August 17, 2021

Online course delivery to continue amid COVID-19 lockdowns

Students and staff given certainty for semester 2 and Trimester 3

The University of Wollongong (UOW) has today acted to provide certainty to students and staff by announcing online course delivery will continue for the remainder of Semester 2 and Trimester 3 due to COVID-19 lockdowns.

The notification to students and staff earlier today was in line with the University’s previous 28 July announcement that courses would be delivered online for the duration of the current stay-at-home orders, and that a decision on course delivery for the remainder of the session would be announced before the end of August.

The University has been closely monitoring the worsening COVID-19 situation in NSW and is preparing for the likely extension of current stay-at-home arrangements beyond 28 August.

Final exams for Semester 2 and Trimester 3 will be held remotely, with more detailed information about exams to be provided to students during normal exam notification periods.

COVID-safe arrangements are being made for the small number of courses requiring on-campus teaching to meet mandatory practical skills development and for the small number of exams requiring a practical assessment component.

UOW will continue to monitor the situation and, should COVID-19 restrictions ease, opportunities will be explored to return classes to campus where possible, in line with public health advice and student demand. Should this occur, any students preferring to continue studying online will be able to do so.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education), Professor Theo Farrell, said additional tools, resources and support services were being offered to help teaching staff provide the best possible learning experience for students studying online during this period.

“This decision has been taken to provide the greatest possible certainty to students, while keeping the safety and wellbeing of our students, staff and communities as our top priority - as we have since the onset of this pandemic,” Professor Farrell said.

Further information is available on UOW’s COVID-19 response website: www.uow.edu.au/coronavirus