Over the course of my career, I have never seen a more difficult year for students.

Many of them rely on casual work to get through their degrees and that work has now disappeared. Many rely on internet connections and computers at the university and are not able to afford to study from home. Their parents and partners have lost their jobs.

As we navigate our way through this pandemic with the easing of restrictions, the severe impact the virus has left in its wake has changed the student experience for the foreseeable future. We are looking forward to welcoming many students back to campus this trimester but will continue to rely on digital learning in areas such as lectures.

The pandemic has thrown up many challenges for Griffith and our students. Trimester 1 saw a heavy focus on innovation in the academic space to allow educational delivery to continue. I am so proud of how quickly my colleagues responded to this need and how well students have adapted to learning online.

To help students impacted by the pandemic, the University created the COVID-19 Student Support Bursary package, providing up to $1,500 each to help our most needy students. My colleagues on the senior leadership group of the University were so concerned about the rising levels of student need that we each agreed to sacrifice 20% of our salaries for six months to support these student bursaries.

With significant help by the University and many donations, we were able to offer support to 3,762 at-risk students. You can learn more about these students and their stories, here .

We know our donor community has always taken an active interest in student education and I wanted to let you know how grateful the students who received a COVID-19 Student Support Bursary in Trimester 1 really are. For many, their bursary meant the difference between continuing or deferring study.

We want to reassure you that Griffith prides itself on providing educational opportunities for all and will do what we can to help students continue their education through the bursary and other avenues.

COVID-19 continues to challenge us all and we hope you and your loved ones are supported and safe during this time.

Wishing you all the very best.

Kind regards,
Professor Carolyn Evans
Vice Chancellor and President