Semesters explained: what is changing?

We are moving from terms to semesters for the 2024/25 academic year, which gets under way at the end of this month.

Here we break down what the change means practically for colleagues and students.

What is changing?

The academic year is still the same length and still starts and finishes at the same time as before, the shape of it will be different.

Two 15-week semester blocks replace our previous three terms (autumn, spring and summer).

Each semester is made up of 12 weeks of teaching, immediately followed by three weeks of exams and assessments.

Why semesters?

Semesters provide a clear and coherent structure for all our teaching programmes, making it easier for students to choose different modules, undertake placements or study abroad.

Assessing students at the end of each semester also improves their experience as it means they are assessed closer to the time they were taught.

Semesters have been introduced as part of the Portfolio Review Project. This responded to student feedback and followed best practice at other universities to bring the shape of our academic year and teaching programmes into line with modern student expectations.

What does it mean for me?

The semester structure to the teaching year will have a few practical impacts that all colleagues – including non-teaching staff – should be aware of:

• New teaching schedules: Like students, teaching staff will now work within the new 12-week semesters structure. Teaching will now finish later before Christmas, resume in February rather than January, and continue into May after Easter.
• Later winter teaching break: The winter teaching break will be later than before, with teaching ending just before Christmas and students returning later in January for their Semester 1 exams. The Easter and summer breaks will be unaffected.
• Campus busy periods: This new teaching schedule means campus will be busier than before in the second half of December and in May and early June, and quieter for the first few weeks of January. This will impact non-teaching staff, with teams needing to bear it in mind when managing their annual leave and when planning things like student support events, facility opening hours, security arrangements, campus maintenance or ordering catering supplies.
• Two exam periods: There are now two main assessment periods – one in January/February and one in May/June – as students are assessed at the end of each semester rather than at the end of the year only. This will mean two periods each year when students will need to be quietly focused, which other university activities and room bookings will need to be scheduled around.
• Termly activities: Remember to review the timing of newsletters, meetings or events that previously occurred on a termly basis.

Information for students on semesters has been published on Essentials, including a calendar showing a week-by-week breakdown of the academic year.