We know that the transition into university life can be a challenge, and the academic side of things plays a part in that. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. First things first, all students have access to our modern learning facilities, libraries and study spaces on campus. You’ll find all the resources you need to complete group work, assignments and presentations effectively – including PCs, Macs, e-books, journals and sophisticated digital software.
Library Resources and Support
On each campus you will find a wide range of IT and library services delivered by Learning and Information Services. The library isn’t just a location, it’s a gateway to an extensive range of digital resources including hundreds of thousands of online books and journals to help you with your studies.
You will be supported by specialist Subject Librarians who can provide one-to-one support and guidance as well as group training. They provide a range of support from an introductory use of resources, to progression into specialist subject databases to suit the course needs. Subject Librarians also liaise with lecturers to add specific learning material to module sites in our virtual learning environment where appropriate.
For more information about what support is available, please email lis.helpdesk@chester.ac.uk
Personal Academic Tutors
If you’re completely new to your subject, don’t worry. All of our undergraduate students are assigned a Personal Academic Tutor (PAT) who can offer advice and guidance relating to your course, whenever you need it. They can also provide a reference on completion of your degree and offer help or direction to resources for any personal issues you may encounter along the way.Academic staff are also supported by the Study Skills team to embed study skills into the curriculum.
Our Study Skills Advisers who are there to help you reach your academic potential. They provide advice on everything from grammar and referencing to critical thinking, and offer a range of ways to help you to develop your academic skills, including:
Provision of online resources.
Through our Study Skills team, you’ll have access to a wide range of learning resources and activities, informative guides and videos, all of which are designed to support you in your development of effective study skills.
Remote support through our Feedforward e-assistance service.
Our Study Skills team offer a responsive Feedforward e-assistance service – this can be used to ask study skills-related enquiries (e.g. how do I reference a direct quote?) or to receive developmental advice on extracts of your work. For example, you might want guidance on improving your essay’s structure, grammar, or critical analysis. However, this is not a proofreading service (they can’t do all the work for you!) – our Study Skills Advisers will make comments on a small section of your work which you should then apply to your future practice.
Seminars on a range of study skills topics.
Our Study Skills seminars aim to develop the academic practices required in the various aspects of your study. You can request specific seminars on a range of study skills topics (minimum of five students required for booking).
Tailored one-to-one appointments.
You can also request a one-to-one meeting with a Study Skills Adviser where they can help to assess your specific development requirements, and then put together an action plan for you to follow. Follow up appointments (which are offered up to a maximum of five per academic year) can then be arranged on a case-by-case basis. One-to-one appointments can also be provided via Skype for those who are unable to access the Study Skills offices on our Parkgate Road, Riverside or Warrington Campuses.
For more information on our provision, please email LTIskills@chester.ac.uk.
