ALL STUDENT UPDATE: Key systems partially restored

The following all student update was circulated via email to students on Thursday 29 February. 

Dear students, 

Thank you, everyone, for your support and patience as we continue to work hard to restore our systems and services safely and securely following the recent cyber security incident. I know this has been a challenging and sometimes frustrating time for you all. 

As you are aware, our Digital Services team are working closely with our external partners and have been focused on getting teaching and learning back up and running as quickly as possible. 

A mixture of online and on campus teaching will continue until Friday 8 March 

As we are currently in the process of testing access to WiFi across campuses, teaching will continue to be blended learning, a mixture of online and on campus, until Friday 8 March. Further information will be communicated to you by your module leaders through Canvas. Please do switch on your Canvas notifications to ensure that you can continue to receive messages. We are working hard to restore WiFi connectivity and are hoping this will be complete over the coming week. 

Assessments are paused until Friday 8 March 2024 

Further to our last update about pausing assessments from Monday 26 February through to Friday 8 March 2024, here is some more information about the next steps. 

We now have limited access to our electronic Student Record System, SITS, which means that for Semester 1, any outstanding grades should be released via Canvas on Monday 4 March. Please contact your module leader after this date if you are still expecting a grade which has not been released.  

This will then allow us to process them to confirm awards and generate transcripts. We hope to be able to confirm awards from the 11 March onwards. Where you are required to be reassessed on Semester 1 module assessment, we will be adjusting the resubmission date for this to ensure you have enough time to prepare.  

Let me reassure you that we are aware of the impact of the lack of external resources available to students preparing for study and we are taking that into consideration as part of our planning when considering our next steps. 

For those of you due to undertake assessments, please rest assured that your overall grades won’t be affected by this pause and we will do everything we can to ensure that students are not disadvantaged due to these unprecedented circumstances.  

 In relation to any assessments that have been paused over the next two weeks, Faculties are now working on determining what this looks like. We will send out a further update next week. This will include information about the assessment process after 11 March.  

Please do bear with us while we work through this. Your patience is very much appreciated. 

Library Online Resources Restored  

Access to the majority of Library online resources including ebooks, ejournals and databases has now been restored. You can access the resources directly or through LibrarySearch.  

Reading lists on Canvas are still unavailable so please access resources through LibrarySearch. You can type in the module code to retrieve a list of books associated with that module – although please be aware that recommended articles and websites won’t be included. 

For databases, either type the database name into LibrarySearch or use the listing on our Databases A-Z. Please note that while the vast majority of databases are working correctly again, some may still be unavailable.   

The login process may look slightly different from what you are used to when you are accessing the library resources. It does, however, mirror how you log in to your University email and Canvas, so you may be asked for a Multi Factor Identification (MFI) code. 

You can find further information about library services on this link. Please note that computers remain out of use in the library, although students can access MiFi at all our libraries. 

We are working on these as a matter of priority and hope to continue to improve access over the coming days. If you are struggling to access any of the online resources, library staff are on-hand to help. 

 WiFi, MiFi, Software Access and Apps Anywhere 

Students living in accommodation across all three campuses should now be able to access WiFi and we have installed MiFi hot spots in a number of public areas across the University estate. This will provide limited internet access in the short term. Find out where the MiFi hot spots are located. 

We are prioritising restoring access to our software systems – especially in those areas that rely on it for teaching delivery. If you are struggling with your personal IT resources, whether it be accessing laptops or the internet at home, please let your Faculty know and we will try to find a solution for you. 

 Students’ Union 

 The Students’ Union advice centre remains open and available by phone, online and in person, at City Campus to help support students. The team can advise on issues including wellbeing, academic, housing and signposting financial support. Students can visit in person at the Ambika Paul building, City Campus, opposite the Harrison Library. Opening hours are 9.00 am – 4.30 pm Monday to Friday or by phoning between the hours of 9.00 am - 4.30 pm Monday to Friday: 01902 322038.  

Printing  

Limited printing services are available through DPS for students although you will need to pay cash. If you need to print anything, please send work saved as a PDF file to dpsstudentprinting@wlv.ac.uk.  

 Frequently Asked Questions  

There is a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page on the website which is being updated as and when there are new updates to share. We have also put together a guide to student support services and wellbeing which is available both on campus and remotely. You can find this article, and more useful information on the student news page.  

Once again, thank you for your patience during this challenging time. Please do switch on your Canvas notifications, check myWLV app for any updates and keep an eye on your emails for further messages (note that some emails may end up in your Junk folder!). 

 Whilst it’s impossible to put timescales against the recovery programme, please be assured that we are doing everything we can to get back to normal as quickly as possible.  

 Best wishes, 

 Professor Gill Knight 

Pro Vice-Chancellor Academic Learning and Student Experience