For all our students from Nepal – in the aftermath of the earthquake we want to make sure that you are aware of the support available for you at this time.

We are very saddened by the devastation caused and do appreciate that this is a very difficult time for you. We hope you have been able to make contact with your family and friends, and that they are fine.

Please feel free to come and see one of our advisers in case there is anything at all we can help with. Our advisers have appointments available everyday (you can book by calling 0114 225 3813 or email internationalsupport@shu.ac.uk) and are also available for daily drop in 11am – 12 noon.

Please do not hesitate, we are here to help in any way we can.
International Student Support

Exams are coming up in May and this can be a worrying and demanding time for many students. But there’s no need to panic; get your preparation right and use the right tools and resources and you’ll be on the right track.

We like this exam hints and tips article from the Independent. There’s lots of great tips here about organising and looking after yourself in the run up to the exam period.

You should also think about eating healthily to carry you through your exams. Healthy eating doesn’t have to mean lengthy preparation and you can get some great and quick ideas from the Beyond Baked Beans student food website. Some of our members of staff also have some suggestions for cheap, easy to prepare food now that it’s starting to get warmer outside.

It might also be useful to you to know what tools and resources are available to help you with your exam preparation:

You might find the Library Gateway useful. This online resource brings together all the different search tools you might need to find your way round the physical and electronic collections in the SHU library and you can find it at: http://library.shu.ac.uk

You can also access subject guides which introduce students to the books, journal articles and news items relevant to their subject area. You’ll find this at: http://library.shu.ac.uk/subjectguides.html

Another service offered through the learning centres are the drop-in study support sessions. If you’ve got a question about an assignment you’re working on or you want to have a draft of an assignment looked at, these weekly one-to-one sessions with a study support tutor are designed for just that. Look on shuspace here for more details.

Throughout April you may also be interested in attending an academic skills workshop as these cover a variety of study-related topics. A particularly useful session at this time of the year is the Get ready for exams session which will provide you with planning and revision tips.

As a student at SHU you are also automatically enrolled on the new Blackboard organisation Academic skills resources (2014/15) which includes My Study Skills: the toolkit.

The Academic skills resources Blackboard organisation contains

• My Study Skills: the toolkit (a SHU online resource available this academic year to July 2015)
• skills4studycampus (which has a section on exam skills)
• links to recommended free resources

Please note, the first time you go to skills4studycampus you have to register – this is to set up your personal account so that you can see your progress, go back to where you left off and add notes in ‘my journal’.

Finally, in terms of your wellbeing, you may find this ‘Ten things you can do to look after yourself’ leaflet useful as basis for improving your physical and mental health. The Student Wellbeing Service can offer you lots of support around dealing with stress too. They have self-help resources available and can also see you in a one-to-one or a group setting. There are also the final group sessions of the year which you can attend on areas such as mindfulness and assertiveness skills.

We hope this is useful for you and will help you to feel prepared as we move towards the January exams. If you have any particular worries or concerns about exams, please feel free to come and speak to your Student Support Officer via your faculty helpdesk or an Advice and Information Adviser at one of our drop-in sessions. These run Monday to Friday at both City and Collegiate campuses.

And remember, stay calm and start preparing!

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.

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

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