HE Study Support

What Are My Options in 2012-2013

The Student Engagement and Support team aims to offer outstanding support for all learners on higher education courses. We aim to remove barriers and enable every learner to fully access their course and achieve their potential. Promoting independence is a key element in our support strategy.  Even if you only require help with getting back into education after a break, we can offer reassurance and give you confidence to keep going.

Study Skills Support

In the Autumn term, we will be running short courses on study skills for academic writing to support learners who need a refresher on how to write at FE/HE level.  We can also signpost you to appropriate resources that will support the specific difficulties you are facing.

The Success Centre

This area in the Learning Resources Centre is a dedicated quiet space where you can come to discuss your support needs and access any of our wide range of resources. It is staffed by a member of the support team from Monday to Friday.

The Learning Centre

The Learning Centre is the College library service and drop-in computer area.  We have friendly and knowledgeable members of staff who are here to help and support you during your studies.  All you have to do is ask - it will make a big difference to your time at the College.  We provide a wealth of resources that include: books, journals and newspapers, audio visual materials and careers information.  You can access the Information Station: http://www.southampton-city.ac.uk/tis/  to find electronic resources such as e-books, e-journals and databases which can be accessed on and off campus at a time to suit you.  All our computers and laptops are internet enabled but we also have Wi-Fi if you prefer to bring in your own equipment.  The Learning Centre plays host to student events throughout the year and details of these events can be found on the front page of the Information Station.

Citybit

Citybit is the College Virtual Learning Environment.  It supports students on their courses and gives access to learning activities and materials, submission of assignments online and easy contact with your tutor.  Students can also track their progress and access their College e-mail account using this facility.

Assistive Technology

The department has computer software that can support your learning.

• Dragon Naturally Speaking (software that recognises speech and will type for you)
• Claroread Plus (software that will read back texts, either from an external source or your own word processing)
• Sparkspace - mind mapping (software that will help you to formulate ideas and then organise them appropriately)

The Success Centre has an even wide range of these resources and some of these software applications are also available across the whole college network. Other equipment is also available such as digital voice recorders and reading rulers. In addition, we have ergonomic equipment that will support learners with physical disabilities.

We offer guidance on how to access this software and equipment through the Success Centre.

Screening for Dyslexia

If a learner thinks they may be dyslexic, we can arrange a computerised screening to give some indication of the likelihood of this learning difficulty. This will then lead to a discussion about further assessment and possible strategies for your support.  However, whether or not you are shown to be at risk of dyslexia, you will still be offered support for your learning.

Student Advisor Drop In

Members of the student advisor team will be available to discuss any issues arising in your personal circumstances that might prevent you fully accessing your course. They can advise on all matters of student welfare. They can also signpost you to relevant support groups. The college has a counsellor who visits twice a week.

Financial Support

There are a number of options available for financial support depending on your circumstances. Please visit the Podium to talk about what is available for you.

Disabled Students Allowance

If you have a long term medical condition, a physical disability, a mental health condition or a specific learning difficulty, you may be entitled to the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA).  If you wish to apply for this additional funding you can contact Student Finance England at

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/disabledpeople/educationandtraining/highereducation/dg_10034898  

Alternatively you can speak to our HE student advisor who can explain how to apply.

The following forms of support are regularly covered by this funding:

• Personal IT equipment and assistive technology software to support learning, such as Speech recognition, Text to Speech and mind mapping software
• Ergonomic equipment including desks, chairs and computer hardware to make learning more accessible
• A mentor to support a wide range of difficulties such as organisational issues, setting priorities, concentration, motivation as well as strategies to work around disabilities and learning difficulties
• A note taker
• A personal assistant to provide access to college and courses
• A communication support worker
• Exam arrangements such as extra time in timed assessments
• Special allowances for dyslexic difficulties in assignments

N.B. To access this funding an individual will have to produce recent written evidence of their medical or learning need.  For learning difficulties such as dyslexia, this will have to include a post 16 full diagnostic report from an educational psychologist or specialist teacher. If you do not have this or are not sure, please ask the Student Engagement and Support team about how to access an assessment.