Personal Support

In this section you can find out about the full range of personal support and facilities that will be available to you during your studies.

BU Student Advice Centre and The BU Students Union

Union membership is free to all University full-time and part-time students. This includes students registered on University courses studying at the College.

The Union manages all of the University's bars and arranges plenty of live music, comedy nights, club nights and more 'traditional events' such as discos and Student Balls. All Union events and activities are open to Higher Education students, including a wide range of sporting and social clubs. Students can also use the Old Fire Station the Students' Union run nightclub.

The Union also operates a very effective and independent Student Advice Centre at the University's Talbot Campus, where you can get confidential help and information. Qualified staff in the Centre are normally available to assist you throughout the day. They will help you discuss your options and encourage you to make your own decisions on issues related to finance and hardship, employment, legal questions, academic matters, social security, housing, consumer problems, childcare, grants and loans and tax.

BU Student Union's website: www.subu.org.uk
Email: suvpcomms@bournemouth.ac.uk
BU SU's Clubs and Societies: www.studentclubsuk.com

College Students' Union

As a student at The College you can also join in The College's Student Union free of charge. Once you have your membership card you can save between 10-20% in a huge number of shops, restaurants and leisure services in Bournemouth, Poole and across the country.

The Students' Union aims to make sure that your time at The College is the best it could possibly be. It organises trips to all sorts of places. Destinations have included Alton Towers, Clothes Show Live, Amsterdam, Disneyland Paris, Christmas shopping in London and snowboarding.

Counselling

This may be your first experience of living away from home, or you may be juggling your studies with personal commitments. If you find you have worries, or need help at any time, Student Counsellors within Student and Customer Services, at the Poole and Lansdowne sites are very experienced in helping students in all sorts of situations. They can be contacted on 01202 205896 (Lans) or 01202 205956 (North Rd)

College Bookshops

The College has a Bookshop on each main site. As well as the wide range of study related and more general books in stock, the shop can obtain any book available to the UK trade with minimum delay. The shops also sell other useful items such as stationery at competitive prices.

College Chaplain

The College Chaplain Stuart Miller is available for confidential advice or counselling on religious or other matters. It is a non-denominational service and is available to any member of the College. Stuart can be contacted at any time on 01202 205896.

Higher Education Unit at The College

The Higher Education Manager and Administrator are available on the Lansdowne Campus to help with any general queries throughout the course. The Higher Education Unit regularly meets with Student Representatives at The College and the Students Union Representatives at the University. The unit is the central liaison point with the Higher Education Partners.

Learning Support/Students with Learning Difficulties & Disabilities

It is of great importance to us that all of our Students are supported throughout their studies to ensure they achieve further academic success and career development. Both the University and The College welcome students with additional support needs. A box on the application form invites you to indicate any learning difficulties or disabilities that could cause educational disadvantage or difficulty in using or accessing facilities. You are advised to arrange a visit to the University and the College and to write to the Registry at the same time as sending your form to UCAS.

For further information, contact Dr James Palfreman-Kay Bournemouth University's Additional Learning Needs Adviser on 01202 595327 or email: jmpkay@bournemouth.ac.uk .

The College's Learning and Support Services help students with a range of additional learning needs related to physical difficulties throughout their course.

Students with support needs e.g. dyslexia, hearing, visual, physical, mental health problems and certain medical conditions, may be eligible for Disabled Student's Allowance (DSA) to pay for extra costs incurred in order to complete their course, as a direct result of disability. This may include, for example, extra tutorials or specialist IT equipment.

Information regarding DSA can be found:

If you feel you may be eligible for DSA, contact your LEA as soon as possible for the correct application forms.

Please feel free to contact Learning Support (01202 205403) through our Administration officer, Helen Mole, if you need help with this process.

Different LEAs have different ways of dealing with DSA applications but generally the sooner you apply the better, particularly if you have an unconditional offer of a place.

The sooner your support needs are discussed and put in place, the more effective the provision will be, so please contact us as soon as you accept the place. We will contact you again in September if we have not heard from you.

Library Support

Any course of study in higher education will involve active use of library facilities. We offer excellent resources to support your studies. This includes access to the Internet, CDs, videos, audio visual packages and CD Rom, as well as a stock of over 75,000 books and periodicals. Study areas/quiet rooms are available and there is also an area dedicated to careers reference material. An in-depth induction programme ensures that students get the best from the Learning Resource Centres and helps new students to get to grips with the facilities and how to access the information available.

Our new online eLibrary makes it even easier to access College resources from where-ever you are. You can search Study Guides, view Online Databases in your subject area and even search for a book (and other resources!) using The College's WebOPAC Catalogue.

If enrolled on one of Bournemouth University's Foundation Degrees, you can also make use of their library facilities. An impressive new library and Learning Centre on their Talbot Campus, together with a library at the Lansdowne Campus, provide a wide range of learning resources and student services. Additional laboratories and computer centres compliment an active network of specialist facilities.

Open Access Computer Centres

The College offers open access computing facilities which open for extended times. They feature a large number of networked workstations, all with Internet access and operating on Windows/NT. You will receive an email address when you register as a student. Tuition, help and subject advice is available in these centres.

In addition to the Open Access Centres, there is an HE Project Room dedicated to HE Students.This room offers 14 computers with a top of the range colour printer. Comfy chairs and a seating area are available for quiet study. The Project Room is open from 9am-9pm Mon to Thursday, Friday 9-5pm.It is also open Sat mornings 9am-1pm.

Open Access Computer Centres are also available at Bournemouth University with 24 hr 7 day a week availability. Wireless connection is available for laptop use.

Student Services

Our specialist Student & Customer Services team can assist you with general, personal and career queries, backing up the personal tutor system that the College operates. The team can offer help, expertise and advice on many areas such as finance, careers, disability and personal matters.

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