Support - University of Staffordshire

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Academic support

Your course tutor is your first point of contact for any issue related to your course and will be able to provide you with one-to-one support and guidance. They can be easily contacted by email, telephone and through our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Our academics are highly qualified experts with a wealth of experience, at the forefront of their fields, so will be able to bring relevant industry insights to your learning.

Academic skills

A key part of studying is developing good study skills, especially if you're returning to education after a break. Our Academic Skills Team are on hand to help you develop techniques to learn effectively, produce your assignments and improve your work to reach your full potential. The team includes specialist subject librarians, study skills tutors and digital capability experts and can offer one-to-one appointments via video call or telephone.

Library and learning resources

We offer an extensive range of library services to our off-campus students and help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our comprehensive online catalogue of eResources are available for you to search for and access material such as eBooks, journals and databases. Our team of librarians can help you find your way around the electronic resources and library catalogues, or if there’s something specific you need, they can help you to source it.

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Library resources

Our LibGuides provide information and advice on using our online resources, with specific pages for each subject area, and can help you search for quality-assured websites. Plus, the InfoZone is a good starting point to find out more about our library and IT resources, the RefZone pages will help you reference your assignments correctly and the Assignment Survival Kit can help you to plan your work.

If you’re based in the UK, you'll also be able to borrow materials from other libraries closer to you through the SCONUL Access Scheme, including national libraries and those in universities and colleges. We also offer a postal loans and journal photocopy service to UK-based students and can send articles direct to your desktop through our document delivery service.

On-campus access

As a distance learning student, you are also welcome to come onto campus and use our library facilities at any time. Whether this is an occassional visit to help you get into the zone when completing assessments, or it may be part of your regular study plan, you may use our excellent study spaces and browse the book collections.

Digital support

You will be using a PC or laptop as part of your studies so it is important to familiarise yourself with University platforms and software so you can study, collaborate with your tutor and peers, and submit assessments. We offer excellent IT support for students and should you encounter any technical issues throughout your course you can contact our Digital Support team 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Blackboard

Blackboard, our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), makes it easy for you to network and connect with your lecturers and fellow students through online discussion boards and forums, as well as access course materials. It ensures your online learning experience is engaging, interactive, social and collaborative.

Every student is now automatically registered for the self-service password reset facility, meaning that you’ll always have access to your emails and learning materials, even if you forget your password!

Beacon app

Beacon is your intelligent digital assistant who’s always on hand to support you through your studies. Beacon provides personalised and responsive information on student timetables, enables contact with personal tutors and provides the answers to over 1000 frequently asked questions, covering campus facilities and support services.As well as this, you can now find the latest University News and Events on Beacon, as well as other useful resources that will help you through University life.

Beacon is available from Google Play, the App Store, and via the standalone Beacon website.

Software

As a University of Staffordshire student, you’ll get access to free software downloads including Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Teams, which allows you to collaborate and share content online. You also get personal cloud storage on OneDrive, meaning you can access your documents wherever you are, and free Wi-Fi at participating worldwide universities through eduroam.

We’re also reviewing the way we offer support and will be developing our digital services to include emerging technologies, such as robotic automation and artificial intelligence so we can offer more support ‘on-demand’ when our students need it. Look out for exciting developments coming soon.

Personal support

We're here to help. We want to ensure that you make the most of your time as a University of Staffordshire student, which is why we offer support to you outside of your academic life. Below, we detail some of the support services that we have on offer, which can be accessed digitally or over the telephone.

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Health and wellbeing

As a student, you may well find yourself experiencing some problems and difficulties that affect your mental wellbeing. These could be related to issues at university or they might be connected to previous experiences or events in your personal life.

Student wellbeing team

Our Student Wellbeing Team can provide support for anything that may affect you, including relationships, loneliness, anxiety and depression, sexuality and addiction. We have dedicated wellbeing practitioners on hand who are specially trained and able to help, whatever the issue and the team can provide one-to-one appointments via video call or telephone.

Accessible learning

Here at Staffordshire, we’re committed to making study accessible to everyone. If you have a disability, learning difficulty, long-term illness or mental health condition, our Student Inclusion Team can help to put specialist support plans in place to help you with your study.

Careers and networking

Whether your career’s just starting or it's already well-established, our Careers and Personal Development team can offer plenty of support to help you get ahead. They can help you plan your next steps, connect with employers, gain more experience and build a great CV. We're committed to supporting our distance learners and you can book a careers appointment with a career coach online, and you can access specialised career toolkits and e-learning portal.

Our Career Assessments are online tests that generate personalised reports to help you to understand your career preferences. There’s also a series of Career Toolkits that cover a range of topics; from completing application forms and interview techniques through to creating a portfolio and understanding a business plan.

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The Students' Union

As a University of Staffordshire student, you’ll automatically become a member of our Students’ Union - even though you're not on campus, their team are still there for you! Run by students, for students, they’re independent of the University and can provide a range of help and advice to ensure your voice is heard. Plus, there are a range of clubs and societies that can be accessed virtually, such as the Gaming Society.

Their Student Advice Centre offers information covering a range of topics, including wellbeing and money management. You can also book an appointment to speak to one of their advisers over the telephone for free, impartial and confidential advice.