We often make changes to courses and modules, so we don't want anyone to worry. Any significant changes would be communicated ahead of time (and we have a legal duty to do this and inform you anyway).

Importantly, any changes we make must ensure we maintain the high standards of teaching and research at York. We are a top 10 research university with a gold rating for teaching, and it's vital we don’t compromise this.

We do not close programmes midway through and we will always fulfil the learning outcomes so that students can progress and graduate.

Class sizes vary on an annual basis depending on students that enrol on a programme and options that  students chose. There are different types of teaching formats, from lectures to seminars, workshops and tutorials - all of these vary in size.

We will continue to work towards standard turnaround times for marking and feedback.

We continue to offer the high quality student experience, both inside and outside of the classroom. 

Any changes we make must ensure we maintain the high standards of teaching and research at York. We are a top 10 research university with a gold rating for teaching, and it's vital we don’t compromise this.

If your supervisor leaves the University (which may happen for a variety of reasons, eg maternity leave, personal circumstances or as an outcome of the latest financial measures), you will always be assigned a new supervisor that can support your studies and personal supervision. Your department or school will advise you of your new supervisor's details as soon as possible.

If you are a postgraduate researcher please read the further guidance on changes to supervisors.

As part of their progress, students will likely see changes in the future to how their learning is assessed and marked. For some students, this may mean fewer assessments overall, less bunching of assessments, and fewer assessments per module. This should also mean that feedback is more meaningful. 

We do not close programmes mid-way through and we will always fulfil the learning outcomes so that students can progress and graduate.

Contact hours vary between modules and years/stages of study, as well as what options students may choose.

As students progress, we support students to become more independent learners and prepare for the world of work and future careers.

We are running a very limited, targeted redundancy scheme - about 30 full time equivalent posts in total. This is smaller than we might have initially feared, but is still an extremely difficult prospect for those staff involved.

The areas in the University that are included in the scheme are parts of: Education; Health Sciences; the International Pathway College; Maths; Language and Linguistic Science; and Social Policy and Social Work (part of the School for Business and Society), but please note that because we are only seeking a very limited reduction of posts in total, not all staff in these areas will be at potential risk of redundancy.

We consistently review the resources we have within the Library and the services we provide to ensure they meet the needs of our students and staff, and also represent value for money for the University. 

When we make changes to our resources, services and subscriptions, we will ensure that the resources and support you need to undertake your course will remain available throughout your studies.

We continually review usage patterns for different sections and services within the Library to ensure we are meeting your needs, whilst balancing the use of our Library resources as effectively as possible. Sometimes this might lead us to trial different opening hours for parts of our buildings to ensure, for example, that we are not wasting energy. 

We will notify you in advance if we are making changes.

From 13 September 2024, we will be making changes to our domestic postal loans and postal returns services. You can read more information on the changes on the Library webpages.

We are not planning to merge or close any of the 11 colleges. Please read this email from the Vice-Chancellor for more information on the future of our colleges.

Following the outcomes of the staff voluntary severance scheme, and previous challenges around staffing levels across our College Receptions, we have decided to move to a hub based model for our receptions on Campus West. This follows the hub-based model that is already working well on Campus East.

Through discussions with colleagues, stakeholders and staff, we have agreed the most effective way to meet the needs of staff and students is to permanently close the receptions at Wentworth, Alcuin, Derwent, and James, and operate two larger reception hubs at the Information Centre, next to Vanbrugh College and at Halifax College.

The new hubs will continue to offer the same reception services. Plus, staff will work flexibly across campus receptions to meet demand, and offer more mobile services, in particular to support members of the community with accessibility issues or safety concerns.

We use data to understand when our shops and catering outlets are most busy and respond to this accordingly. This may mean staffing up on certain days and times of the year, but also trialling closures at other times when we typically see low usage.

We will notify you in advance if we are making changes.

If your supervisor leaves the University (which may happen for a variety of reasons, eg maternity, personal circumstances or as an outcome of the latest financial measures), you will always be assigned an alternative supervisor that can support your studies and personal supervision. 

We understand that a change to your supervisor relationship is a very significant event. York has policies and processes in place for dealing with changes to supervisory arrangements, which you should read.

You can also find additional information on all the PGR support available to you as you navigate this time.