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NMIT learners stay supported and connected over lockdown
While the latest lockdown took many New Zealanders by surprise, NMIT and SANITI (NMIT’s student support service) swiftly kicked into action to provide the academic, financial, and health and wellbeing support for those who needed it.
Within hours of going into lockdown, full learning delivery went online with learners being supported via daily skype sessions, while an increase in academic counselling, changes to teaching timetables and extensions enabled greater learning flexibility and support.
Over 70 loan laptops were also made available to those without access to computers at home.
The SANITI(external link) team, deemed an essential service were out amongst the community, providing hands-on support within just days of going into lockdown.
“We went into lockdown on Tuesday and by Thursday we were out on the road,” says Alison Hart, SANITI Manager.
“We cleared out the hardship cupboard to make up food parcels and delivered them with vouchers for groceries and petrol.”
Alison says the positive feedback received since coming out of Level 4 shows how beneficial these types of support have been to both the physical and mental health of learners.
“People loved the opportunity while we were out making mailbox deliveries to check in with us," says Alison, ”It was totally contactless, but it helped people feel connected and especially for those by themselves, just to be able to see a friendly face and have a chat."
Just a few of the many mail boxes SANITI dropped care parcels to during lockdown.
SANITI also ran quiz nights via Zoom and held online competitions, while the ‘Hello SANITI group,' a social Facebook page enabled students to stay connected by sharing posts and messages.
Te Puna Manaaki(external link), NMIT's Māori learner support team, made over 400 phone calls to Māori learners and 119 calls to our Pasifika whanau to check in and see if any additional support was required.
NMIT also worked closely with Te Pataka, Te Piki Oranga, Nelson Tasman Pasifika Trust, the Te Pūkenga network and other social services across Te Tauihi to ensure learners received COVID-19 health advice.
Support from NMIT and SANITI remains ongoing during the global COVID-19 pandemic to ensure learners can successfully complete their academic year.
