Student support

Welcome to ASK: Academic Skills. We offer a one-to-one appointment service for undergraduate and postgraduate students to advise on skills required for academic study. The ASK advisors provide advice to individuals and groups of students in a number of areas. The help offered is tailored to your individual needs and the service is discreet and private.

Woodlane and Tremough Campuses

We have offices at both Tremough and Woodlane Campus so we are accessible to all students, Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm.

We offer support in 5 main areas of Academic Study:

• Study Skills
• Dyslexia Support
• Essays & Dissertations
• Language Support for EU & International Students
• Numeracy & Scientific Report Writing

To arrange an appointment with one of the ASK advisors, please contact us at ask@falmouth.ac.uk. Or please call our Woodlane office on 01326 213862 or Tremough office on 01326 370438.

Advice on aspects of study such as:

• preparation of written work
• reading texts on theory
• connecting your own arts practice with theory
• developing an argument
• time management
• how to maximise tutorial time with course tutors
• developing your own study reading/writing style
• help with dyslexia

More information for ASK services at our Woodlane & Tremough campuses:

Counselling - What is it and how can it help?

All students, in fact all human beings, find that there are times in their life when they have unhappy, confused or overwhelming feelings. Sometimes they can be connected to specific problems, or sometimes we may not even know why we feel the way we do.

For most of us, it helps to talk to someone in confidence outside our immediate family and circle of friends who is trained to offer professional counselling help.

Counselling can help resolve specific problems, make decisions, help with phobias, low self-esteem, stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, abuse, bereavement, conflict with others, relationships and many other issues affecting our emotional and mental well-being.

Counsellors can help in many ways. They will listen attentively and without judgement to you, because speaking out loud about your problems can help you put your thoughts and feelings in order. They may also come up with options which you may or may not have considered, but they will certainly help you to examine these options carefully. Counsellors will never tell you what to do, just explore what you can do in order to help you cope with your current situation.

Sometimes it can be helpful to let counselling staff know if you are having problems which may affect your academic progress on your programme of study. We can often negotiate deferral of assessment points, intermitting or repeating years with your programme leader or tutor, but only with your consent. We can guarantee that confidentiality remains paramount, and that any contact with other staff would only be made if you wanted it to happen.

Counselling is freely available to all students at both the Tremough and Woodlane campuses.

Woodlane: 01326 213 735

Tremough: 01326 370 460

University College Falmouth welcomes you to home-based online education.

Starting your first online course can be daunting, and we understand that you may be a bit nervous at the prospect. Our helpful and proactive staff are here to make sure that you enjoy a smooth transition to higher education learning online, and that you enjoy the experience of studying with us.

Home-based learning is a great and convenient way to advance your career and education. At UCF, an online course is run the same way for campus-based and home-based students – meeting the highest standards of quality design and instruction. Home-based and campus-based students share common fears and concerns. However, we appreciate that home-based students will have different avenues available to them for academic and personal support.

So whether you are new to online higher education, or returning to complete a degree, feel free to contact us about any aspect of the experience. We hope the information below will answer fundamental questions or concerns. However if you have further queries, please do not hesitate to visit our student HelpMe forums, or contact our Admissions Team: email admissions@falmouth.ac.uk  or telephone on 01326 213730.

Each section below provides contact details for the relevant support teams. They will be only too happy to answer your specific queries.

We welcome applications from disabled students (eg physical, sensory, mental health) and those with learning difficulties (eg dyslexia). We encourage anyone with a disability or learning difficulty to describe their needs on their application form. This will not affect your application but will help us to plan your support.

The Accessibility Service is a combined service, working with both University College Falmouth students and University of Exeter students studying at our Cornwall Campus. Our Accessibility Advisers can work with you in a confidential environment to discuss your needs and arrange support for you while you are studying. For example, you may be eligible to apply for a Disabled Student Allowance, which provides a grant to overcome practical barriers to learning (eg support workers, specialist tutors, specialist software and laptop). We can also liaise with your course tutors to ensure that information is provided in an accessible format for you.

To arrange an appointment contact Mel Dove (Woodlane Campus: 01326 213737) or Sophie Atherton (Tremough Campus: 01326 253629). The Accessibility Manager, Gaynor Astbury, can be contacted on 01326 370443.

We provide a drop in service 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday during term times. The Accessibility Service team is located within the Student Services department at both Tremough and Woodlane Campuses. It is best to contact our team before you start your course so that any necessary support can be arranged as soon as possible. This is especially important if you are entering accommodation at the University College and may require adaptations to your accommodation.

If you have a visual impairment we can provide you with an audio, Braille or electronic version of this prospectus.

More information is available on our Disability Equality Scheme Action Plan 2006 - 2009

Car Parking

Disabled bays are available for blue badge holders.

Confidentiality and Data Protection

The Accessibility Service operates within a confidentiality policy, and no third party will be informed of your circumstances or given any information relating to your disability without your permission.

The Data Protection Act (1998) requires the University College to observe new legal provisions to safeguard your rights and data relating to you. The Act requires us to inform you what personal data is collected and the purpose for which it is collected.

You will be asked to sign a Consent form in order that we may collect, store, and in some circumstances, share information about you. You may choose to limit disclosure of this information at the time of signing this form.

If you have any concerns regarding confidentiality, please contact a member of the Accessibility Service who will be happy to discuss them with you.

Accessibility Service contacts:

Gaynor Astbury - Accessibility Services Manager
Tel: 01326 370443 (ext 1443)
Email: gaynor.astbury@falmouth.ac.uk

Sophie Atherton - Accessibility Adviser - Tremough
Tel: 01326 253629 (ext 3629)
Email: sophie.atherton@falmouth.ac.uk

Susanna Pope - Accessibility Advisor - Tremough
Tel: 01326 255837
Email: susanna.pope@falmouth.ac.uk

Mel Dove - Accessibility Adviser - Woodlane
Tel: 01326 213737 (ext 3737)
Email: mel.dove@falmouth.ac.uk

The Chaplaincy Service is available for students and staff at University College Falmouth and the University of Exeter Cornwall Campus. Our aim is to offer resources to meet the spiritual and religious needs of students and staff and there is a quiet room where people can pray and reflect, and take time out from the hustle and bustle of university life.

There are many reasons why people visit the chaplaincy: family bereavement, feeling down, wanting answers, researching class projects… Whatever the reason, the chaplaincy team are on hand to deal with any questions students or staff may have.