior General Operations Executives' across the colleges, with particular responsibility for everyone's welfare. They immediately sent out a 'clear out please' message. They have since let it be known that exams are extremely unlikely to happen in the normal way. 31 March is the date by which they want to firm up a decision, but the pace of events and the pressure from students are such that their hand may be forced.

My daughter is both distressed and a bit bemused. She probably will not have Finals now, her degree being awarded on some form of assessment based on Tutors' ('Supervisors') Reviews. ... This will also have to do for deciding MPhil funding and college allocation. ... A short break overseas with friends was abandoned today; they are unlikely to get most of their money back. ...Two sought after and expensively purchased May Ball tickets - and a desirable and expected Garden Party ticket - may now be be for abandoned events. ... Her 21st Birthday Party, booked for the summer in Cambridge, is now probably lost, too. ... There will be no formal Graduation event. ... Some overseas student friends are homeless and need college support or rely on friends' sofas. .... Some friends are overseas and so she may not see them again for a long, long time. .. One close friend has a long standing, serious medical condition and, as such, is at significant risk if they become Corovid-19 positive.

Time for me to take a really deep breath and just smile, albeit ruefully.

And express gratitude that my baby is home and safe.

Good luck to all students and all families at this extraordinary time!

Nottingham finishing face to face lectures on Friday. No idea about exams but clinical placements cancelled. Be very glad when she's home.

Liverpool uni shut until next academic year. Library will be open and accommodation and work online.

Overnight we're still getting the same video message repeated from all this week of business as normal but we've cleaned a bit from ours. Determined not to close.

It is not easy for a lot of students if it all closes as plenty of them have no home to go to and were in care etc. Anyway I am not sure if my sons will come home early next week or wait until end of March as originally planned. I think it will depends on their housemates and perhaps the one who has a dissertation might find that easier to finish here than there. I do not mind either way. I just hope finals are not affected as one of my son start a course on 7 Sept which requires him to get a 2/1 to get his place.

Exeter's closing a week early.