**Dear students, please read below latest updates on Covid-19 outbreak**

Student wellbeing

Your wellbeing is of paramount importance to all of us in DIS and across UCL. You will all be updated regularly via the UCL homepage, Moodle pages, the current students website and in the weekly MyUCL e-newsletters. The main coronavirus webpage has useful information. If you have any queries which your tutors and we in DIS are not able to answer, please visit the UCL student enquiries service askUCL. If you leave London to go home, please report that to askUCL as well as to your personal tutor. It will help us to support your learning better if we know where you are and your ability to access online materials, Moodle etc. The sitution is still changing daily, so the most up-to-date advice and FAQs for staff and students, as well as Moodle and your UCL email account, for updates. 

 UCL is continuing to work with Public Health England (PHE) and it is our policy to note their advice, together with guidance from the NHS and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. 

Classes and assessments

All teaching and learning will be delivered online for the rest of this academic session. Your tutors have been communicating with you about how this affects your classes. Your tutors have also been in touch with you about any remaining assessments this session and what you need to do. UCL's Student Centre, along with all other facilities including libraries, are closed. 

Accommodation

We know that some students are concerned about their accommodation. Some UCL managed halls of residence will remain open as usual open, even though the UCL campus is closed. If you have any queries or concerns. Please contact the UCL Accommodation office by emailing accommodation@ucl.ac.uk

Points of contact

If you have any concerns about your health you should contact the free NHS 111 telephone helpline (or find specific advice on the NHS website if you are unable to get through). If you're concerned or anxious about the virus, please read our advice about coronavirus (COVID-19).

If there is anything that we can do to help you in this very difficult period, please do let us know and we will do our best to support you and answer your questions. 

Prospective students / Applicants

We would like to reassure applicants that the Department of Information Studies is recruiting for students across all of its programmes for entry to academic year 2020/21.We will continue to give equal consideration to all applications regardless of where you are from or where you live.

Very best wishes,

Professor Elizabeth Shepherd

Head of Department of Information Studies 

7 April 2020