Category Archives: Support

Here is some information from the wider university service areas.

Maths and Statistics Support

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We at SHU GoGlobal understand that settling into courses with some maths elements can be stressful.

But never fear! The Bridge (just above the Adsetts Library café) is holding some Maths Help drop-in sessions to support you with any queries you might have before your exams.

Check out the information about the sessions that they’re running by clicking the link to the leaflet below:

Maths Help Leaflet September 2016

There’s no need to book, so just pop in!

Orientation Schedule – September 2016

September is finally here! If you’re a new international student and you’re wondering where you need to go or what to do in your first few days, then you’re in safe hands.

Our orientation schedule has been designed so that you can get all the information you need, meet lots of fantastic new friends and feel settled into life in Sheffield! There’s a whole range of activities including, medical registration, tours of the city and campus, as well as social events to help you meet new people.

The schedule can be found here. If you have any questions about any of the events or coming to Sheffield, then feel free to email our team and we will be able to help.

 

Help with APA referencing

When you write an assignment or create any piece of academic work, you will be drawing upon information you have read in books, journal articles and other sources. You will be expected to acknowledge these sources through referencing.

The APA 6th ed. referencing style is a widely recognised style following the author/date referencing method also used in Harvard styles.

From September 2016, Sheffield Hallam University will be moving to using this system, and our team in the Adsetts Library have put together this helpful toolbox to explain the best practices for using it in your work. The guide includes videos, examples and guidance about using online tools and apps to reference correctly.

Scam Alert – targeting International students

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Some of our international students are being called by scammers who claim to be from the ‘Home Office’.

The caller says they are from the Home Office and has the students full name, postcode in the UK and passport number, and asks the student to verify those details are correct.  The caller tells the student to go to the www.gov.uk website, and search for Home Office, and then scroll down to the bottom of the screen, so that the student can see that they are calling from the genuine Home Office number.  The caller ID on the student’s mobile, does show this number.

The caller then proceeds to tell the student they have not paid for an immigration service, and as a result have to pay a fine, or else they will be reported to the Police/or the Home Office who will detain them or deport them.

The caller becomes increasingly insistent and verbally aggressive, and as they have so much personal information about the student, the student often feels so pressured and terrified, that they pay up.

BEWARE – This is a very sophisticated scam! If they were to call you and you challenge their authenticity they may tell you to Google their phone number and verify their identity. Even the caller ID they use is the same as Home Office switch board number. They will have manipulated the electronics, webpages and links to deceive you. They can be very forceful and authoritative in their tone, even more so if they sense that you are scared.

British Police or Home Office never contact students in this manner, and they never ask for money over the phone.

If you receive a call of this nature, please do not give out any personal details (passport number, address, family details). Please do not download any software they ask you to on your phone or computer. Cut the phone and inform the police immediately. If you are unsure, please feel free to contact International Experience Team on internationalexperience@shu.ac.uk or call us on 0114 225 3813.

Hallam Fund

Last month Sheffield Hallam were delighted to launch their newly established Hallam Fund telephone campaign, which aims to raise money to support our students and academics.

If you received a phone call from one of Sheffield Hallam’s student callers they’d like to thank you for your time and for your support. They were delighted with the positive responses they received from alumni and they successfully managed to secure over £73,000 in pledged donations – an incredible start to the Hallam Fund campaign.

These donations will help fund bursaries and scholarships for students from under-represented and disadvantaged backgrounds; they will help to ensure students can take up career enhancing opportunities and will support Sheffield Hallam’s world-changing applied research.

To find out more about how Sheffield Hallam will use these donations to change lives follow them on Twitter, or visit our Facebook page.

If you would like to make a donation, please visit – shu.ac.uk/giving

What happens to my IT access after I leave?

When you complete your course(s), you may continue to access IT facilities provided by Student Learning Services for approximately 3 months.

After this, your usercode will be disabled. You will still be able to access some services, including My Student Record, email (via http://mail.my.shu.ac.uk/), and library facilities as an external borrower.

If you’re finishing a Master’s dissertation, your usercode will not be disabled until you have submitted your work and it has been assessed.

We cannot extend your access rights once you have officially completed all your courses as we need to free up the resources for new students.

Continuing students

If you’re likely to be returning to what is essentially a continuation of the same course (E.g. Certificate to Diploma, HND to BSc) you shouldn’t have to do anything and will continue to be able to use your usercode as long as your Faculty is aware that you are transferring to the new course.

If you’re returning to a completely different course in a different Faculty (E.g. BSc to PGCE), you should be able to keep your existing homespace and existing external email address (E.g. j.bloggs@student.shu.ac.uk) as well as the contents of your current Google mailbox and address book.

Please bear in mind, though, that homespace is an area for “work in progress”, not a permanent storage area. You are encouraged to back up your work to USB sticks, CD-ROMs, or internet-based storage regularly, especially if you are in what might be regarded as a “course finished” position at this time of year.

One-to-one skills sessions at the Bridge

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This summer, the Bridge are offering one-to-one, 30 minute sessions with a tutor, providing general guidance as well as specific approaches for developing your academic writing. Come along to learn how to study effectively and optimise your grades.

There’s no need to book, just turn up between the following times to see a tutor.

  • Tuesdays 2pm – 4pm The Bridge, above Adsetts Library café
  • Fridays 11.30am – 1.30pm, Collegiate Library, room 0.01

the Disabled Student Support service is a different service to this one.  If you normally access the Disabled Student Support service, please contact your tutor as normal.

They will help you devise strategies to check your own work but they will not proofread assignments.

More about the sessions

The service is learner-led; you decide on the topic for sessions.  Examples of topics covered are:

  • understanding assessment criteria and discussing initial ideas for work
  • what it means to think and write critically or reflectively
  • planning and delivering presentations and effective group working
  • how to carry out a literature review and write a dissertation

The aim of the sessions is to focus on developing learning, so you might want to bring:

  • the assessment criteria for an assignment you’re thinking about starting, to discuss ideas or develop a rough planning outline
  • what you’ve written (if you’ve made a start) to discuss your structure and whether you’re staying on-topic
  • a marked assignment so that we can discuss the feedback you’ve received and what you might do differently next time
  • a timetable of submission dates to talk about time management or examples of materials you are revising for exams.

Culture Connect Case Study – Dana Dlawor

In the run up to us opening registration for our fantastic peer mentoring scheme Culture Connect in September, we’ll be featuring students past and present who have benefited from taking part.

Here is Dana’s experience with the project, and a bit about what you can expect when enrolled in the scheme:

“My experience with Culture Connect was amazing. I got to know many new friends from different nationalities from all over the world. I have learned how to communicate with different cultures.

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I would recommend all students to participate in it, especially for those who have just arrived in Sheffield. This scheme will help them to feel like they are part of a new family.”

We’d like to thank Dana for his comments and would also encourage you to take part in this brilliant scheme.

We start recruiting for new members in September. Find out more and register your interest to apply.

International Experience Team receives innovation award

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The International Experience Team at Sheffield Hallam University is the first winner of UKCISA’s Professor Paul Webley Award for Innovation in International Education.  The awards were set up in memory of UKCISA’s former Chair, who sadly died earlier this year. All 17 pilot and research projects that received UKCISA grants funding were eligible for the award.

We have been awarded the accolade for our pilot project to improve awareness of sexual health among students in higher and further education.

Julie Allen, Director of Policy and Services added: “We’re delighted to present the Professor Paul Webley Award to Sheffield Hallam today. We were impressed with the detail in the original submission and those who attended the Members’ Forum in Manchester this year will have heard about the project and may remember the buzz in the room.  One of the judging panel described the project as ‘brave’ and it was, we felt, the most innovative of all the projects and research we funded last year.”

EU students studying at SHU

All current EU students should be reassured that their studies will not be affected by the EU referendum outcome. The UK exit negotiations are likely to take at least two years and possibly longer and until then all EU citizens are still entitled to:

> EU student status – you will not be subject to immigration controls and will not require a visa to study in the UK
Home/EU tuition fee status – you will continue to pay the same fees you are paying at the moment
Access to tuition fee loans – EU nationals or their family members, currently in higher education, and who are assessed as eligible to receive loans and/or grants from the SLC, will continue to receive these loans and grants until they finish their course. This includes loans to cover tuition fees (for those resident in the EEA for three years), loans and grants for maintenance (limited to those resident in the UK for at least three years), and some other grants and allowances.
Access to EU grants – If your studies are funded by Erasmus+, or any other European programme, you will continue receiving your funding.

If you have queries or concerns about this information, please book an appointment with the International Experience Team.