Coming to ANU in 2021: Forum for students, their families and support networks

This forum was held on Thursday 7 January 2021 at 5.30pm. The recording of the forum is available here.

In this forum, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Sally Wheeler and our COVID Response Team leaders answered questions students, their parents and friends had about travel to the ACT, accommodation, and our University's COVID-safe practices and guidelines.

For more information, visit: https://www.anu.edu.au/covid-19-advice/student-life/studying-in-2021.

*PLEASE NOTE: The first part of the forum is available in text-form below, as this was missed in the recording.

Professor Sally Wheeler, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International Strategy) at ANU was joined by Professor Tracy Smart, who is the former Surgeon General of the Australian Defence Force and she is now leading our public health response to the COVID pandemic. They were also joined by Susan Helyar, our Director of Residential Services and Sarah Hawkins, our Acting Student Registrar.

[Professor Wheeler]

Thank you all for making the time to join us today. I'd also like to thank you for your patience while we work through arrangements for the 2021 academic year, following the outbreak in NSW.
I understand this time in life comes with natural anxiety - moving away from home and starting university - and the uncertainty of interstate travel will be adding to that anxiety.
So, we wanted to give you all an opportunity to ask any questions you have, and we will do our best to answer them.
Today's forum is targeted for new students travelling from outside a COVID hotspot, so most of the information we will provide today will be relevant to those students.
There is another forum tomorrow and another two next week, for students travelling from COVID hotspots. The arrangements for these students are a bit more complex, so we have can chat about them in more detail in the upcoming forums.
There are currently no active cases of COVID-19 in the ACT.
Our campus COVID alert level is currently low, because there is no community transmission of COVID in the ACT and there hasn't been for 182 days.
I will now hand over to Tracy Smart who can go through more detail about what we're doing on campus to keep our community safe and healthy.

[PROFESSOR SMART]

Travel to and from ACT

Given that the ACT is so safe from a COVID point of view, the good news is that we are open to all states and territories provided you haven't recently been in any COVID affected areas - Greater Sydney including Northern Beaches, Wollongong, and Central Coast.
This means
- If you are travelling by air, there are no restrictions on your travel.
- There are also no restrictions if you travel by car, provided you don't travel through any of the COVID affected areas mentioned above.
It also means that at this stage you can return home for a weekend trip after arriving in the ACT. If you are planning to fly there will be no concerns, however some additional states have rules about travelling through NSW, so its best to check your home states information pages to be sure.

Arriving on Campus

For new students with accommodation contracts, please let us know when you plan to arrive so we can make the appropriate arrangements.

COVID safety at ANU

Once you arrive in the ACT, life is as close to normal as you can imagine for a global pandemic.
We have clear COVID-safe guidelines for activity on campus, all of which are available on our website. I recommend you review those guidelines prior to arriving in Canberra so you're aware of our expectations for social distancing, hand and cough hygiene and contact tracing.
Everyone has a role to play in ensuring that our community continues to be COVID-safe. We should all be thinking in a 'COVID-smart' way.
We also have a COVID Campus Alert System, that allows us to monitor COVID developments around Australia and make changes as required. This means we can continue to operate with appropriate risk mitigations and not have to close the campus unless conditions become extremely bad.

COVID safety in the classroom

We also have COVID-safe guidelines in all classrooms.
For students, this means checking in to all venues you attend on campus using the displayed 'Check in CBR' QR codes, sitting 1.5 metres away from your peers in classes, not sharing pens or laptops, covering sneezes and coughs, and washing or sanitising our hands regularly.
It also means you don't come to class if you have any COVID like symptoms and get tested.
We have strict compliance measures in place to ensure our whole community adheres to our COVID-safe guidelines.

[PROFESSOR WHEELER]

In 2021, we will continue a hybrid course delivery model - a mix of online and in-person teaching - to ensure students who are unable to attend classes due to quarantine or travel restrictions, or are awaiting COVID test results or are in an at-risk health group can continue their studies.
However, our focus is very much on ensuring the best university experience for our students.
At ANU, you learn as much outside the classroom as you do in it. Your peers, the world-leading teachers and the events are all part of your education and you will leave ANU with more than just a degree.
We know that uni can be a little confusing or overwhelming at times, which is why we're here to help and support you. We have a range of support for our students, to support your wellbeing, mental health, and studies.
We are very excited to welcome you to ANU and for you to begin - or in some cases continue - this exciting time in your lives.