The corona status at SLU

SLU will not be adopting any additional formal decisions following the government restrictions further limiting the number of people allowed at public gatherings and other activities as of 24 December. The formal decisions on restrictions that are already in place at SLU are deemed sufficient. However, stricter implementation of our decisions may be necessary in some cases.

Implications of the new restrictions

Implications for teaching:

The decision from 24 November has already been communicated and states that teaching and examination should primarily be planned for online delivery. Some key components and/or examinations may take place on campus, with the necessary Covid-19 adaptations, if online delivery means it cannot be guaranteed that the learning outcomes are fulfilled. According to a previous decision, public defences of doctoral theses should, as far as possible, take place online. More information is available on the SLU corona page and in the decision by the chair of the Board of Education.

Implications for members of staff:

Managers shall inform their staff that they must work from home unless the tasks require the employee to be present at campus until 24 January 2021. The instructions from the government on 22 December implies that this can be prolonged.

Implications for students:

Students are encouraged to opt for independent study at home as their first choice. However, they need to check updates from their examiners about course components that need to take place on campus.

Those who need to be present on campus for their independent study must respect the restrictions in force by not meeting in groups of more than 8 people and keeping their distance to minimise the risk of infection.

New instructions from the government, 22 December

To minimise the risk of infection and reduce the load on healthcare, the government is asking all public authorities to enable as many employees as possible to work from home until 1 July 2021. Public authorities with more than 10 employees must submit monthly reports to the Swedish Agency for Government Employers on how many of the authority’s employees are working from home. The Agency will then compile this data and submit monthly reports to the Government Offices of Sweden. This requirement also affects SLU. Further instructions on exactly how we will organise this reporting will come as soon as possible after the holidays. To the Government Offices of Sweden and the instructions (only in Swedish).

A word before the holiday period

The SLU management asks everyone to help minimise the risk of infection, and wishes everyone a pleasant holiday period, despite the circumstances. Take care of each other, and if someone you know is far from family and friends – give them a call or go for a walk together. Together, we’ll get through this.