Category Archives: Support

Here is some information from the wider university service areas.

Support

Warning – telephone scam

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warning

We have received news that there is a scam targeting international students.

This scam follows a similar pattern to previous scams:

  • A student receives a call from someone pretending to be from the Home Office
  • The incoming number appears to match a genuine Home Office number
  • The student is told that there is a problem with their visa and that they need to pay a fine and/or give the caller personal information and contact details
  • Some students are also told that they will be visited by a Home Office official

Please remember that the Home Office will never call an international student to request payments or ask for personal details in this way.  DO NOT make payments or give information to anyone calling you like this.

Support

Guide to exams

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If you have exams in May, find out what you need to do by having a look at this Student Examination Guide.

exams

Also, don’t miss the article in this edition of International Students’ News on preparing for exams and coping with exam stress.

Support

Introduction to mindfulness

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Date/Time
15/04/2015
3pm – 5pm
Multifaith Chaplaincy, Level 2, Owen Building, City Campus

mind-full‘You can’t stop the waves, but you can
learn to surf.’ Jon Kabat-Zinn

Find out more about this powerful technique that
reduces stress and anxiety, improves sleep, aids
concentration and memory, and has an overall
positive impact on wellbeing.

Introduction to mindfulness
A seminar that introduces the concept of
mindfulness and the implications for improved
mental health and wellbeing, as well as teaching
some key mindfulness practices.

Book your place

Employability, Immigration, Support

Important changes affecting International Students

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Here are a number of changes which may affect you if you are an International Student:

Exit Checks
From 8 April 2015, the Home Office will check the immigration status of those leaving, as well as entering, the UK.

Information about passengers who travel using scheduled commercial flights will be gathered in the same way as now, using advance passenger information. There will be more checks than usual for those travelling in other ways, for example, by train or ferry, so allow more time to go through immigration controls before your departure.

The Home Office has published guidance about how exit checks should work: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/exit-checks-on-passengers-leaving-the-uk

Who is entitled to free NHS care from 6 April 2015?
The rules about who is entitled to free hospital treatment from the NHS (National Health Service) are changing on 6 April 2015.  UKCISA has produced a useful summary about hospital treatment that starts on or after 6 April 2015. Please note that this information might still change, and we will keep you updated.

http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/International-Students/Study-work–more/Health-and-healthcare/Who-is-entitled-to-free-hospital-treatment-after-6-April-2015/

Spring Immigration rules changes
There are various changes to the immigration rules from April 2015. You can read a summary of those changes here:

http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/studentnews/455/Spring-Immigration-Rules-changes

Work visa rules changes
You can read about changes to work visas which might be relevant to you after you graduate here:

 http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/studentnews/454/April-work-changes

 

Support

International students and referencing

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Get some tips from students about referencing your academic work including:

  • Lending your essay to others – friendship or deception?
  • Recycling – good for cans and bottles but not for academic work
  • When referencing your sources, how much is enough?
  • Too close for comfort – collaboration or cheating?
  • Words, data, computer code, pictures – what do they all have in common?

Go to http://www.cite.auckland.ac.nz for help.

Support

Anxious about deadlines? Overwhelmed with revision?

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Revision and exams can be an extremely stressful period for students.

If you feel that you are not coping and need support, Big White Wall can help. They offer 24/7 anonymous online support, so you can share your worries in a safe environment. To sign up, simply go to www.bigwhitewall.com and enter your university email address.

Create a brick- Deadlines

Also, watch out for the next edition of International Students’ News when we will be posting an article about coping with exam stress.

 

Social activities, Support

Are you a student and have a family? Check out the support available to you…

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Last week was declared ‘Family Friendly Week‘ by the Advice and Information Team and thanks to this a series of articles were posted on their blog, all aimed at helping students with families get the most out of University life and the local community.

There were top tips from a guest blogger about how she manages juggling family life with her academic studies, ideas for activities to keep your kids busy over the Easter holidays, advice on managing your time and your finances and loads of useful links to local organisations and services, including support available within the University itself.

You can see all the posts here.

If you want to receive future blog posts from the Advice and Information team you can also subscribe to the blog too.

Support

Easter Holidays – Important Information

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The University will be closed during 3 – 7 April, but the Learning Centres at City (Adsetts) and Collegiate will remain open 24/7.

Here is some useful information to help you during this period

  • Students are asked to bring their SHUcard to get into the buildings
  • The helpdesk will be closed but students can access books, journals and all electronic materials, printing, copying
  • Students can still top up their print or papercut account online, or pay library fines
  • There will be vending machines to use (and the Costa machine at Adsetts for those needing caffeine!)
  • Security staff will be there to help wherever they can with directional enquiries or filling up printers.
  • Students needing help can contact 0114 2253333 for 24/7 help on library and IT enquiries
  • We also recommend that students use the library gateway to search for answers to questions too – there are links to blogs, guides, and FAQs plus our twitter feed.

Have a great Easter break! 🙂

Support

Masterclass in March

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Masterclass is designed to support students who may be unfamiliar with study at university level, or need to update their skills particularly in research and writing.

They are 1.5 hours long and here are the classes taking place in March:

Thursday 5 March. 12.30pm – 2pm
Revision and Exam time

One of the key problems for students is that in exams, they don’t always answer the exact question asked. This session will focus on analysing exam questions quickly and recognising exactly what is being asked. We will also focus on getting the most out of your revision.

Monday 9 March, 10.30am – 12 noon
Avoiding plagiarism: how to paraphrase and reference correctly

Plagiarism is a very serious issue at university. This session will show you how to avoid plagiarism by paraphrasing the words of others more effectively, and how to correctly reference your sources using the SHU Harvard referencing system.

Monday 16 March, 10.30am – 12 noon
Critical reviews and writing critically

What does it mean to read and write critically? How do you go about critiquing an article by an expert? This class will help you answer these questions and improve your critical skills.

Monday 23 March, 10.30am – 12 noon
Literature Review – Using other’s work in your writing and synthesising effectively

This class will look at using multiple sources of information to support your points and arguments, and how to incorporate these into your work to maximum effect.


 

Support

International students and referencing

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Get some tips from students about referencing your academic work including:

  • Lending your essay – friendship or deception?
  • Recycling – good for cans and bottles but not for academic work
  • When referencing your sources, how much is enough?
  • Too close for comfort – collaboration or cheating?
  • Words, data, computer code, pictures – what do they all have in common?

Go to http://www.cite.auckland.ac.nz