A ‘SURVIVAL’ GUIDE Marjon Student Union
First Days 1
Make your room your own – a small rug, fairy lights, cushions, a plant, somewhere for your teddies to sit… all from B&Q or Asda.
2
Pasta? Tea Bags? Fridge Space? – if you have some basic supplies, it really helps. Sharing essentials can also be an icebreaker with flatmates. Make your claim to a kitchen cupboard/fridge & freezer shelf to avoid confusion and misunderstanding.
3
Food and Drink – take time out to eat well and drink plenty of water!
4 Keys? – you would be amazed by how many people lose their keys in the first week! If you lose yours, go to Reception and ask for a replacement set. You will probably find your “lost” keys by Christmas, and thus avoid having to pay for the replacement set at the end of the academic year. Tie a bootlace to the key-ring! 5
Sign up with a GP – if you missed the chance to do this on day one, don’t worry. There will be a table at Freshers’ Fayre. Alternatively contact Student Support they will be able to help.
Make Friends! Join in… don’t sit in your room alone… See the ‘What’s On Guide 2016” It is better to ask “Stupid Questions” than to make an embarrassing mistake. (You won’t be the first one who didn’t know, so don’t be afraid to ask).
First Weeks TOP
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TIPS
2 Clubs & Societies – the Student Union is keen to support students who want to get together to form clubs and societies. Pop into the Student Union to find out more.
5
Everyone is in the same boat as you – get to know people in your flat/house/halls and on your course.
3
Find you way around – both on campus and to get out of the campus “bubble” and explore the city centre, as well as locating local supermarkets and other shops.
4
Pace Yourself – have fun, go to events, but you need to sleep and recover too!
5 Employability? – it might seem early days, but find out about volunteering, studying abroad, and other work opportunities at “ Underground” ( Ground floor of the Kirby Cudmore Building).
Sex, Drugs and Clubs TOP
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TIPS
1
Partying – look out for each other and ensure everyone is safe at all times, e.g. getting home, ‘spiking’, unwanted attention etc.
2
Drink – think about how much alcohol you are drinking. It is a ‘downer’ and can be dangerous, especially if you have taken medication.
3
Sex – ‘be sure, be safe’.
4
Your Friends – don’t be afraid to stand up to peer pressure as you do not have to do anything that you do not want to do.
5
Drugs – thinking of experimenting? Before you do- know the facts!
Why Not Try: •
A quick quiz to check your alcohol intake: www.drinkaware.co.uk/selfassessment
•
Doing the safe sex test: www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Safesextool.aspx
•
Checking out ‘what’s what’ with drugs: www.talktofrank.com/drugs-a-z
Living Together TOP
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TIPS
1
Don’t be shy! – get out of your room and meet your flatmates, meet the people in your hall and meet the rest of the campus community and go to campus events.
2
Develop those living skills! – try cooking something new, your flatmates will make willing Guinea pigs. Maybe agree to do Halls of Residence do “Come Dine with Me”?
3
Living as a household be aware of your social responsibilities – do your share of the cleaning, keeping the flat secure by locking the door; taking out the rubbish.
4
There is a laundrette next to the Student Union office – if you need help just ask someone, we have all had to learn how to use a washing machine at some point in our lives!
5
Don’t be the flat mate from hell – take time to resolve problems by talking them through calmly – not leaving notes!
And another thing… Don’t book next year’s accommodation until at least February: you want to be sure that your new friends really are the people you want to live with again. Look out for advice and guidance from the Accommodation Administrator – it will help with all the legal stuff.
We are a team of four permanent staff and a number of part-time officer volunteers who manage and run MSU. The Union officers are elected each year in March. Officer roles are open to all students and if you would like to find out more, please come and ask at the MSU office.
TOP
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Get Involved – visit the MSU Office to find out about how to help out with media work, DJ-ing, writing blog posts, performing at gigs and selling tickets for events.
TIPS
2
Join a society, sports club or check out Activate – the MSU is keen to support students who have ideas to form their own clubs, and can help with resources to get things off the ground.
3
Come along to the Officer Drop-in sessions – you can catch up with the different MSU officers on regular days and times. See the MSU window for details.
4
Come to us if you have a problem – we will advise and stand by you through any problems that you might have to deal with throughout the year. We are the active student voice.
5
Take part in our campaign – look out for the ‘Poverty in Plymouth’ and ‘Where’s Your Head At’ campaigns over 2016-17.
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Student Budgeting Tips TOP
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TIPS
1 Ensure that you have all that you are entitled to and set up a student bank account. 2
Know your income and outgoings! – you can then work out the balance.
3
Know how & when you are going to make up any shortfall – set up a
budget sheet and stick to it. Be realistic.
4
Consider on-line banking and phone banking apps to keep track of just how much money you have at any given time!
5
Don’t bury your head in the sand when things go wrong – act – ask for help – Student Support can advise and guide you on financial matters.
Why Not Try: •
Using a ‘Budget sheet’ (see overleaf).
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Discuss money matters with a member of your family or a friend.
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Budgeting: www.UCAS.com/UCAS/undergraduate/finance-and-support/ managing-money/student-budgeting-tips
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If you do get into debt: www.StepChange.org
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Student Railcard: www.16-25railcard.co.uk
How to Budget Your maintenance loan and any dependants grants (Childcare Grant, Parents Learning Allowance, Adult Dependants Grant) will be paid direct to you from Student Finance England at the start of each term. Please note that each term varies in length so it is difficult to budget across the academic year. We suggest that you add all your income together and divide it by 10 (September to June). This then gives you a monthly allowance. INCOME
OUTGOINGS
Maintenance Loan
Up to £8,200
£4,810 (standard halls rates)
TOTAL Income / Outgoings
£8,200
£4,810
Remainder
£3,390
£339 per month (Sept-June)
Campus accommodation (Including gas, electric, water, contents insurance, DIS card)
How to Budget £339.00 per month for everything else! The table above shows basic on campus living costs but there will be many other things to cover. You may want to use a budget sheet ( see overleaf) to help you to work out your personal costs – one can be downloaded on: Learning Space/Student Support/Students Funding Advice/Documents or you can pick one up from the Student Support resources area. The above figures are based on the maximum maintenance loan but is dependent on household income. Any shortfall is expected to be made up by the household income. Please go to: www.gov.uk/student-finance/-calculator and use the student finance calculator to estimate your maintenance loan and dependants grant.
Student Funding Advice: Email: studentfinance@marjon.ac.uk Tel: 01752 636891 Twitter: @funding_marjon
How to Budget You can use the sheet opposite to work out your termly, monthly or weekly budget by dividing your money received for each term by the amount of months/weeks till your next payment. Check your Student Finance England account to find out when you will be receiving your payments. Then adjust your expenditure accordingly to term/month/week. Once you have written down your income and expenditure totals subtract your expenditure from your income to find out if you have a surplus of money left over or a shortfall. If you have a shortfall work out where you could save on money and read the tips on the back of this sheet. Photocopy this sheet and update it regularly to track your budgeting. Please come and speak to a Student Funding Adviser in Student Support if you are struggling financially and need further help and advice.
INCOME
£
EXPENDITURE
Maintenance Loan
Tuition fees (if not covered by tuition fee loan)
Adults Dependants Grants
Rent/Mortgage
Bursary
Utility Bills (gas, electric, water)
Parental contribution
Insurance (building, contents, life)
Earnings from work
TV licence
Savings
Mobile phone/landline
Overdraft
Internet
Credit
Credit cards/store cards/ loans
Childcare Grant
Food
Parents Learning Allowance
Household (cleaning products, laundry)
£
Toiletries Health (dentist, optician, prescriptions) Travel (bus/train fare) Car (insurance, tax, MOT, fuel) Course costs (books, photocopying, trips) Sport and hobbies Going out/socialising Childcare costs TOTAL INCOME
£
SURPLUS / SHORTFALL
£
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
£ £
NOTES
Food and Cooking TOP
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TIPS
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Have a rainbow of food on your plate – it’s a simple way to a balanced diet: White = Carbs, Green = vitamins and minerals, Red = protein.
2
Plan your meals and shopping for the week – shopping with a plan in mind cuts costs and means you don’t end up paying extra for relying on the corner shop.
3
Vary your diet – not only is variety more likely to be healthy, you can have more fun learning to cook new dishes.
4
Share ideas with your friends – teach and learn from each other. Go shopping together and wash up together.
5
Enjoy taking time to eat together – whether this is a lunch break with others from your course, or in the evening with flatmates, take the time.
Fitness and Activity TOP
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TIPS
1
Find out about the “Marjon Activate” Programme – once you have paid the one-off joining fee of £5 the scheme gives you access to a countless number of activities. This includes on-campus, Sunday evening sessions, and off-campus facilities and events.
2 Fitness is not just about sport – just walking every day can help you keep in shape. Enjoy being outside and get out of the city: Dartmoor is only a short bus journey away. 3
Stretch Yourself – there are Yoga sessions in the sports centre. Adult Fitness sessions include Body combat, Aerobics, Body Pump, Aquafil, Group cycle, and for sessional ‘pay as you go’ fees from £4.
4
Looking after yourself – it’s all about balance: sleep, eat, work and play. It is also about knowing when to stop.
5
Sign up with a GP – there will be staff from local GP surgeries on campus during Welcome Week, or come to Student Support for more information.
Look After Yourself TOP
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TIPS
1
Sit outside every day with a drink for 20-30 minutes – this raises your natural serotonin levels: you will feel much better if you do this, especially in winter!
2
Spend time with people you care about – it doesn’t always need to be literally (it could be a chat with your family via phone and/or Skype).
3
Treat yourself to a bit of space! – maybe sit by the sea or on the moor or just in the Quad. Perhaps visit the gym or read a magazine instead of a work book!
4
Open your eyes – enjoy the natural world. So often we fail to notice the trees, the flowers, sea, sky… it always makes us feel better when we stop and take notice!
5
Share with someone else how you feel – share your feelings and listen to how they are feeling. It really does help!
Five Ways to Well-Being 1
TOP
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TIPS
Connect
• Connect with yourself by having quiet moments • Connect with family, friends, colleagues and neighbours 2 Keep learning • Try something new. • Set a challenge you enjoy achieving 3 Be Active • Play a game, dance or even just step outside • More importantly, discover a physical activity you enjoy and that suits your level of mobility and fitness. 4 Take Notice • Take a moment to be aware. Be curious • Reflect on your experiences, this will help you appreciate what matters to you. 5 Give • Do something nice for a friend, or a stranger. • Smile!
Our Services The Chapel is a place of worship, prayer and reflection for any who wishes to use it. It is a beautiful and restful space. During the day it is normally available as a place of sanctuary and quiet prayer. Worship Term time Christian services in the Chapel include: •
Tuesday @ 12.30pm - Holy Communion
•
Tuesday @ 7.00pm - Christian Union
•
Sunday @ 7.30 - Late Service
Daily Prayer is offered •
Morning Prayer @ 8.30am - (Mon - Fri)
Islamic Prayer Room (HDC 102) – this room offers shared facilities for all Muslim students and staff. There is also nearby washing facilities (HDC 105). For further details contact Lynda Tout, Inclusion Co-ordinator: ltout@marjon.ac.uk The Quiet/Nap Room – this Room is a multi-faith room reserved for prayer, meditation and silent reflection. A ‘room in use’ sign can be used to aid privacy. Pastoral Care – our Chaplaincy team, Nick, Michelle and Nathan are available to chat or just spend time with you. Our experienced team are here to listen and offer pastoral care to all. Appointments to talk can also be booked as required. On site Chaplain – our Chaplain, Nick lives on campus. As part of the out of hours support team, Nick can be contacted via the porters if required for pastoral or spiritual crisis. The Chaplaincy Office: 01752-636700 ext 6528 The Chaplain: Nick Griffin, Tel: 01752-636847 (direct line) or 01752-636700 ext 2047, Email: ngriffin@marjon.ac.uk
TOP
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TIPS
1
Come to a Feel Good Drop In – Do you have queries about your Well-being? Would you like to make changes to your lifestyle? Would you like to gain more information or be signposted to services? Or would you simply like someone to talk to about Student Life?
2
Make a Feel Good 1: 1 Appointment – 1: 1 appointments are great if you have particular concerns about your health and wellbeing.
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Visit the Marjon Feel Good Site – http://goo.gl/QcGAx7 On this site you will be able to make a feel good self-referral, make a feel good referral if you are worried about someone else. You can also find out about events, workshops and training, along with a number of self-help resources and self-assessments.
4
Become a Feel Good Champion – Are you interested in gaining more knowledge and practical information about health and wellbeing issues, feel that it would help you in your chosen career? Contact your Wellbeing Adviser for more information.
5
Register your interest in joining the Feel Good Society – Do you want to meet new people and enjoy activities that could improve your Health and Well-Being? Contact your Well-being Adviser to register your interest and to find out more.
Contact – Robyn Newport, Well-being Adviser rnewport@marjon.ac.uk @MarjonWellbeing Marjon Well-being
Academic Skills TOP
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TIPS
1
Access the Academic Skills area via Learning Space – familiarise yourself with what resources are available to help you with your academic work, and revisit these pages when you do your first (and second, and third…) assignment.
2
Don’t overload yourself with studying – allocate certain times and then take a break and do something different.
3
Prioritise, plan and organise your deadlines well in advance – use a planner.
4 Familiarise yourself with the referencing conventions at the University and use MARGen – the specifically designed referencing generator: www.marjon.ac.uk/margen 5
Learn how to search for Journals – ask the Librarians
Why Not Try: •
Using Twitter for hot links and relevant tips for researching leaders in your field.
•
Using Facebook, there are many pages created for specific courses.
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Forming a study group with other students on your course.
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Booking a group session with the Academic Skills Co-ordinator: hheywood@marjon.ac.uk
Digital Citizenship TOP
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TIPS
1
Think before you post – employers routinely search through cyberspace for the “history” of job applicants. Would you want a possible future employer to see “that” picture of you?
2
If you wouldn’t say it in person, don’t say it online – the apparent anonymity of the digital world can lead people to say and do things online that they wouldn’t do in person. Stand up for people who ae bullied or harassed, and let them know that you are there for them.
3
Give and get credit. We are all proud of what we create – cutting and pasting other people’s work and presenting it as your own may be easy, but it is also easy to detect. You have the responsibility to protect other people’s work and the right to have your own work respected.
4
Nothing is as private as you think – anything that you do online can be copied and sent to zillions of people. Be sure that you use privacy settings. The best way to protect you is to not post personal stuff. Also remember, if you want your privacy respected, respect others’ privacy.
5
Check the privacy policies of the Apps you download – you would be amazed at what information you give companies access to!
Twitter Hash Tags for Students in Higher Education #Highered – this is used for anything related to higher education. Following it will enable you to access a wide range of resources and materials on higher education.
#academia – as its name indicated, this is a hashtag for anything related to the world of academia.
#edresearch – this is for education research. #edstudies – this is for educational studies and academic papers. #AdjunctChat – this provides a great forum to discuss issues that should be relevant to everybody in higher education.
#AcWri – this is used to generate discussion about academic writings.
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TOP
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TIPS
1 Come and see us – we are conveniently located next to the 24-hour computer room. 2
Come along to our drop-in sessions – come in and ask if you have a problem. Drop-in session times are posted on the website and also displayed on the door. No need to book…just turn up. We are conveniently located next to the 24-hour computer room.
3
Look out for advertised training sessions – these sessions are advertised regularly on the Student Hub and can be booked online, booking is required. ( Word, Excel Spreadsheets, PowerPoint, Prezi, Survey Monkey, Dissertation Formatting, Access).
4
Book a Sessions – can be arranged by prior appointment. Contact us to book. ittraining@marjon.ac.uk or mfarjad@marjon.ac.uk
5
Why not gain an additional internationally recognised IT qualification – these qualifications will enhance your CV and improve your career prospects, as they are recognised by employers. The training for these accredited awards is also free; you will only have to pay the exam fee for each exam undertaken.
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Student Support: 01752 636891 studentsupport@marjon.ac.uk
Marjon Student Union: 01752 636771
Employability: 01752 636893 underground@marjon.ac.uk
Sports Centre: 01752 636876 sportsreception@marjon.ac.uk