COVID-19 FAQs for students

We have introduced a number of safety measures to keep our student community safe. These include enhanced cleaning regimes, installing hand sanitiser dispensers throughout campus, clear signage to reinforce social distancing and other safety guidance, wearing face coverings and washing your hands. Face coverings must be worn on campus in indoor spaces such as lectures and in spaces where social distancing is not possible. We have reduced class sizes and implemented socially distanced planning in our LRCs, social spaces and workspaces. You can read more about our safety measures here.

If you are less than 2 metres apart from other individuals for 15 minutes or more in an inside space and are not exempt from wearing one, then you will need to wear a face covering. Read more about the University’s guidance on face coverings here.

Yes. We have introduced a number of safety measures to make sure all of our accommodation is safe and COVID secure. These measures include enhanced cleaning regimes, signage to encourage social distancing and ensuring all rooms are kept vacant for a minimum of 72 hours before you move in. You can read more about these measures in our accommodation FAQs.

We are in unprecedented times and it's very normal to be feeling anxious and unsettled at the moment. There is lots of information about where you can get help and advice on the Student Space website.

For general money advice please visit our financial support and advice pages. There is also some helpful information on the Citizens Advice Bureau website about how Coronavirus can affect you financially, including guidance about student loans and paying rent. We also recommend that you read the government’s advice on the new sources of financial support that are available during the pandemic and, if you are in receipt of student finance, the SLC guidance for current students.

The University is continually monitoring the number of local cases and has planned for many different scenarios to ensure the safety of its staff, students and the local community.

If there is a rise in the number of local cases we will act on the advice of government bodies, including Public Health England, the NHS and the county council. Please refer to the University’s status update for the latest information and guidance.

Students who develop COVID-19 symptoms or test positive, must not attend the University. If you are already on campus, please return to your accommodation. If you are a commuting student, please return home. You then must notify our Dean of Students team by emailing Deanofstudents@herts.ac.uk. You can also call +44 (0)1707 284451/50 or +44 (0)1707 281010 out of hours.

If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you and any other members of your household must self-isolate, while you obtain a test with the NHS.

If you test positive for COVID-19 you must follow the advice given by the NHS Test and Trace Service or the Dean of Students Office at the University. Current guidance is that if you test positive for COVID-19 you must self-isolate for 10 days and your entire household group must self-isolate for 14 days. Read more about what to do on here.

If you live in halls of residence you will form a household bubble with your new housemates. You will not need to practise social distancing with those in your household bubble, but we do ask you to be mindful in the first 14 days after moving in.

​We currently have a no guest policy in place, this means any one you do not share a kitchen with cannot visit you in your Halls. This includes other students in Halls, family and friends.

If you need to self-isolate, we have lots of help and support available to you.

Read more about it on our Self-isolation advice and support page.

Our Dean of Students team will be there to help you with any worries during self-isolation. You can contact them by emailing Deanofstudents@herts.ac.uk or calling +44 (0)1707 284451/50 (9:00 - 17:00) or +44 (0)1707281010 (out of hours).

If you need specific support with food deliveries, see our ‘Food boxes’ FAQ below for more details.

And don’t forget, there is a wide range of virtual events and activities going on to make sure you can keep connected and busy during your self-isolation:

• Student Quarantine Programme
• Active Students virtual timetable
• Hertfordshire Students’ Union events calendar
• Other events and activities at the University
• Read our blog about keeping busy during self-isolation

If you are living on-campus you can order food and essential items from the University by emailing uhvenues@herts.ac.uk.

There are two varieties of kitchen boxes available. Final product choices have not yet been made but an example of what could be found in each box is as follows:

Cupboard Essentials - £25.00 GBP: Penne Pasta, Heinz Spaghetti Hoops, Heinz Baked Beans, Ritz Crackers, Itsu Chicken Classic, Itsu Vegetable Festival, Chicken & Mushroom Pot Noodle, Rice Crackers, Rice Cakes, Coffee, Tea, Sugar

Food Staples - £25.00 GBP: Arla UHT Semi-Skimmed Milk, Plum Tomatoes, Coconut Milk, Granulated Sugar, Amoy Dark Soy Sauce, Amoy Soft Medium Noodles, Penne Rigate, Chickpeas, Chopped Tomatoes, Red Kidney Beans, Pilau rice

When both boxes are bought together, they should provide enough food to last the duration of your isolation period. In order to pre-purchase boxes please email venues@herts.ac.uk with Your Name, Campus Flat Number, Student Number, which Boxes you’d like to Purchase, Contact Number.

You will then be contacted by one of our team to make payment via debit or credit card or via a pre-arranged bank transfer. Payments must be made in GBP Sterling. We cannot accept American Express.

For those living off-campus, nearly all High Street Supermarkets do food deliveries and the majority are offering contactless delivery. Some companies who offer food delivery services are:

• Tesco - They have bookable delivery slots on their website 3 weeks in advance. You need to create a free Tesco account online. If may be worth signing up, booking your slot and placing your food order before you arrive as collection slots can get booked fast.
• Iceland - They offer free next day delivery on orders over £35 and have a number of delivery slots available 1 week in advance. You can check if they deliver to your postcode on their website.
• Asda - They offer a delivery service depending on your location. You can check if they deliver to your postcode on their website.
• Herts Essential Deliveries - They supply essential foods and have a £3 delivery charge. They deliver to several locations, including Hatfield. A list of delivery locations can be found under the delivery section of their website and you can also read how to place an order.

While many of our students are not on campus due to the current lockdown, our staff have been working very hard to deliver high quality education to all our students either online or in person, where government guidance allows. All our students, irrespective of mode of delivery, are continuing with their studies and assessments and have access to a range of support services including wellbeing support, academic support, study spaces and our Learning Resources Centres. We understand that this has been a difficult period for students and throughout this academic year, our approach has been to clearly set out what students can expect, in line with the latest government advice.

Owing to this, we have no plans to give refunds or discounts for tuition fees. Our decision has the full support of the Hertfordshire Students’ Union and is in line with current government guidance.

We are fully committed to providing high quality learning and teaching to all our students and are regularly seeking feedback from students so we can adapt the digital elements of our courses, where needed, to fully meet students’ needs. We will continue to listen, adapting what we offer and acting on student feedback.

If you require further support with your studies or are concerned about any of the plans we have advised you of, please contact your programme leader or personal tutor in the first instance to discuss your concerns or for any additional support we can provide. If you still have concerns and wish to raise a formal complaint, full details and guidance about using the University’s formal complaints process can be found here. You can also contact the UHSU Advice and Support Centre for independent advice or the  Dean of Students Office if you need further support.

Along with the date and time of your arrival and departure, we will collect the following personal data if applicable:

• your name; and
• contact telephone number.

If you do not have a telephone number, you have the option to provide:

• a postal address; or
• an email address.

We may also collect details of the specific location you visited on campus and the name of the person, people or department(s) you visited and/or had contact with.

This information will be used to enable the NHS Test and Trace Service to contact you if you have been on the premises at around the same time as someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. For more information on how your data will be used, visit track.herts.ac.uk/privacy.

You will need to check in every time you enter a room, if you are going to be in that room for 15 minutes or more.

You can find the QR code posters in all teaching spaces and on each floor of the Learning Resource Centres (LRCs). Over the coming weeks, more QR code posters will be added to rooms and individual seating areas.

The QR code will work on Android, iOS and Microsoft devices. To scan the QR code, open the camera on your smartphone and point the camera at it. You will then be redirected to the Herts Mobile app or the track and trace at Herts website. If you are unable to scan the QR using your smartphone, you can visit the track.herts.ac.uk website in your browser to check in.

The Herts Mobile is available on your smartphone app store. For more information, visit mobile.herts.ac.uk

Yes. Catering services provided by Aramark will also be using QR code posters. However, Aramark is using a different system to Herts and their track and trace website will look slightly different.

The Hertfordshire Sports Village (HSV) has introduced their own track and trace system using HSV membership details, therefore you will not need to check in.

The University made a Covid-19 commitment to students living on campus this academic year (2020/21). The commitment outlines options for you to take if you are; currently living on campus; If you have returned home and handed your accommodation keys back to us; or if you have returned home and still have your accommodation keys.

On Tuesday 5 January 2021 the Government imposed a national lockdown across England with immediate effect. Therefore, our Covid-19 commitment has now come into place for those students that are not currently living on campus and not receiving any in-person teaching.

Following the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown, we anticipate a return to in-person teaching for some students on the week commencing 8th March. We are currently looking at what this means for the covid-19 commitment period and will update students as soon as we know more.

Yes. View the COVID-19 Commitment for 2021/22 here.

Applications for the 50% reduction closed on Sunday 31 January 2021. Applications received after this date cannot be considered.

If the lockdown is extended or new Government guidance is issued, we will contact you again about the implications for your accommodation contract.