Last update Thursday 16th July at 4.08pm

As we head further into July and the summer period, we wanted to update all students with our current position and share some great news about how the start of the next year will work.

The Union of Students and the University have been working closely together to ensure we are consulting with students at every opportunity, and many decisions have been made with student feedback at the heart of the process. As we prepare to welcome a number of students back to campus in September, your new Officer team are central to the planning of space, with your best interests

The Union of Students is run by students, for students; everything we do is to make your life at the University of Derby amazing. We understand the challenges that you have been facing and are incredibly proud of the way our student community has adapted and thrived in the face of adversity. Your new Officer team are in position to continue the amazing work that has, this year, been recognised in both WhatUni and National Student Survey successes.

Our staff teams continue to work from home, and despite extended furlough plans – our members of staff are available to support and represent you. Our independent Advice service are completely impartial for any student seeking advice, support and information on a range of issues and concerns. Our main areas of advice include; academic issues including offences, appeals and issues affecting personal studies; student conduct, complaints and disciplinaries.

We can also support and signpost for many other issues including finance, housing and wellbeing. Appointments are currently available via being offered via telephone or Microsoft Teams video call, with a brand-new live chat function launching on Wednesday 29th July.

This year, the start of your journey – whether you’re a new or returning student - will look a little different, but we’re committed to offering you fantastic opportunities to meet new people and socialise, express yourself and your identity, join a vibrant student community and fulfil your potential.

Whether you’re after activities, representation, volunteering opportunities, employability or advice, we’ll be here for you throughout your studies.

Your Freshers programme this year is going to be a brilliant blend of safe but sociable virtual and on-site activities, with quizzes, cook-a-longs, music, meet and greets and discovery days between Saturday 19 and Sunday 27 September.

We are planning to host an on-campus Freshers Fair, giving you the chance to pick up fantastic discounts and freebies from local and national companies; introducing you to the very best of businesses that Derby has to offer and securing you the best discounts from all your favourite brands.

You can also meet our amazing range of sports, societies and student led services – and grab all the information you need to get stuck into student life.

As you can imagine, we are building in maximum flexibility to our programme, and will continue to update you as soon as we can. Please keep an eye on our social media channels.

Whether it’s online or in person, we can't wait to meet you!

Thursday 9th April at 2.16pm

As we head into the Easter weekend, we wanted to say thank you for your patience, understanding, energy and commitment over what has been an unprecedented few weeks for us all. The way the entire University community has reacted and adapted to the situation says everything about our students, our Union of Students and all the staff at Derby, demonstrating that our foundations are built upon the right attitudes, behaviours and values.

We have had to move at pace through this period and, as always, the Union of Students and the University have been working collaboratively to ensure we are championing the student voice, and we have been supporting and representing students daily.

Many decisions have been made, and through the engagement and input of our student representation we have ensured the needs of students have been at the heart of our decision making. Student feedback has been gathered across all channels and shared with the University, helping shape the no detriment policy that has been put in place. This policy aims to safeguard your opportunity to succeed and has been a powerful student-led change across the institution.

Student representatives, including your Officer Team and Part-Time Officers, have been working collaboratively with University leadership to inform decisions made around teaching, access to resources and challenges that students told us that they were facing. Decisions to waive third term payments in student accommodation, improvement of online learning resources, access to computers and provision of additional wellbeing services have all been shaped by student feedback.

During this extraordinary period in our lives, it's so important that all our students feel supported, so they can continue to succeed with no detriment to their assessments. The Union of Students and the University are committed to ensuring we continue to put students at the forefront of decisions being made.

Although challenging for us all, we are determined that when we look back on these difficult-times we can be proud of how we have worked together and managed our way through.

Thank you once more, and we wish you all a well-deserved Easter break.

Kind regards,
Daniella Quill, President of the Union of Students
Professor Kathryn Mitchell, Vice-Chancellor

Monday 23rd March at 9.00am

The Union of Students recognises the decision taken by the University of Derby to move teaching online from Monday 23rd March and also to the announcement that from 5.00pm on Tuesday 24th March areas of Kedleston Road will be closed to students and staff. This includes the Union quarter and main atrium. In response to this decision the Union is making several changes to the way our services will be offered, with these changes in place from today until Monday 20th April. We expect to carry out a further review on our services following the end of the Easter holiday for students and will update our News regularly as things progress.

• All Union activity at Kedleston Road has now ceased, with Blends and the Keddies shop now closed. This is due to the Union quarter and atrium area being closed to students and staff from Tuesday 24th March. As of 5.00pm on Tuesday 24th there will be no members of Union staff on site and you are therefore encouraged to make contact with us via facebook, phone or email. Please note the library remains open to students Monday-Friday and further details can be found in your student email.  
• The Union has now cancelled all Union events up to the end of the academic year, following University instructions. This includes sports club, society and student led services events. We have explored the option of postponing our end of year award ceremonies but have taken the decision to cancel these events due to the financial cost of these going ahead with low numbers in attendance and in anticipation of the ongoing public health risk to large group gatherings. We are working on delivering these events virtually and more information will follow soon so that achievements from this academic year are suitably recognised and celebrated. Unfortunately it has also not been possible to move Varsity to later in the year and so this has been cancelled.    
• All Union advice appointments will now be carried out via phone or Skype. This is in the interest of protecting the wellbeing of our staff advisors and the students visiting for appointments. Appointments are still available to book online at derbyunion.co.uk/advice/booking 

We recognise that these are exceptional times for all of us, and the Union remains available to support all students. For further information on the measures we are taking please email info@derbyunion.co.uk

More information from the University of Derby: derby.ac.uk/coronavirus