UNIVERSITY of Newcastle Vice Chancellor Alex Zelinsky has foreshadowed that essential or "time-critical" teaching and research activities could be held on campus as early as next week.
Professor Zelinsky wrote to students and staff on Wednesday that UON was looking beyond the current August 28 lockdown period, considering there had been "no further positive COVID-19 cases affecting our on-campus communities, and a stabilisation of cases in our region".
"With the lockdown extending now well beyond the original timeframes, we must reassess our definition of 'essential' work, given we no longer have the same timing options to continue postponing certain research or teaching activities without impacting student progress and research outcomes," he said.
He said UON would define time-critical teaching activities as course components that can't be delivered remotely and must occur in semester two for final year students to graduate or meet external accreditation requirements.
"We are expecting that a number of activities will be approved eligible for commencement from August 30, consistent with the NSW Public Health Orders [PHO]," he said.
He said UON would define time-critical research activities as those that can't be delivered remotely and if not performed this year would either prevent timely submission of a thesis in the final or equivalent year of a program, or lead to human research participant or animal welfare issues, loss of plant or cell culture lines, or disrupt operations of critical equipment.
Fieldwork that meets this criteria will be considered for approval, subject to restrictions under the PHO.
Research activities that meet the criteria and are consistent with the PHO will be approved for commencement from August 30.
Professor Zelinsky said UON was planning for additional physical teaching and research activities to be approved for on-campus delivery from October 4, subject to restrictions and cases.
