UCC will apply the following measures from September 2021 and these will be kept under constant review by the University Management Team.

Term Start Dates and Orientation for 1^st Years

• The Leaving Certificate examination results will be released 3 September and Round One CAO offers will be issued on 7 September. The start date for first-year undergraduate students is 27 September 2021.
• Some programmes traditionally have earlier starts and these can also be found on the Student Examinations and Records webpage. See Key Dates and Early Start Dates 2021-2022 sections.

Onsite campus tours for second-year students will commence on the 1^st September and a dedicated Year 2 event will take place on campus on Saturday 11^th September.  

Teaching & Learning

• Face to face teaching will be permitted with teaching spaces operating at 80% of the normal (pre-covid) room capacity. An overall cap of 200 attendees (including the lecturer) will be applied in large lecture theatres.

By way of example: in a teaching space with a normal room capacity of 100 students, class sizes of up to 80 people (students and staff) can attend for face to face teaching.

Based on the specific aspects of particular programmes, some programmes may prioritise small group face to face teaching.

Your School will communicate the specific arrangements for the delivery of your programme to you ahead of the start of term.

• Students will wear face coverings during lectures. Please adhere to this requirement and any other infection control measures in place of which you are informed.
• Lecture duration will be reduced to ensure sufficient time for a changeover between lectures (e.g. in a traditional 1-hour slot; lectures will start 5 minutes after the hour, allow for 45 minutes of teaching time and then 10 minutes at the end for students to vacate prior to the arrival of the next class). To avoid congestion during lecture changeovers, students are asked not to take their seating prior to the designated hour slot.
• For 2-hour lecture slots, we will recommend that lecturers consider having a break at the midpoint to allow all to move outside and take a break from mask-wearing if needed.
• Laboratories can operate at 80% capacity with the use of face coverings and other appropriate control measures.

Library

• The Boole Library and Brookfield Library will operate at 80% of user capacity.
• Library users will wear face coverings while in the library and the current pre-booking system will remain in place.
• This Academic Year, I am pleased to report that our libraries will open for extended periods to ensure greater access to the facilities: Boole Library from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week; and Brookfield Health Sciences Library from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mon-Thurs, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fri -Sun.
• Reading rooms will also be made available in the Kampus Kitchen and the Mini-Restaurant. Additional reading rooms will also be made available if required.

Restaurants and Catering

• At present, the restaurants and cafés on campus are operating a takeaway service. This will remain under review as Government guidance on indoor dining evolves.
• Some outdoor covered spaces with benches will also be provided at the Hub, Biosciences and North Mall in the first instance.

Clubs and Societies

• Club activities will be permitted within the framework of national public health guidelines.
• In-person events for Societies will also be permitted within the framework of national public health guidelines and proposed events will be reviewed through the Office of the Director of Student Experience and the Student Activity Safety Committee.

More detailed information on the above measures is available here. We will continue to update the UCC Covid-19 website with the latest guidance as it applies to UCC.

As we return to campus, it is important that we continue to adhere to the measures in place to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission including use of face coverings and good hand hygiene. You are also encouraged to:

• use the UCC COVID Tracker App daily before coming to campus;
• to take up of the opportunity to avail of the State’s programme for vaccination against Covid-19; and
• to consider enrolling in the UniCoV Study comparing Antigen Testing with Saliva testing to detect asymptomatic Covid-19 infection.

It is an expectation of students attending placement in clinical settings that they will use the COVID Tracker App and be fully vaccinated for Covid-19 as well as the other vaccination requirements already identified to such students. Students who are not vaccinated may have limited access to clinical sites.

It is also important that if you are displaying any symptoms of Covid-19 that you remain in self-isolation, do not attend campus and contact UCC Student Health or your doctor.

If you have any significant health concerns about a return to congregated settings you are advised to consult your medical doctor and then seek guidance from your School regarding arrangements for your programme for the coming year.