Your DMU Future – Student and applicant FAQs

Despite the success of the vaccination programme in the UK, the Government has made it clear that regular testing (especially on university campuses for students and staff) is essential to keeping the community safe and to limit the transmission of the virus. All students and staff are strongly encouraged to continue to get tested twice weekly (irrespective of vaccination status).

Before any students start their journeys to their term-time accommodation, the Government is also encouraging them to take a test either through home or community testing at least one day before they travel back.

Testing is still available to book at the Learning Zone in the Eric Wood Building. Home testing kits are also available for collection from the Eric Wood learning zone (as well as other local healthcare providers and pharmacies). We have increased our signage across campus to remind students of the need for testing and our Covid marshals will also be on hand to offer support and answer any questions on testing.

If you have had a positive coronavirus test in the last 90 days through NHS Test and Trace and been recorded as a positive case on the national system, you do not need to be tested again via the lateral flow testing system within that period if you are asymptomatic. This is because you are likely to have developed some immunity. You are currently still required to self-isolate if you are identified as a close contact of a positive case, even if this is within the 90-day window, however this guidance is due to change.

If you are making plans to travel, you will need to follow the rules for travelling to England. This may include including taking Covid tests before travel, booking a travel test package and quarantining on arrival. Please note that the DMU on-campus tests will not be accepted at the UK Border as a replacement for the travel test package that travellers must book through the UK government website.

If you’re required to quarantine, we also recommend that you prepare by making sure that you read and understand the DMU Self-Isolation guidance before you travel.

Upon arrival at your accommodation please also report that you are self-isolating by completing this DMU Safe Trace Self-Isolation form. The DMU Safe Trace system is designed to minimise the transmission of Covid-19 on campus. Find out more about Safe Trace.

Despite lockdown restrictions being lifted, students are asked to be considerate in use of physical study spaces and, like other DMU campus buildings, are encouraged to take personal responsibility for keeping others safe, including continued social distancing and the wearing of face coverings in library spaces.

Please visit the campus facilities webpage for the latest information on building opening dates and times.

For full information on our ventilation protocols please see DMU's Health and Safety measures and click the drop down tab for ‘university measures to reduce transmission’. In order to minimise the spread of Covid-19 and to comply with government guidance, we will continue to have a combination of fresh air ventilation and windows open, and with the autumn and winter period upon us, we encourage everyone to wear appropriate clothing and not close windows that are open.

Your Module Leader will tell you via Blackboard if you need to take any remote exams. You'll also have scheduled dates for your exams.

Check here for any exams that you are due to be sitting at the upcoming exam periods. Please remember to check this periodically as occasionally it is necessary to change your exam date.

Your Blackboard module shells (or other places mentioned by Module Leaders) will contain details of assessments you must take. Also keep a regular check on your DMU email for the latest information. 

Please ensure that you have read the specific instructions and guidance from each Module Leader/Tutor. If you have any questions, contact your Module Leader/Tutor before the examination day.

In some modules, exams are now replaced with alternative assessments. Please check all the exam information on Blackboard so you're aware of all assessment methods. For any questions, please contact your Module Leader(s) or Programme Leader as soon as possible

We expect you to take your remote exam in your home environment. If you feel this is not possible, contact your Student Advice Centre by no later than 16 April to discuss your concerns.

Before your examination date, decide where you are going to be when you take the exam. You should think about: 

• Is this a quiet space with minimal disturbances? 
• Will you have everything you need? 
• Does this space have an appropriate and reliable internet connection?
• If there's a problem on the day of the exam, do you know who to contact?

If you need to travel to the place where you intend to take the exam, check local details about whether travel is permitted under current Covid-19 restrictions.

If travel is allowed, allow suitable time to make the journey and settle yourself ready to start the examination. Think about this arrangement as being the same as a formal on-campus examination.

• Students who haven’t booked a space with their Student Advice Centre will not be permitted to take their remote exam on campus.
• We will book you into a specific time window; either 8am-12.30pm or 1.30-6pm
• You must leave the space at the end of the booked period (no exceptions)
• We will book you into a specific room
• You must wear a face covering at all times (unless exempt)
• No hot food is permitted, or any food or drink that could negatively impact those around you
• If you bring your own computer to the remote exam, you are responsible for making sure it's charged and suitable for the examination
• You must follow the room monitors’ instructions, including scanning Safe Trace. 

You access your remote (i.e. online) exams through the Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment.

If you don't have access to Blackboard, contact ITMS Service Desk as soon as possible to resolve the matter. Email itmsservicedesk@dmu.ac.uk or phone on +44 (0) 116 250 6050, or 0116 250 6050 if you are in the UK. The ITMS Service Desk will be available from 8am-6pm during exam working weeks. 

An Out of Hours IT Service Desk operates 24 hours a day, seven days per week through the phone numbers above. It can resolve limited IT issues, including resetting passwords. This does not include resolving Blackboard or PC issues outside of the examination window.

If you don't have access to Blackboard, contact ITMS Service Desk as soon as possible to resolve the matter. Email itmsservicedesk@dmu.ac.uk or phone on +44 (0) 116 250 6050, or 0116 250 6050 if you are in the UK. The ITMS Service Desk will be available from 8am-6pm during exam working weeks. 

An Out of Hours IT Service Desk operates 24 hours a day, seven days per week through the phone numbers above. It can resolve limited IT issues, including resetting passwords. This does not include resolving Blackboard or PC issues outside of the examination window.

Access to start remote exams will be available for a set period of time. We call this the ‘Examination Window’. The Examination Window is the period when you can start an exam. 

Your module Blackboard shell will have the link to the remote exam. 

The exam will be available on the scheduled day and only during the Examination Window.

Examination Windows will be 8am-6pm UK time on the date scheduled. 

Please note that the Examination Window does not mean the length of time available to complete your exam. We call this the Examination Completion Period.

You must complete remote exams within a set duration of time. We call this the Examination Completion Period. You must ensure you watch the time and submit your essay before your Completion Period ends as otherwise your exam will be considered not to be submitted.

If you are entitled to extra time (Individual Exam Arrangements), this will be automatically added to your Examination Completion Period. 

Your Module Leader/Tutor will give details about the Examination Completion Period in your module Blackboard shell. Please see your module-specific information so you understand how your examination will work.

Make sure you complete and submit your exam by 6pm UK time. This means that you must begin your exam early enough to allow this. 

For example: 

• If your exam is two hours long, begin no later than 4pm UK time
• If it's three hours long then no later than 3pm UK time, and so on. 

 

Please be aware that IT and Module Leader/Tutor support is not available after 6pm UK time.

The Examination Completion Period begins when you begin your exam. In all cases, it ends when the duration of the exam has passed. 

For example: if your exam is two hours long and you begin at 10am UK time, the clock will stop at noon UK time. You must ensure you have submitted the exam within this duration.

By submitting your examination, you are confirming that: 

• Your effort is an individual effort
• Entirely your own work 
• And you have not engaged in bad academic practice and/or an academic offence. 

For more information, see Chapter 4 of the General Regulations and Procedures Affecting Students 2020-21. 

Please note: 

• Full disciplinary regulations apply to any cheating behaviour. This includes possible referral to an Academic Offences Panel, which has the authority to dismiss you from the university.
• A sample of exam submissions will be subject to similarity testing. This may include running it through Turnitin software.

If your exam paper is 'open book', you will have access to sources of factual information. The scope and nature of the sources you may use will be in the examination rubric, including the use of your own notes. 

Please remember that the following actions are against academic regulations: 

• Cutting and pasting information from an internet source, or; 
• Reproducing text word-for-word without referencing (also known as citation). 

You should only submit work using your own words with a reference to the sources that influenced your thinking. 

It may not be a good use of time within the examination window to try to access such sources. Instead, we recommend that you: 

• Access and prepare any material you might need before the exam date, and; 
• Focus on answering the examination questions within the examination window.

DMU will use standard university methods to ensure that the remote exam assessment process has been conducted fairly and under agreed processes and procedures. These include moderation, Turnitin software, and external examiner scrutiny. Please see the DMU Bad academic practice webpage to find out more.

Whereas in spring 2020 we had to make the move to online exams very suddenly with no time to prepare, the upcoming exam period balances the need for flexibility with the requirement that exams are conducted rigorously and fairly. The extended access window of 8:00am-6:00pm UK time recognises that not every student is able to begin their online exam at the same time for a variety of reasons, for example, caring responsibilities. DMU has been planning for an online exam period since November and online exams have been designed to be able to be completed within a set period of time, as in any exam period.

Yes. A full student consultation was undertaken in collaboration with De Montfort Students’ Union in October. As part of this consultation we presented students with the opportunity to share their opinions on how they wanted examinations to run and the vast majority agreed that DMU should plan for an online exam period.

No, in most cases you don’t. All your exams will be conducted remotely/online through our Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). There are a limited number of modules where Turnitin will also be used; please consult your ML.

We expect all students to take their remote exam in their home environment. However, if you feel this is not possible, you must contact your Student Advice Centre by no later than 16 April. Some students may then be permitted to take their remote examination in a designated on-campus space (non-invigilated).

Yes. Until 30 September 2022 you will not be required to submit evidence to support your extension to coursework deadline request.

Extensions only apply to coursework-based assessments, not exams. For exams you would need to apply for a deferral. Deferral requests must still be supported by evidence. However, you may have one self-certified deferral during an academic session, without the requirement for evidence. You can learn more on our deferral policies page.

Yes. You will still need to provide evidence if you request a deferral during 2021/22. However, you may have one deferral request during the academic session which can be self-certified, without the requirement for evidence. Any further requests must be supported by evidence. You can learn more on our deferral policies page.

All taught students.

If students are studying under DMU academic regulations then yes, this regulation applies.

We have been working hard to look at what your teaching experience will be like for the new academic year and to create flexibility in that offer should there be any changes in the Government’s Covid-19 restrictions at any point during the academic year.

Our intention is that this flexibility will allow us to make available, as part of our overall teaching offer, face-to-face learning experiences that would still comply with any changing safety restrictions.

Innovations in teaching events, online activities, other learning materials and experiences have also been developed based on what has worked well for students this year and from student feedback.

We are delighted to be able to offer our students an experience which will adopt the positive elements of both face-to-face and online teaching, based on our learnings of the last 15 months, but, importantly, can quickly adapt if government stipulations alter at any point during the academic year.

In this model for your learning experience, the re-introduction of face-to-face teaching for smaller groups will be complemented with convenient online materials, which can be accessed as and when you desire.

Find out more.

We are delighted to be able to offer our students an experience which will adopt the positive elements of both face-to-face and online teaching, based on our learnings of the last 15 months, but, importantly, can quickly adapt if government stipulations alter at any point during the academic year.

In this model for your learning experience, the re-introduction of face-to-face teaching for smaller groups will be complemented with convenient online materials, which can be accessed as and when you desire.

Our commitment to providing face-to-face teaching will remain even if the Government decides that some social distancing will need to continue come September, or be reintroduced during your studies.

Find out more.

Our plan for 2021-22 has been created to be future-proof. We are focused on ensuring a consistent, high-quality student experience, maximising face-to-face and on-campus activities where possible but, crucially, one that avoids disruption for you should national Covid-19 restrictions have to be reintroduced, or if you are ‘pinged’ and have to self-isolate.

Our timetables and event planning have all been designed with this in mind, ensuring we can retain your on-campus experience and not disrupt your schedule even if social distancing and other safety measures return.

In that instance, we intend to still have face-to-face teaching but would be making some minor tweaks to delivery to create an environment that, with the co-operation of our students, will be as safe as possible and in line with government restrictions.

We know that university is a significant investment in your future and for you personally, so we work extremely hard to ensure we offer value for money in all that we do.

We have been determined to ensure that, should Government restrictions be reintroduced, we are still offering students the teaching they require to provide the opportunity to achieve learning outcomes and progress in their studies.

Central to our planning are two important principles: firstly, the health and safety of our staff and students is paramount, and secondly, a strong commitment to ensuring that the teaching, learning and support we offer is broadly equivalent to our usual offering, so that our students are able to receive high-quality education.

This has involved the hard and dedicated work of our lecturers and support staff – including librarians, student advisers, welfare officers, ITMS, security, estates management, lab technicians, student recruitment officers, international student support and many more.

Our central priority is to ensure that the highest-possible quality of the student experience we can offer is made available to all students whatever wider restrictions are in place, and to give students value for the fees that they pay.

On this basis, all tuition fees will be as advertised on our website.

In line with recommendations from the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA), if you have any concerns around the provision we have offered, in the first instance we would encourage you to raise your initial concerns with your module or programme lead, or your personal tutor to try to find a resolution that is acceptable to all. If you have trouble contacting the person you wish to speak to please ask your Student Advice Centre for help.

If this is not possible, you can access the university complaints process. Students who wish to raise a complaint should in the first instance complete the complaint webform on our website. There is more information about this process on our student complaints procedure page.

If you remain dissatisfied with the decision of the university once the complaints process has been completed, you can seek a review by the OIA. The OIA has useful guidance on tuition fees on its coronavirus FAQ section.

While overseas DMU Global opportunities are not currently possible due to the Government’s travel restrictions, students will still be able to participate in our full range of campus-based activities. You can learn a foreign language, including Mandarin, French, German, Spanish, Japanese and Arabic. Students can also participate in other opportunities such as Teach English as a Foreign Language Training (TEFL) and the DMU Global Intercultural Awareness Certificate.

For the summer term the team has announced details for free or heavily subsidised opportunities for students, including virtual summer schools in cultural media and ICT with universities in Austria and Finland, virtual internships in Fiji and free, online conferences in Indonesia and Japan looking at global issues such as food waste and global inequalities respectively.  

You can see the full details here on the DMU Global Online Learning webpage.

DMU Global Online Learning also offers students the chance to engage and learn about a range of global topics in a virtual environment, without the need to travel.

Please liaise in the first instance with your placement tutor.

If you are on a placement year, your main point of contact is your placement tutor. Stay in touch with them if you have questions or need advice. You can also contact the placement team based in your faculty.

Students on HLS placements should look out for information sent by their link tutor or usual placement academic contact, and the HLS placement team.

If you are looking for a placement, we recommend seeking the help of your faculty-based placement team, which can help you with identifying placements you could apply for, writing a good application, and preparing for the specific types of interviews and assessments used by different employers.

It is important to get this personalised and specialist support, rather than try to apply on your own. Employers have moved their application processes onto virtual platforms and therefore you will benefit from preparation and guidance on how to succeed in these online processes.

To get in touch with your faculty-based placement team, contact:

• ADH: adhplacements@dmu.ac.uk
• BAL: businessplacements@dmu.ac.uk
• CEM: cemplacements@dmu.ac.uk
• HLS: hlsplacements@dmu.ac.uk

Please read our latest statement on graduation ceremonies.

We’re sorry if you feel dissatisfied or disadvantaged by anything in light of the current situation. If you’d like to make a complaint about anything relating to Covid-19, please email us at acasupportoffice@dmu.ac.uk and we will look into this for you as soon as possible. You can find out more on our student complaints procedure page.

In line with the latest government guidance and emerging practice at many other universities and education settings, from 4am on Tuesday 30 November, we will require all staff and students to wear a face covering in all indoor areas.

Face coverings are not required in hospitality settings, i.e cafes and food outlets. However, we strongly recommend that you continue to wear one until you are seated. They are also not required in the activity areas at our sports and leisure venues, but are required in reception, corridors etc. Inside rehearsal studios, local guidance will be provided.

Face coverings will be made available in Student Advice Centres, Student Gateway and other reception areas including QEII, Library, Estates Services and DSU.

We will be constantly monitoring the guidance and may need to amend our strategy accordingly. Please also follow the government guidance about how to wear a face covering safely.

DMUsport delivers a wide range of opportunities to help students stay physically active and look after their mental health whilst studying at DMU. You can find out more here.

Following the lifting of restrictions in England on 19 July 2021, you no longer need to stay two metres apart from those outside your household or bubble, and there are now no limits on the number of people you can meet.

To stay up-to-date with the current rules for household mixing, see the Covid-19 guidance on gov.uk.

To report or discuss any incidents, behaviour or situations at your accommodation or on campus that have affected or are continuing to affect your mental health or wellbeing, please contact wellbeing@dmu.ac.uk. 

If you witness any dangerous behaviour or instances of rule-breaking at your accommodation or on campus, please report it to our Security team by calling 0116 257 7642. 

We have made extensive plans to make the campus as safe as possible, as well as ensuring we comply with – or exceed – Government guidelines and the wider advice from national bodies such as the NHS and Public Health England (PHE). You can find out more information on the Your DMU Safety webpages.

We will also ask you to play your part by complying with all necessary measures to ensure everyone can have the best DMU experience possible.

All DMU-owned and nominated halls will be following the relevant government guidelines. Increased cleaning of reception areas, common rooms, corridors and laundry rooms will be maintained throughout your stay, including detailed cleaning of all access readers, touchpoints, rails and handles.

We will continue to advise you to keep a safe distance from others socially, with signage in place in public spaces to encourage this. Procedures to promote good hand hygiene will also remain in each building. Our priority is to create and maintain a safe environment for our students and staff. For more information about the advice, guidance and measures DMU is taking regarding accommodation, see the Your DMU Safety accommodation page.

Following UK Government guidance, we have created a clear plan to follow in the event that a case of Covid-19 case is diagnosed on campus. You can find out more information about this on our confirmed case management page.

Please check our regularly updated case tracker to see the most recent figures.

We are also working closely with Leicester City Council and its Director of Public Health on these matters. We have implemented DMU Safe Trace, our test-and-trace system, which we ask for all students and staff to use by scanning a QR code on their smartphones when entering and exiting university buildings. This is so we can contact students and staff who have come into contact with any potential cases on campus.

The health and wellbeing of our students has always been of the utmost importance to us, but especially so during this time when we are responding to the challenges of Covid-19. DMU already has a wide range of support and resources to help you prioritise your wellbeing during your time with us and beyond and we are working on enhancing these to make sure that whatever support you need, we are there for you.

Any student who has an ongoing or significant health or disability-related concern which may affect their attendance at university should contact the DAS (disability@dmu.ac.uk) or our Mental Health team (wellbeing@dmu.ac.uk), who will discuss the situation with you and consider what support or adjustments can be put in place. 

As ever, the  HealthyDMU Hub  is available to support your health and wellbeing at DMU. It will provide you with information about staying well, and how to book appointments with the  Student Welfare Team.  

All of DMU's welfare services are also currently available online should you need to access them. This includes  counselling,  mindfulness,  masterclasses and Single Point of Access (SPA) appointments.  The  HealthyDMU Hub  has lots of helpful resources to help support you, including information on how to stay active and how to connect with others.  

If you have any of the symptoms of coronavirus – that is, a high temperature; a new, continuous cough; or a loss of or change to your sense of taste or smell – please get a Covid-19 PCR test as soon as possible, and stay at home without having visitors until you get your test result. If you test positive, you will be told how long you need to self-isolate for. You can find more information on the NHS website.

If you live with someone who has any symptoms of Covid-19, or if you are told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, you should self-isolate for at least 10 days. You may need to self-isolate for more than 10 days if you get symptoms while self-isolating, or if your symptoms do not go away. Further guidance on when and how to self-isolate is available on the NHS webpages.

If you need to self-isolate it is important you let the university know you will be unable to attend any in-person lectures or seminars for the duration of your self-isolation period. You can do this by contacting your faculty Student Advice Centre (SAC) as soon as you are able.

If you have to self-isolate at any point during the term there will be support and advice available from the university.

DMU has been putting lots of measures and guidance in place to make our campus as safe and secure as possible by observing Government and PHE health and safety guidelines and protocols to the best of our ability. You can find out more about these safety measures on the Your DMU Safety webpages.

The health and wellbeing of our students and staff is of paramount importance to us. While we want to offer as much reassurance and confidence as possible to anyone concerned or anxious about returning to campus for the new academic year, we cannot 100 per cent guarantee safety from contracting the virus on campus, which includes public highways that are outside of our control. We all have an active role and shared responsibility in protecting ourselves and each other. To find out more about this please follow our Health and Safety Principles and join our Shared commitment to keeping each other safe.

GCSE, AS, and A level exams have been cancelled and results will be awarded as teacher assessed grades based on a range of evidence; for example, responses to assessment materials provided by the exam board, coursework, internal tests, and mock exams.

For all vocational and technical qualifications (e.g. BTECs, Cambridge Technicals): where exams have not taken place, there will also be teacher-assessed grades.

Advice for private candidates can be found on the UCAS website.

We have an engaging plan in place to ensure that your experience with DMU is exciting and effective. Our plan has been created to be future-proof. We have focused on ensuring a consistent, high-quality student experience, maximising face-to-face and on-campus activities where possible but, crucially, one that avoids disruption for you should national Covid-19 restrictions have to be reintroduced.

We are delighted to be able to offer you an experience which will adopt the positive elements of both face-to-face and online teaching. From September, we plan on maximising your on-campus experiences as much as possible and will focus our face-to-face teaching in small environments such as seminars and workshops, while keeping large teaching sessions online through a mix of live and pre-recorded lectures.

The pandemic has allowed us to innovate, improve and invest in our teaching. Innovations in teaching events, online activities, other learning materials and experiences have also been developed based on what has worked well for students this year and from student feedback.

Please email studentvisaenquiries@dmu.ac.uk and our friendly team will be happy to help you.

We understand the challenges students are currently facing. If you are unable to provide certificates or transcripts please contact our admissions team and let them know of any difficulties.

Due to Covid-19 the service offered by UK Visa Application Centres (VACs) has been disrupted. For updates to the status of VACs in your country, contact:

• TLS contact if you’re in Europe, Africa and parts of the Middle East
• VFS global for all other countries

If you can’t travel to campus in time for the start of the programme, we want to reassure you that you will have the option of a high-quality remote programme start.

If you have your visa but can’t travel to the UK during the validity of your 30-day entry clearance visa, we encourage you to get in touch with your education agent or the regional team in our friendly International Office for visa support and guidance for your country.

If you need to show evidence of your English language to meet entry criteria but IELTS centres in your home country have closed, we have expanded the range of online English tests that we are able to accept, including IELTS Indicator and TOEFL iBT ‘Home Edition’.

We also offer an internal English test (DATE test) which is completely free and now available online. If you require a DATE test, please get in touch with us with your student ID and we will help you further.

Our Central Admissions team are working to provide all students with their CAS as soon as possible. Due to visa guidelines, a CAS can only be issued from July. This takes approximately 20 working days or 4 weeks. In order to be eligible, you must have met all conditions of your offer of admission – including having paid your deposit.

Please be patient: we have thousands of students who need a CAS and our Admissions Team will be working to get these to you as quickly as possible. You are not able to make a Tier 4 application more than three months before your programme start date so no CAS will be produced earlier than that.

We have developed a handbook specifically for Postgraduate Research students. Please take a look.

There are several options to choose from if you feel that Covid-19 and the attendant issues are affecting your ability to do research:

If you are working remotely please continue with your regular supervisory meetings in an online capacity. You will need to discuss this with your supervisors.

If your research entails work in laboratories or studios, please liaise with your supervisory team about access. There are a number of risk assessments and safety protocols in place to ensure your safety in returning to these spaces.

If your data collection involves human participants, talk with your supervisor for advice on possible virtual methods of data collection. Changes to your methodological approach and your research instrument may need further faculty research ethical approval.

If you are an international student who returned home when the outbreak first occurred, you may have decided to return to Leicester. Please notify us through email at monthlyprogressreports@dmu.ac.uk, and speak to your supervisors.

We are regularly updating our Research Student Community Blackboard space which features recordings, slides, and other resources linked to our researcher development programme. To find the pages, go to blackboard.dmu.ac.uk and sign in. Scroll down to the ‘My Communities’ section and select ‘Research Student Community’. There are some online resources available providing guidance on conducting research when a pandemic is on, such as ‘doing fieldwork in a pandemic'. For NHS-related data collection, see COVID-19: Guidance for Sponsors, Sites and Researchers.

In all cases, please keep in touch with your supervisor. If you are changing the direction of your research, or even making tweaks to your research design, there may be implications for your ethics application that you will need to consider with your supervisor.

All key progression events, including a First Project Review, Formal Review, Probation Review or Annual Review, have been taking place online. Again, a change to face-to-face delivery of these progression events will be communicated to you via your supervisory team.