The new COVID-19 adjustments imposed by the university are reasonable, as far as social distancing is concerned. 

My struggle however, lies with the access to facilities. Reduced access to general facilities such as printers, computers, internet and spaces suitable adapted for working long periods of time on computers and laptops are having an effect on the students' quality of life and study.

In terms of printers, you have to book a slot to enter the library, even if you only want to print and leave. This means that various spaces are being taken up and not being used. I believe there needs to be a dedicated location, such as the Print Shop, where all students can use their print credit when printing documents of any size rather than paying seperately, as it will reduce the volume of traffic into the library and make printing easier for students of all disciplines to print and go 7 days a week.

Secondly, the staying at home idea assumes the fact that all students have a suitable working space at home. Assumed by the university is:

a) a good connection to Wi-Fi, upon which we are currently heavily dependent to attend university and for which we are paying more than we ever would without COVID-19;

b) a suitable working space which, at least includes suitable desk chair and desk, which factor in productivity and health. It should adhere to guidelines equivalent to Occupational Health guidelines, which the University have in place for employees only.

I can understand the previous intolerance for delayed submissions prior to COVID-19, due to the fact that one could go to the library at any time as an alternative and that time is of the essence and the student's own responsibility to be punctual. However, the recommendation to stay at home and rely on service providers, the reduced access to facilities such as printers and NTU computers and the expectation of working/studying in potentially unsafe, unsuitable working spaces is not good enough.  The occupational related health issues I refer to here involves students sitting down staring at a screen for too long a period of time; at home at an unsuitable workspace i.e. fixed screen height most likely from laptops, no ergonomic chairs to support good posture and hands when typing for long periods. Although we as students don't necessarily work for the university, I think it's important that we receive Occupational Health related information, related to a basic homeworking setup as this seems like something that could potentially last throughout the year. I, myself am an example of someone who is starting to feel the effects of a bad setup. I have been recently suffering with my back as the chairs that I have in my student accommodation are not made to be sat in for long periods of time. I tried to do stretches and a bit of Yoga as a method to help ease the pain, but I'm sure it will continue until something has been done about it. 

I am unsure whether the NTU has a duty of care, but I would have expected NTU to focus on the importance of good working set ups and physical health, alongside mental health.

I hope this suffices as a submission.