Contact Us

Contact Information for Staff 

Theological Education Institutions (TEIs) involved in the delivery of Common Awards programmes have various sources of advice available to staff.   

Contact with Durham should normally be routed via each TEI’s 'Key Contact'. That helps us know that requests have come to us with the knowledge of the wider TEI, and that our responses are communicated to all relevant staff, so that thinking is as 'joined up' as possible. 

The Common Awards scheme is a three-way partnership between Durham, the TEIs, and the Church of England. The Church's involvement is overseen by Ministry Development Team. Advice on the relationship between Common Awards and Church policies should be sought from Ministry Development Team. 

The main options for contact at Durham University are: 

• The Common Awards Team - The administrative and academic staff of the Common Awards team can advise on the details of Common Awards policy and practice. 

• Your TEI’s University Liaison Officer (ULO) - ULOs do not necessarily have detailed knowledge of Common Awards policy, but as experienced academics with a knowledge of Durham's academic standards, they can advise on more general matters of academic quality and good practice. For more on their role, see our page on University Liaison Officers.  

• The University's Disability Support - While Durham is not contracted to provide disability-related support to individual Common Awards students, we can provide advice to staff. 

Contact Information for Students 

Students will normally contact their personal tutors or module teachers if they have questions about their studies. Most issues are decided and resolved locally. Some issues, however, are appropriately referred to Durham. To work out whether the question or comment falls into that category, students should read our page on shaping your programme.  

For issues that do need to be raised with Durham, students can communicate with their TEI's ‘Key Contact’: a person who is in direct contact with Durham University throughout the year, and who will be able to find an answer to questions. 

There may be times when you need to get in contact with Durham University staff; for example, in relation to student events, if you are a student representative on a formal committee (such as the Common Awards Management Board), or if you take part in some of the quality assurance processes (such as validation visits and periodic external reviews). In those cases, you can contact the Common Awards Team.